Recent content by Fatstrat

Thank you for your advice. Will 440C make a good sturdy large Bowie? I'm thinking similar to the large one made by the old Western knife company.

Big fan of the show. As a novice it shows me many of the technics I hope to someday learn . My only criticism is in the things they choose for the home forge segments. A shield? I thought it was knife making show. Spears and axes is IMO OK, but not what I tune in to see. But a SHIELD?

That could work. Who can you send it to? I'm a delivery truck driver and Bodycote is a business I go to occasionally. They do industrial heat treating, but expressed no interest in doing knife blades.

To cut to the chase, I'm interested in steel that doesn't need to be (already is) heat treated/tempered. For making bowie type hunting knives. I've been "refurbishing" knives for several years. Buying old, mostly military blades in poor condition. Re-handling and in many cases re-grinding the...

NICE WORK! I hope to get 1/2 that good one day!

Don't yet have a stitching pony, so had to improvise.

Thanks so much to everyone. Your help was much beneficial. I have completed my 1st hand sewn sheath. Not perfect, but IMO not bad for 1st effort. All parts are double stitched. Knife is an old 1920's field find Marbles that I cleaned up and re-handle w/Elk antler. Purposely "antiqued" the...

OK, went to Tandy and bought (yikes) nearly $100. worth of tools/thread. Large diamond awe, 4 prong hole chisel, thread, and snap setting tools. Have my 1st sheath nearly ready to sew. Next question. What's the rule of thumb in determining what length of thread to start with. I will be...

Thanks for the replies. I like the stitching pony idea and believe I can make one. Could you post a link to source of thread or tell a specific vendor and item number? Thanks.

I've been "mostly" making my own sheaths for about a year now. But have to this point had the sewing done at a local saddle shop as I focused on acquiring tools for and perfecting my designs, construction methods and decorations. But even though it only takes them a minute or two to sew up a...

I'm not really a knife maker as much as a knife projecter. I buy old used knives or blade of good quality but poor condition, and use the the old blades to make a "new" knife. Sometimes just "rehandle" them. Or sometimes regrind/reshape the blade depending on condition. So I buy a large Marbles...

I think it's a converted bayonet.

I bought one of these. Are they OK? http://www.harborfreight.com/soft-face-mallet-69048.html

Thanks for not boring me with details.