Sneak-Peek: The Wasteland Crow Project

NoahL

NoahL

Well-Known Member
Hello everyone,

Not too long ago, a bladesmith by the nickname Storm Crow and I started discussing his forge-finish blades. We determined that our styles of Neo-Tribal bladesmithing and Post-Apocalyptic leatherworking seemed to compliment each other well, and from that revelation an idea was born. The Wasteland Crow Project consists of a set of two Neo-Tribal blades--one large, one small--made by Storm Crow, and an Apocalyptic Survivor style carry system made by me. The blades are being shipped to me tomorrow for the leatherwork, so in the meantime, here are a few sneak-peek shots of the blades.

nyiptw.jpg

mjlpuc.jpg

mt2d95.jpg

k3wrqg.jpg

3d0eu.jpg


I will update this thread with photos as the project develops, and when the set is complete it will be raffled off here.

~Noah

P.S. I did check with Tracy first about the external raffle, but if he wants me to remove the link then I will :)
 
neo-tribal and post-apocolypic are my two most fav. words when talking about bowies hahaha so this should be a sweet outcome with these two cutters and sheath.
 
Wanna see what the primary blade does to a fallen mesquite tree? I know you do...

207lx07.jpg


How about batonning? Yeah, it does that...

4ub4aa.jpg


Fine work? You betcha...

dbji9u.jpg


The blades are being shipped to me this week, and I will start making the carry system and post up teaser pics as I progress.

~Noah
 
Oooh, look what showed up at my door today!

2vv14b6.jpg

14snlh4.jpg


Leatherwork will be started tonight :)

This is what Storm Crow, the guy who forged the blades, had to say about them:

"The blades were forged from the same piece of truck leaf spring. They were filed to a cutting edge and given multiple heat treatments cycles utilizing hardening in vegetable oil and differential heat treatments, using slightly different methods for the two differently sized blades. The blades have both been thoroughly tested as the teaser pictures attest. Remember the really nice camp ax my student made a little while back? The golok does everything it can do and much more. Notice how you can trace an elongated sine wave down the length, from the butt of the handle through the cutting edge? That helps it chop as well as the ax, but it also splits, slices, delicately chops, drawknifes, and can even be used as a skew chisel with the fully sharpened forward edge. It also is light enough to work well against whippy brush and briars. The companion blade is the opposite of the golok in that it is a very slim, pointed blade. Its edge is about as sharp as I've gotten a blade, cleanly dry-shaving my arm hair and leaving a very smooth patch.

The blades are easy to maintain. A few strokes on a fine whet stone and no more than six strokes on a leather strop should return them to their original sharpness. The blades are forge finished, which, in addition to just plain looking primal, is incredibly durable as a finish. If it starts to rust or if you need to clean it after use, you can use 150 grit sandpaper and get it back to like-new condition in a few minutes.

The golok's handle is an integral socket. It is not intended for storage, but for incredible strength. The socket also does not transmit the shock of chopping into your hand the way it might if it was just a standard flat tang. It is very comfortable in use and does not slip or make your hand tired or numb. The end of the socket is plugged permanently with a piece of mesquite wood (which was what I was making in the teaser pics. That's right, I used the blade to make its own handle plug!), with a copper lanyard ring and a short horse hair tassel with copper beads and wire.

Both knives' handles are wrapped in hemp cord and sealed with orange shellac. The golok features double Turk's head knots of black leather lace at the ends of the handle, and the companion knife has hemp Turk's head knots. It has an integral lanyard hole and sports a matching horse hair tassel with beads and wire."

~Noah
 
Last edited:
I cut out the front panel, back panel, and welt of the golok sheath:
1z2qfyd.jpg


Then I gave it some background texturing:
igyu6g.jpg


Then I gave the front panel the detail pitting:
15u63o.jpg


Ignore the various odd coloring--the leather was still damp in places when I took pictures.

~Noah
 
So, I got the leather dyed:
2hxn5p0.jpg


Hmm, if this is the back, then what am I doing with the dee-rings? Oh, you'll see :)
10i8cwh.jpg


And what's this? A strap of some sort? I wonder what that could be for?
z668x.jpg


~Noah
 
The front of the sheath, in progress. The bit of leather you see sticking out from underneath is the welt that is currently cemented into place--I let the edges be uneven because I'm going to true them up all at once.

2dsfudk.jpg


~Noah
 
The sheath is currently cemented together, but I don't have any pictures of that at the moment. What I do have pictures of is this neat little thing--well, this neat 32" to 77" thing.

2m5xc8k.jpg


x40oep.jpg


~Noah
 
Well what have we here? An adjustable strap of some sort:
vpj7ls.jpg

25hilo8.jpg


I got the sheath trimmed up a bit:
5we5nt.jpg

oknde9.jpg


Then I dressed up the edges a little, set in some super heavy duty brass eyelets, and cut the stitching groove:
4g4xtz.jpg


Then it came time to test the fit--much better than cardboard, I'd say:
zjh1r4.jpg


Next I'll be doing stitching, finishing, and some final touches, then it's on to the companion knife sheath!

~Noah
 
Just popping in to say that the main golok sheath is completed!

golok_sheath_large.jpg


Now Noah will start working on the sheath for the companion knife.

I'm really happy with how this is turning out.
 
Huh, I could've sworn I posted an update here, but apparently not--that's what I get for waiting until I should be asleep to do it :p. Thanks for posting it up!

~Noah
 
Now, on to the Companion Sheath!

Who gave the welt Red Bull? It has wings!

2ns0ysh.jpg


~Noah
 
I textured the panels
ej965f.jpg


Then I dyed them
nffew5.jpg


Next up will be distressing and assembly!

~Noah
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top