start of bowie w/ hamon for kith 2012

kevin - the professor

kevin - the professor

Well-Known Member
Hello Everyone,
I have been fighting a treatment resistant sinus thing for the last 5 weeks. I am almost done with it, though. I managed to get into the shop one day, and forge out my kith contribution.
The blade is low manganese 1075, will have a hamon.
Polished cutting surfaces with the back left textured.

It is around 11" blade length. I think I will use some oak that I have that is really, "curly" for the handle. Wrought iron bolster. The thing I have to decide is whether to do a bolster or a bolster and guard, and how to shape and give grace lines.

probably a wi butt cap.

You can see the layout lines for the plan.
this is just to give me some motivation and let y'all know that I really am, "in."

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comments welcomed,
kc
 
Hamon or not I find the overall dimensions elegant....if I can use elegant to decribe a Bowie! Will also enjoy seeing this blade evolve.
 
Looks great kevin,i like the clip goes well with the shape.
Now your ahead of me just got some w-2 from janesville show ,took your advise :)
I will be fishing for that hamon again? maybe,hopefuly? lol
 
heat treat a success

HA! survived heat treatment. I did an interrupted hot water-into-parks quench. Parks was just the oil I happened to have in my other quench tank. It would have probably been better to use canola for that part. Even motor oil, honestly.

If you look at the blade, you can already see the hamon. I ran it across an 80 or 120 grit belt to knock the oil and clay off. This always works, you can see immediately whether there is a hamon there worth polishing. If you don't see it when you grind clean immediately after heat treatment, then clay it again.

This low manganese 1075 tends to give a really bright line of transition between the hardened and unhardened steel. There is a broad white"ish" line on this blade and another one I did with this alloy the same way. I am eager to see what it looks like when I polish it.

The grind line looks like it rose up just a bit in the middle on me, but I don't remember that when I had the blade in my hand. It is tempering now. I always use files and stones to get the grind lines just right, anyway. I don't have the mutant grinding power some people do. It takes longer, but I am better with files than any other tool. One of the many good things about a blade hardened this way, you can file half of it easily. After tempering, I will have to use stones or diamond abrasives on the hard part, although sometimes you can get away with a chainsaw file (they seem a little harder in my experience than machinist's files - is that true or just my imagination)?
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Now, I have to come to some decision about guard and bolster.

thanks for looking. Comments are welcomed, it keeps me thinking...
 
creason its not a competition, man just strive to do your best and thats all anyone's asking here for me
i just think its cool another maker will get one of mine since we makers never seem to make one for are selves.so trow it to the wind and see what happens need help yell!!! good luck
kev its coming along nicely
 
I believe a part of the Neo-tribal philosophy (there I go using big-o words again) is using what is available in terms of both materials and tools. A great many very fine knives have been made by files over the years! Nice work. Grinding is just faster, not necessarily better.
 
Yeah, it may seem paradoxical, but the larger the blade, the more I use files and stones. On very little things, 3" stuff, I just grind. On camp knives/bowies, I file the clip entirely and do about 1/3 of the bevelling with files and stones. On swords, I do the roughing out with a belt grinder, and then do about half of the actual material removal with a sen and then with files. The only exception, obviously, are hollow ground blades. I have trouble with getting dips and wobbles in long grind lines (case in point - look at this blade closely). Draw filing is much more precise and controlled. It is faster, too, since I don't have to go back and keep fixing my mistakes (and then the mistakes from trying to fix the first round, etc.).

Draw filing with the biggest, coarsest file you have, or even better scraping with a sen. Besides, I really just like that type of work better than a grinder. It is more fun. Don't get me wrong, I get, "close" with my grinder. I like the ease of it, but I don't, "like," the process of grinding. Just do it because it sets up the stuff I do like really efficiently.

If the way I had to make knives was stock removal by grinding alone, I wouldn't do this. For me, trying to understand older methods of manufacture and working more closely with the material is a big part of it. We all get plenty of the modern, industrial world.

Hopefully, more to come this weekend.
kc
 
Hello Everyone,
I have been trying to go slowly and do things fairly well. I am trying to learn to fight my impatience and rush to see what the final product will look like. I keep reminding myself that I do this for relaxation, and that when I finish one piece I will just start another one. One of the big things in this shift in work for me is to try and do as much as I can with hammer, files, and stones. Especially hammer and files. I am getting to the point that I CAN grind fairly well, but I don't LIKE grinding as much as other stuff.

For example, filing, hammering, and working to braze copper, stuff like that.

Anyway, I spent some time getting the slot for the guard drilled and filed, and I made a copper washer and a copper blade collar. Now, I have to make a mild steel ferrule, actually shape the guard (it is still just raw stock), mortise and glue the handle together, and slot stock for butt cap. Then, shape guard by stock removal and bending, shape ferrule, shape butt cap, shape handle. I am going for an octagon shape for the flow of the ferrule, handle, and butt cap. Maybe some grace lines along the corners where the flats of the octagon meet along the handle. Not sure about that part yet. I also have to do the polish for the hamon and blue the guard, ferrule, and butt cap. I may or may not have to blue the textured part. I was going to leave scale on, but with all of the etchings in vinegar for the hamon, the scale will come off. So, I may leave the oxides from the later rounds of etching, or I may just blue it, or all of the above. Bluing inside texture with a little scale left looks a lot like forge scale, after all.

thanks for looking. I hope all of this comes together like I see it in my head!

take care,
kc

Anyway, I have a plan that will probably change some as the material tells me what it wants to do or how it wants to look.

Here is the progress - the grinding and filing are done, the bevels set, plunges set and polished, collar and washer made.

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Can't wait to see the hamon; I've followed your posts on Don Fogg's site & I learned a thing or three to help me along w/producing a hamon. I also use copper for guards & will 'til the copper bar stock is gone. Thanks for sharing this bowie w.i.p., too! Bill
 
Thanks Bill and Franklin. Kind of you. I have been learning this stuff for about 5 years as an adult. I did stock removal stuff as a teenager for awhile. I have a long, long way to go, as anyone can see. For the past 2 years, I have focused on learning how to make and polish hamons. With and without pattern welding underneath. I just love them. I have done my best to document a lot of my learning because of all of the kind people who are willing to examine my techniques and results and give me pointers to help along the way. Glad someone else was able to learn along with me.

Hopefully, I will get the bolster and butt cap made today. The handle is curly oak with little pinholes from insect larva. The holes are black rings and actually look cool. I am going to test stain with aqua fortis. Once I get the two ends of the handle made, I can shape the wood in between. I got some advice from Karl Anderson on shaping these handles. I am excited, if it comes out it may be pretty good for me...

kc
 
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