Tomahawk, mid-tech knives, and forged oxtail chopper

Stormcrow

Stormcrow

Well-Known Member
My brother-in-law asked me to donate a couple of blades for a Ducks Unlimited auction, with the opportunity to sell blades at the event. Time was short, but this is what I put together. My wife went in my stead; I have blades to make and friends coming in from out of town. She's a good 'un. :)

The Woodsman 'hawk and one of the Benghazi Warfighters were the auction items, with the other Benghazi Warfighter and two Little Roks for sale.



The 'hawk is 1/4" 4140 steel, the knives are 3/16" 80CrV2, and they all have back TeroTuf handle slabs and a black oxide finish.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also sent along a forged 5160 oxtail camp chopper with a 12" blade and a hybrid handle wrap. It has a foundation of neoprene along the tang (something new for me, instead of the leather I have been using), with an underlay of hemp, an overlay of stripped paracord, and a three-strand Turk's head knot of intact paracord, all impregnated with West System marine epoxy.





Back to work. :D
 
Awesome James! :)

I'm experimenting with natural cork under the wrappings, to help dampen shock. It also makes a nice foundation for the wrapping.
 
Nice work James! I really like those smaller fixed blades but that Ox tail with the resin cord wrap is one of my favorites from you. I'm a sucker for the big blades.
 
Thanks, guys!

Tai - Cork sounds like a really good idea. I'm curious to see what you come up with. What do you use to shape the cork?

J. Rosa - I prefer making big blades too. :)
 
I epoxy the scales on first, then use rasps and sandpaper. It's fairly easy to abrade. The wrappings tend not to slip on it, which is another plus. I'm sealing a camper now and will try to post pix on another thread soon. It's a nice way to give a wrapped skeleton a little more body.
 
Last edited:
The customer who bought the oxtail chopper sent me this feedback and gave me permission to re-post it. I love getting to see my blades put to work. :)

"Eight foot Christmas tree.



You probably recognize this.



After a short time.



All ready to go.



My wife reminded me that our city would dispose of the whole tree for free. What fun would that be. Maybe I shouldn't have eaten that big turkey, cheese, avocado, bell pepper, and tomato sandwich first.

Too much fun. This blade really bites when I pay attention enough to chop with the sweet spot. Tried a couple of different techniques.... one with big, deep, hard biting chops, and one with more, but lighter, faster, shallow, chipping type cuts. Both were fun. The first made faster inroads, and mixed my sandwich up. The second was easier and not as tiring.

Have a great beginning to the new year."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top