Apocalypse Chopper

Church & Son

Well-Known Member
I watched ” The Book of Ely”, “2012″ and “The Day after Tomorrow” and they scared the **** out of me ’cause they all could happen, ANY DAY! So a couple of weeks ago I was out at the Redbud Forge wondering around, glad the winter was over when I thought of the ” Apocalypse”. I grabbed a chunk of old bush-hog blade, lit the fire and started hammering. This is what I came up with, no planning, not really thinking that much about it, I just made the most of what I had at the time.

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This is what I ended up with that day, Socket handle so it could be used as a spear if need be, plus there is nothing to break. 17″ overall with 10″ sharpened x 2 1/4″ wide. 1/4″ thick at the spline would take some abuse if you had to beat on it. I quenched the cutting edge in salt water and drew the back and handle softer so it will bend instead of break.
To carry on with the Apocalypse theme I decided to make the sheath out of what was in my junk leather pile, a pair of yard sale ladies Justin boots.

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So here is it and it’s little buddy in their new pants.

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The handle is wrapped in hemp cord and dipped in varnish. The little buddy knife is chisel edged from a file.

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Everything except the rawhide throat, some harness stitching cord and an old roller buckle came from the boots


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A little workout in the charcoal pile. It weighs over two pounds, chops nicely and it will still work when the bullets run out. Apocalypse is looking brighter……..Randy
 
Hey Randy,
You had better not have that out in plain sight or the Easter Bunny will never stop at your place.
Nice fun little (BIG) project. Wade
 
Randy, rub a bunch of garlic on the blade and that ought to help with the vampires or werewolves. I don't think it needs anything to handle zombies. A little shark poison would be helpful for any post-apocalyptic lawyers. If you give part of it a mirror finish it will also stop attacking blondes. They will just stand and stare at the shiny spot.
 
When I first started knife making I saw neo tribal work and I just did not understand it - at all. Tai Goo is such a compelling personality in that area that I paid it more attention to it and gained appreciation for this kind of work that is so easy to dismiss. Randy, you have a really nice piece there. I hated to see the boots cut up but the sheath turned out as good as the chopper...better even. Nice work all the way. I think we are going to have to open a neo tribal forum here...
 
You had better not have that out in plain sight or the Easter Bunny will never stop at your place.

Wade, I'm saving a spot between the 'taters and brown gravy

A little shark poison would be helpful for any post-apocalyptic lawyers

Danny, the M-4 is for the blood-suckers, better range, don't want to get any on ya.

I think we are going to have to open a neo tribal forum here...

Thanks Tracy, means a lot coming from you. This place is already going to get my renewal bucks instead of another but that would solidify the deal.
Neo tribal is a way of life.
"Neotribalism or modern tribalism is the ideology that human beings have evolved to live in tribal society, as opposed to mass society, and thus will naturally form social networks constituting new "tribes." Buy American, boys and girls, the Tribe you save may be your own.
Bartering, community farms and re-using what is readily available is in our past and may be a large part of our future . Just imagine the chaos the day the computer doesn't connect to the internet. Scary.


Thanks Gents, my lovely bride is painting a sign for the bottom of our drive that says " Trespassers will be Composted" (she is an avid gardener). We are getting ready for two years of election visitors.

Be well......Randy
 
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I got an e-mail asking about the little buddy knife

It was a evolution one. I was thinking of adding a firesteel on a thong and I kept reaching for my pocket Kiridashi to make cuts on the leather so I stuck the firesteel in the vice and filed a chisel grind on it. Sort of a mini Ulu. Tough filing considering it was already hardened. Now you can start a fire, have a small slicer and sharpen the large chopper with the file edge.
Firesteel on top
Little buddy in center
Pocket Kiridashi on bottom

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and one in hand

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Nothing high-tech, just a little heatin' and beatin' ......Randy
 
I really like em'. Thanks for putting these up here. I kinda followed Boss' views, when I first saw some of the tribalism pieces, I thought it was just crude and didn't get it. But the more I've looked at different pieces and tried making some of my own knives (nothing tribal yet) the more of an appreciation I've gained. Now I find myself really liking the tribal style. Thanks again.
 
Great lookin stuff! I am just starting to appreciate the neotribal and this is certainly helping me see its place! I really like the small ones...
 
Thanks Gents, my lovely bride is painting a sign for the bottom of our drive that says " Trespassers will be Composted" (she is an avid gardener).

Mind if I steal that idea and make a similar sign for my place? That's hilarious :D

Very cool knives and a great new sub-forum. I'm a stock-removal guy and I use mostly high-alloy steels but I also enjoy the neo-tribal approach. There's more than one way to skin a cat, that's for sure!
 
Thanks for all the kind words and James sure, she is putting that sign beside the current one that reads" If you were invited, then Welcome, If not--BACK OUT"
 
Randy that is some fine work. I liked your style ever since you first started posting.
 
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Thanks for all the kind words Gents, this one was a lot of fun and left today heading for it's new home. The owner is a big time outdoorsman so I think it will be well used.......Randy
 
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