Scavenger Blades

Stormcrow

Well-Known Member
These are yet another, different direction from how I typically make knives; they're stock removal. :) The steel of these is plow disk from my family's farm, which works out to be approximately 1080 high carbon steel. They were cut out, the profiles cleaned up, then they were heated and flattened, I stamped my touchmark, and then they were normalized multiple times. Straightening and stamping is all the hammering they've seen. The rest is grinding.

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The steel is about 1/8" thick. I tried out a new handle wrap method with these, one I have seen several different places. There is a slab of leather on either side of the tang, extending the full length. The hole at the end of the tang also goes through the leather. Then I wrapped hemp cord on top of the leather, going 'round and 'round through the hole at the butt end before anchoring it. After tying the Turk's head knot at the front of the wrap using black cotton cord, I sealed the wrap with shellac. It ends up being a very comfortable, slightly flexible grip.

The texture on the steel is rust pitting from lying years and years in the dirt under live oak trees. I love the aesthetics of combining the works of nature harmoniously with the works of man.

The Bowie has a 6 1/2" blade with an overall length of 11 3/4". It also has the first triple strand Turk's head knot I've done in a while. The others have double strand Turk's heads.

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The hunter/EDC knives have blades 4" long with overall lenghts about 8 1/8".

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The quasi-Nessmuk has a blade 3 3/4" long and overall length of 8 1/4"

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I'll definitely be continuing this train of thought.
 
I love the reclamation factor involved in the making of these knives. Not because I'm a green freak but I think there is a certain romanticism involved, taking something that was used for years ( perhaps by grandpa) and revitalizing it. The wrapped handles compliment the rustic look of the blade. There is a certain backwoods utilitarian slant to these pieces that not only hints of a time past, but causes this observer to daydream of days gone by when these might have been state of the art. The makers mark having a certain rustic look all its own looks right at home on these blades. I would love to wrap my hand around one of these and set it to work. I am not sure what your imagination might have conjured up while developing these knives but I know what they have done for mine. I would be curious to see what type of sheath you would develope to compliment such a knife.
This is the world of knife making...for me...unlimited exploration of possibilities, bound only by imagination. Sometimes elegance and simplicity meet head on. I think you have pulled out into the passing lane and had a collision with form and function. I am merely a slow mover gawking as I drive by slowly. I am sure to tell my friends about what I saw.

Eric
 
Thanks, Eric!

You're pretty darn perceptive. :)

It occurred to me this past year that when one buys many things (in particular a custom blade, but also things like a sports car, a gun, etc.) one isn't just buying the functionality of the item, but the narrative that goes with it. There doesn't necessarily have to be a written down story to go along with it, but if you look at a blade and say, "Man, that looks like something you'd fight off mutant cockroaches with after a nuclear war!" or "Man, that looks like something I'd want by my side kicking in doors in Baghdad!" or "Man, that'd be just right for carving up a roast boar in the mead hall!", then you are buying the narrative.

I like work that has a timeless quality to it. And while it might not be the smartest decision to make to not have it be my name (I know I have read such by some pretty top men in the knife collecting community), I like the way my touchmark doesn't break up the aesthetic flow and timeless quality of my blades.

Sadly, leather working is not where my skillset lies. I won't be makng sheaths for these. Because it would swiftly cross the line from "rustic" to "patheticly crude". :lol:
 
nice looking set. always like reclaimed steel. that is how i started. leaf springs were my medium. excellent work throughout.

liontribe
 
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