Most of half a year's worth of forged blades

Stormcrow

Stormcrow

Well-Known Member
It's been a busy year, and difficult to keep up with everything. Here's some of what I've been building. It's all 80CrV2 steel with various cord wraps impregnated with marine epoxy and sheathed in Boltaron. I like to focus on getting geometry, balance, and ergonomics right without playing around too much with materials. :D

Apologies beforehand for the massive wall of pictures.

Mini-parang.

miniparang01 by James Helm, on Flickr

Barong.

barong01 by James Helm, on Flickr

barong02 by James Helm, on Flickr

Ko-katana.

kokatana01 by James Helm, on Flickr

kokatana03 by James Helm, on Flickr

kokatana04 by James Helm, on Flickr

Wakizashi.

waki03 by James Helm, on Flickr

waki04 by James Helm, on Flickr

Sasquatch for scale.

pose03 by James Helm, on Flickr

Carcass splitters, two big, two small.

carcasssplitter01 by James Helm, on Flickr

carcasssplitter05 by James Helm, on Flickr

carcasssplitter06 by James Helm, on Flickr

Sasquatch for scale.

carcasssplitter03 by James Helm, on Flickr

Another barong.

barong by James Helm, on Flickr

An elvish forester's blade.

forester by James Helm, on Flickr

Snake chopper.

snakechopper by James Helm, on Flickr

Orange and black bush sword and companion small recurve.

orangeset01 by James Helm, on Flickr

A tenegre bush sword.

tenegre01 by James Helm, on Flickr

tenegre02 by James Helm, on Flickr
 
A prototype for an upcoming project. Obviously not a cord-wrapped handle on this one, but TeroTuf slab handles with stainless steel flared tube rivets.

ed01 by James Helm, on Flickr

ed02 by James Helm, on Flickr

ed03 by James Helm, on Flickr

Taco Ninja for scale.

ed04 by James Helm, on Flickr

Another carcass splitter.

carcasssplitter01 by James Helm, on Flickr

A tiny tanto.

tanto01 by James Helm, on Flickr

Sasquatch for scale.

carcasssplitter04 by James Helm, on Flickr

A lamb splitter with TeroTuf scales.

lambsplitter01 by James Helm, on Flickr

lambsplitter02 by James Helm, on Flickr

lambsplitter03 by James Helm, on Flickr

Sasquatch for scale.

lambsplitter04 by James Helm, on Flickr

A small-ish camp chopper.

campchopper01 by James Helm, on Flickr

campchopper02 by James Helm, on Flickr

A small-ish ginunting.

ginunting01 by James Helm, on Flickr

ginunting02 by James Helm, on Flickr

Another small-ish camp chopper.

campchopper03 by James Helm, on Flickr

campchopper04 by James Helm, on Flickr

And finally, a decent-sized bush sword that went to a good repeat customer. I could picture Professor Smolder Bravestone picking this up in the bazaar while outfitting for an expedition in Jumanji. :mrgreen:

bushsword01 by James Helm, on Flickr

bushsword02 by James Helm, on Flickr

And now I feel tired. :D :D :D This is a good bit (not all) of half a year's forged blades (not mid-tech). And, of course, I have any number of projects currently underway.
 
I am always a fan of your work Mr. Crow, I especially like the wakizashi. Would you mind sharing your source for the nylon web strapping and buckles you use on some of your sheaths please.
 
You have a very distinctive style that's instantly recognizable. I've always liked your work. Great job on all of those!
 
James, I would love to have a fraction of your energy. While I was looking at all your inventory Swiss Army knives kept coming to mind.
 
Raymond - Oh yes, Gunnhilda. She's built from junk, she breaks down at the most inopportune moments, but she has made a lot of blades through the years. I still use her every time I forge a blade.

My cousin did most of the work to build her with my guidance on design (although he had several good innovations) since my welding skills are less than awesome.

There have been a few changes since this video was made by beardless me, but the basics are still the same.


And forging a blade with her:

 
James, You and Gunnhilda make a great team!
How long have you had Hilda? I can remember you building her, must have been at least 10 years ago or even longer, maybe even 20. I would love to have her sister.
 
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20 years ago I was a senior in high school. :D I'd guess around 2010. If I can ever scrape the cash together, I'll upgrade to some form of air hammer, but at the moment any extra cash is going into the mid-tech line.
 
Stormcrow said:
20 years ago I was a senior in high school. :D I'd guess around 2010. If I can ever scrape the cash together, I'll upgrade to some form of air hammer, but at the moment any extra cash is going into the mid-tech line.
Click to expand...
You know I keep forgetting your still a kid. :rolleyes: The control you have with Hilda is what amazes me the most and to think you created her blows me away. With all the hand forging I have done over the years has really hurt my body. Hilda will prolong your career.

Are you doing Blade West this year?
 
The baby face didn't tip you off? Was it offset by the white hairs in the beard? :D

The spare tire clutch on Gunnhilda gives good control for a mechanical hammer. And she doesn't have excessively high beats per minute, while hitting fairly hard due to the mass of the ram, so you have time to consider your actions while running her. I have been focusing on increasing my skill and control with her the same I would with a hand hammer, to get as close as I can to the shape I want with the power hammer.

I'm to the point of building sheaths for inventory for Blade Show West. It'll be my first time flying with inventory to a show. We head out ridiculously early on Thursday, so I have one more day to bring everything to fruition. I'm focusing on mid-tech inventory, but will have four forged bush sword, Lord willing.
 
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