hand forged knife..

[Mauser 98K]

for the bigger is better crowd... this knife was forged for a guy in Adamsville Alabama who just had to have a 10.5in knife... this dam thing took a week and a half to forge, shape, heat treat and polish..

201712

201713

[GhostHawk]

Nice pig sticker. That is a lot of polishing.

[725]

That's alota knife!

[swheeler]

That is a BIG knife, zombie chopper. :)

[D Crockett]

very nice work . I wish there was someone around here that could teach me to forge. I for one would like to see more of your work. D Crockett

[Mauser 98K]

That is a BIG knife, zombie chopper. :) lol, this is what i was thinking.. was thinking like he had been watching too much Walking Dead or something..


but yea, that was a lot of polishing..

[DerekP Houston]

lol, this is what i was thinking.. was thinking like he had been watching too much Walking Dead or something..


but yea, that was a lot of polishing..

heh my only thought was dang that's gonna take a lot of work to keep sharp...I like small blades i can tune up real quick on a stone. Nice craftsmanship on it!

[RoyEllis]

Really nice work there! I'd like to see that guy try to peel & core an apple with it lol.

[Mauser 98K]

it heat treats up to where a file will barely cut it, so it will hold a good edge.. needs a silicon carbide rock to cut the thing.. but yea, it is a lot large for my taste too.. it is what the guy wanted and he willing to pay for it so it was made..

[Hardcast416taylor]

People just couldn`t understand why a custom made `exotic` style knife could possibly take me 6 months sometimes to completely finish and make a sheath for. This was a sideline `hobby` aside from my full time other job. Nice job, just curious about what metal you used?.Robert

[Mauser 98K]

That is an old combination wrench.. But yea,when ya tell people how long it takes they look at you funny..and then they expect you to charge what China mart charges and no more than $20... "I'll give ya $20 for it". Yea, i bet you would...

[Wolfer]

Ive made a few knives. An hour ago I glued the scales on one for my nephew. Someone is always seeing one of my knives and saying they wish I would make them one. They don't understand how much work goes into making one.
If I start one on Saturday and piddle on it all week I can usually finish the scabbard the following Saturday.
If I was making them for profit I would need between 200/300 just to make wages.

[crowbuster]

NicE ! Are you an all around blacksmith or strictly a knifesmith ?

[Mauser 98K]

i do everything.. if i can make money off of it ill do it within certain limits..

[Blackwater]

Good work. I like the lines of it a lot! Thanks for sharing.

[MaryB]

Sorry but that brought this to mind!


https://youtu.be/POJtaO2xB_o

[RED333]

Masuer that is a great looking knife.
I have a few "hand made" knifes, all cost over 100 dollars, 2 way over. Wish I had time and skills to make them.

[Mauser 98K]

lol Mary...

[Artful]

Nicely Done - but for speed you need experience...and equipment


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oU5pEXya-CM

[Mauser 98K]

well that is cable.. lot different.. like using railroad spikes, you can go pretty fast. with tool steels if you try to rush it you will crack it.. plus once you get it so hot it is throwing sparks and loosing scale then your burning the metal and losing metal. you might get away with it with certain metals and mild steels but with tool steels like i said you will burn it and crack it.. and that is not true Damascus. true Damascus is drawn out and folded many times. this was originally done to iron blades to hammer out the imperfections of slag and other inclusions and to introduce a carbon element into the metal to create a type of carbon steel..

said he was taught by a guy who used to shoe horses.. contrary to popular belief a person who shoes horses is not a black smith although some made shoes on the side. the person who makes shoes for horses used to be called a Farrier.. but this would explain him not being concerned by the metal being so hot it is loosing pieces because horse shoes were of mild steel and it didn't matter..



but as for equipment. not everyone has the room or the budget to have trip hammers or power hammers. once you get to the point of using power tools it is no longer really hand forged.. ya can also tell the difference in the workmanship with a rushed knife, while it will work as a knife it is also still rough as a cob up close. ya can still see grind marks, uneven lines, and there is pitting up and down the blade and close to the handle. i wouldn't have it. if there is ripples, pitting, and grind marks then it is not finished.. like in the old blacksmith shops, if the master smith saw an apprentice leave grind marks or hammer marks in the finished product he would wrap their knuckles with a hammer handle as that would reflect badly on his shop. people would take it as a sign of shoddy craftsmanship.. id like to X-ray that knife and see how many inclusions were in it.. you will never get the best quality in 3 hours, but you can get a knife.. and i have never been a fan of the Bowie. it is not a good design. too clunky and hard to skin anything with it, it's too thick and the edge angle is too steep..

[tdoyka]

http://i.imgur.com/yUwAxDQ.jpg

i bought this from an older fella in WV, made from bundling straps.

[MaryB]

Technically it is Damascus because the wires in the cable give you the layers... but nowhere near as pretty as true Damascus blades.


well that is cable.. lot different.. like using railroad spikes, you can go pretty fast. with tool steels if you try to rush it you will crack it.. plus once you get it so hot it is throwing sparks and loosing scale then your burning the metal and losing metal. you might get away with it with certain metals and mild steels but with tool steels like i said you will burn it and crack it.. and that is not true Damascus. true Damascus is drawn out and folded many times. this was originally done to iron blades to hammer out the imperfections of slag and other inclusions and to introduce a carbon element into the metal to create a type of carbon steel..

said he was taught by a guy who used to shoe horses.. contrary to popular belief a person who shoes horses is not a black smith although some made shoes on the side. the person who makes shoes for horses used to be called a Farrier.. but this would explain him not being concerned by the metal being so hot it is loosing pieces because horse shoes were of mild steel and it didn't matter..



but as for equipment. not everyone has the room or the budget to have trip hammers or power hammers. once you get to the point of using power tools it is no longer really hand forged.. ya can also tell the difference in the workmanship with a rushed knife, while it will work as a knife it is also still rough as a cob up close. ya can still see grind marks, uneven lines, and there is pitting up and down the blade and close to the handle. i wouldn't have it. if there is ripples, pitting, and grind marks then it is not finished.. like in the old blacksmith shops, if the master smith saw an apprentice leave grind marks or hammer marks in the finished product he would wrap their knuckles with a hammer handle as that would reflect badly on his shop. people would take it as a sign of shoddy craftsmanship.. id like to X-ray that knife and see how many inclusions were in it.. you will never get the best quality in 3 hours, but you can get a knife.. and i have never been a fan of the Bowie. it is not a good design. too clunky and hard to skin anything with it, it's too thick and the edge angle is too steep..

[waksupi]

Is it crew-served?

[Moonie]

I'm working on 3 blades at the moment, 2 are 1084 and one is raindrop damascus. I'm strictly stock removal currently and haven't built my forge, I do have everything I need to build it and a small knife makers anvil. Not enough time in the week and this hobby takes quite a bit. I've made knives in the past, a couple of decades ago I made a couple, so getting back to this hobby has been fun.

[izzyjoe]

That's a nice blade, I've always been envious folks that could forge blades. I've made a couple of knives from files, and cross cut saw blades, but never put a lot effort in final finishing.

[DerekP Houston]

That's a nice blade, I've always been envious folks that could forge blades. I've made a couple of knives from files, and cross cut saw blades, but never put a lot effort in final finishing.

heh, I'm still in the 'collecting raw materials' phase. I've got a few lawn mower blades that will eventually get turned into bush knives once I have the energy and time.

[MaryB]

Wish my shoulders/wrists could handle the hammering, looks like it would be fun to try! But torn rotator cuffs(surgery twice on right, I tear it again I am out of luck) and carpal tunnel both wrists say nope

[Jim_P]

Been watching that show - Forged in Fire. Starts with 4 smiths and they give them a challenge to make a blade out of some mysterious metal to some specs. They have three to four hours (depending on the metal) to complete the blade. After that one is eliminated. The remaining three get another two hours to finish and put a handle on the blade. Some come out looking like a five hour knife, and others like they were made over a 6 month period. Incredible craftsmen and women. That round also eliminates one with some really outrageous test. Like chopping into cow shim bones or slicing into hanging meat.

The remaining two get sent home and given a week to make some historical weapon which is then brought back and tested like in wound one, only accurate to the weapons design. Winner gets $10G.

If you get it in your area, give it a watch. Bet you'll be hooked.

[Wayne Smith]

Already hooked! Been watching it for a year, and it is programed to record. I'm afraid to ask what some of those guys ask for a blade!

[Blackwater]

A "Bowie" and some "Fighters" are SUPPOSED to be big, and they aren't designed for skinning, etc. That Bowie in the OP was designed as a slashing Bowie, but they can be made for stabbing too, or .... you can just jab with the slashers if they have a good, sharp point. Makes "insertion" easier and quicker.

Bowies are good for chopping fire wood in camp, hacking big chunks of meat and bone into smaller chunks, and aren't too bad a substitute for a machete or cane knife in many situations. Like any knife, its value really lies in the steel and heat treat of the blade. The rest that makes it pretty or stylish, is just "window dressing." The heart of any knife of any type or design will always be the steel and the heat treat and drawing of the temper. And each steel has its own specific properties that make it desirable for some types of blades, and less so for others. You wouldn't use the same steel to make a sword that you would a kitchen knife or a skinner.

Big knives tend to be pretty expensive if they're made of good stuff. Good steel isn't cheap. And those "440C" blades you see advertised for $9.99? They probably haven't had ANY heat treating or tempering AT ALL! Therefore, big knives are not really common. But need one once, and have a really good one, and they'll make a real believer out of ya'! They're essentially a variation on the old Roman short sword, generally, "customized" for ol' Jim Bowie's purposes by his brother Rezin, IIRC?

If they had no purpose or desirability, folks wouldn't do a double take when ol' Dundee pulls out his big Bowie blade! It's probably one of the last types of knives one needs, but ... well, who couldn't and doesn't want one? A really GOOD one?

[Mauser 98K]

well if im gonna be chopping wood ill get my hatchet.. i was brought up where a knife is a knife and not a pry bar, not a ax or hatchet, and not a hammer..

but yea, there is no heat treating of most of the china mart stainless knives which is why they will not hold an edge worth a poop. but even though the one i got was made for a guy it is not my first choice as it is too big to be practical unless your skinning a T-Rex.. about 6 inches is my limit on a knife to where it is practical for anything other than a cleaver or something to show off to others that my knife is bigger than your knife... that is mostly what i have found it to be with big knives, it is to show off to their friends so they can say they have the bigger knife.. i personally don't like them that big, but it is what he wanted..

[tdoyka]

i was brought up where a knife is a knife and not a pry bar, not a ax or hatchet, and not a hammer..


you mean a knife is NOT a pry bar!!!??[smilie=l:

i've used a "china" knife to be a pry bar, hatchet, screwdriver......you name it, i possibly have done it.

i used to have a buck m110 folding knife that i used for deer. now i use a "custom" knife. i bought it from old timer that made knives. mine is from steel straps from bundling.
http://i.imgur.com/yUwAxDQ.jpg

he said he could make a knife from steel straps, files, chains for motorcycles, railroad spikes.....

its been 5 or 6 years, but i bet he still makes them.

mountain rifle shop
m w knives made in morgantown, wv

i have his number, just pm me and i'll give it to you.

[DerekP Houston]

Already hooked! Been watching it for a year, and it is programed to record. I'm afraid to ask what some of those guys ask for a blade!

Yep it's one of the more entertaining shows i've found in my downtime at the hotel ;). Most of discovery and history channel I like.

[Bill*B]

Nice work, Mauser 98K. Nobody who hasn't tried his hand at this appreciates the level of skill involved.

[Blackwater]

Mauser, point well taken, but the whole purpose of carrying a BIG knife is to do BIG work with it, and by chopping wood, I mean AFTER it's been felled with a saw. They can be used to get blowdown wood sized for your campfire, though, and if they're made heave enough and out of good enough steel, they'll do a very workmanlike job of it, too. And NO knife is a pry bar. Not the GOOD ones at least!!! Knife steels are hard, and thus, susceptible to break or shear off, instead of bending. Even drawing the temper won't eliminate this. It's a function of the molecular structure, as I understand it.

But the Bowie is, mainly I think, essentially a fighter with utility uses incidental to its value as a fighter. And don't discount what a big ol' Bowie CAN do! They can really surprise someone who's never used one. They'll do pretty much what a hatchet will, and if it's a really good design, do it quicker and more cleanly than most hatchets available today. It's one "cuttin' fool!"

[Geezer in NH]

Repeating firearms and silencers (when stealth needed. MG's when not) got rid of the overall need of big knives and swords. They are nostalgic but for true killing give me a Glock.

I love knives and make some but do no dwell on whether they will kill or not. I have been to scenes where a 1 1/2" blade did the dead, took the photo's and documented for the court.

Great show by they way just typical TV hype.

[Red Elk]

Very nice, but I am not sure I would want to pack that around all day.
Very pretty work.
re

[RogerDat]

Knife is a tool right? Some tools are the "right" tool for one thing and a different tool may be a better choice for a different use or job. But who doesn't appreciate a really finely made quality tool? Not going to chop kindling with a patch knife or cut patches with a Bowie but I do admire the quality and craftsmanship that can be shown in either one.

[Mauser 98K]

here ya go.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6zAdzeH4vQ

this is another one of the hand forged knives that i help make. i just got finished sharpening this one. it is sharp enough that just the weight of the blade can cut through the paper. thing is what you would call stupid sharp and if you not careful it will lay you open without you even feeling it..

this one used to be an old combination wrench that was forged out, heat treated, and polished to make one hell of a knife.. im not really sure what you would call this design but it works well and fits your hand like it should..

[Artful]

Yep looks wicked sharp and that's a nice blade shape - good work!

[MaryB]

I used to drop a ripe tomato on a blade held edge up to test sharpness of my chefs knife. They would fall in half. Same with celery.

What grit did you final sharpen with?

[Mauser 98K]

i used a ceramic rod as a final operation.. im not sure at the grits, the rock i used was an old carborundum Silicon Carbide rock. that is the only rock capable of cutting these knives. you can actually cut the natural stones.. it has a coarse side that i used to put the initial edge on the knife and then i used the fine side and then a coarse ceramic rod and then a super fine ceramic rod..

[MaryB]

Ah okay. I start with 300 grit, move to 600, then polish at 1,000 with my EdgePro sharpener. They make 2,000 grit tapes but I don't see the need to be that polished of an edge on working knives.

[snowwolfe]

Mauser,
Amazing work. Thanks for sharing.