Thread: What are you working on?

I finally got the stiches out yesterday so I can finally start working again. I ended up going to the hospital, and they decided due to the location a couple stiches were in order. So I have my hand back at 100%. First thing I did was shave of course. And man what a shave after about a weeks growth. Then put a bunch of stuff in a milk crate to carry out to my shop. My shop is like 100ft from my house.

First was the 24mm SHD knot I had left over that was too small for the handle I got from CRD. I ended up getting a really nice handle made up from Scott again, to kind of match my abalone satin edge. And I'm really happy with how it turned out. lol Punny. So that's all set and ready to go.


Then I got to work on the scales for the SatinWedge, and roughed out the general shape with the belt sander. From here on out it will be hand sanding, way to easy to miss the mark (for me) with the belt sander. But I got the overall outline done, and the over all radius more or less done. Some fine tuning is most definitely in order. I have a dinner date tonight, but maybe later tonight I'll get to the finish sanding. P.S. I was having some real issues with the aperture on my phone camera with all the reflection, so some of the pictures are super blown out, but you get the gist. lol

Nice Laramie. How did you attach the bolster or is it just sitting on top still.

It should look quite spectacular when it’s done. The progress is great. Those jobs of fitting scales into boosters can be quite tedious. There used to be two members here who had done quite a number of sets. 10pups and chevhead I believe we’re the members. Both of them also did quite nice jobs of rescaling old ducks with bolsters.

Not glued yet but it will be a ca glue up. Adding enough layers to sort of encase the bolster. The end result should make it look like its part of the scales after sanding and polishing.
-Laramie-

That's excellent work Laramie. I enjoy seeing your in-process pics.

2 8/8 razors, 1 9/8.
The bottom ones are wootz, the top one is 4x4 40 or so layers twisted basket weave.



And because my daughter spurred me on, a pointy stick aka sabre. It's a prototype in progress without a real plan. It's just to get a feel for the dimensions and how things expand during beveling. I do have a vague plan in my head for matching wootz short swords with walrus ivory handles and I figure that before I commit to any particular design I want to get a feel for the dimensions using carbon steel.
When it's done, we'll find out it it will keal
End to end in this picture is about 2 feet.

Originally Posted by Bruno

And because my daughter spurred me on, a pointy stick aka sabre.

Looks like a rapier to me. Nice work. I'm dying to see how that turns out.

This is before beveling. The cross section is still rectangular.
In sword making, you generally make a straight blank first with the correct width and taper. Depending on what you are making, you curve it inwards first, and then you start hammering in the bevels to give it the correct cross section, which will make it arch. Based on how much curve you start with and how much you bevel, you get a final curvature.

I could make this a rapier if I made it more narrow and then beveled it on both sides equally so that it remains straight.

Interestingly Al Pendray who reverse engineered wootz steel lived about 20 minutes from me. I never met him (as far as I know) but I know people who knew him. He was a real old time southern craftsman and very down to earth guy who mainly worked as a ferrier. Ocala, which is right next door to Williston where he had his home and blacksmith shop is huge horse country. It is where thoroughbreds winter, sire and often go to pasture.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Interestingly Al Pendray who reverse engineered wootz steel lived about 20 minutes from me. I never met him (as far as I know) but I know people who knew him. He was a real old time southern craftsman and very down to earth guy who mainly worked as a ferrier. Ocala, which is right next door to Williston where he had his home and blacksmith shop is huge horse country. It is where thoroughbreds winter, sire and often go to pasture.

There are a few documentary videos about him on YouTube. He was a home-grown and self-educated metallurgist and developed his own very scientific approach to recreating wootz.
https://youtu.be/RDyU-15fzog