Thread: The Butchered Blade

Ditto,, crappy time of year to be under the weather..

Originally Posted by MikeB52

Attachment 215448
I believe the metal spacer was key and both blame and thank Tom and Mike for the various mojo and ideas tossed about.
Thank Mike T for the amber, and the idea to try it in the first place.
Scales ended up 3/32" thick each and the wedge ended up as thin as I could make it without risking another crack on me, about 5/32 tapering to 3/32 on the end. I tried to put some little finger detents in this set, never seen em before so I though WTF.
Pretty happy with how this honed up as well. Only spike point WB I own.
Test shave tomorrow!

Gotta love those anvils Outback makes, solid! Just for the record, he sent me one first so that means I'm special! Lol

Mike you did it! Never doubted you, this helps me because now I know it can be done, I just needed to see some crucial steps that i missed. Perfect combo with that horn.
I'll bet there was a cathartic point when you finally were finished tapping and said "it's done, that will do, thank heaven's!"
I've seen pivot point finger indentations on top or bottom, not sure but I don't think I've seen them on both!
Good show lad! Top shelf!

It was like taking the cheese out of a loaded mouse trap Mike.
I was tapping with extreme caution to never miss the pin. I figure off hit once and the amber was toast regardless of spacer. Also, maybe cause it's basically resin, I found by spending time relieving the center hole, and all corners, all sides, any crack would be less likely to start. The first one broke while cutting, the next while stepping up the pivot hole, so on this one I enlarged the pivot hole by hand on the spinning 1/16 bit in the drill press. I think this stuff would mill very well with a sharp carbide bit and a proper milling machine. Might try to make a new set of tang covers for a boker I have in the project box out of some.
Once done and smoothed the stuff feels pretty solid. But while working it almost feels like old fashioned sugar candy, brittle and frail.
Was a fun exercise..

Originally Posted by MikeB52

It was like taking the cheese out of a loaded mouse trap Mike.

That's the best analogy I've heard in a very long time!
LMAO

No doubt, outback Mike is a good guy & one of us. I love my anvil & i could have polished mine but I need an electric vibrating sander or whatever it is called.
Being I have been under the weather, I just researched "working with amber" on Google. Here are some good links to check out on it:

How To Work With Amber - "Cut and Polish"

How to Work with Amber

Amber

Knowledge Base :: How to Process and Polish Baltic Amber - Amber Jewelry Store | Online Gateway to Amber Necklaces, Bracelets, Prayer Beads, Baby Teething Necklaces, Penadnts, Stones with Inclusions and Earrings.

Baltic Amber – The Amber Artisans at Work

There's more but if you want to research it then do so for more understanding. These links all say some of the same things. Read 'em all though as each one might have additional information. It should be cut with a diamond saw or a jewelers saw. It is soft & a resin. The Baltic amber seems to be the best & is most pure of all amber. They all mention how it can be grabbed from your hands & slung. It is indeed a different but beautiful substance which can be used for small things but no way can scales be made from it until someone actually does it. I would like to see it after it has been worked for things like B52 is doing, making an amber wedge. Definitely different.

Beautiful job Mike, had me worried a little .
But you did it . congrats my friend.

Your hammer is like a dead blow, with the anvil..... Yes!!

Just got a block of flame box elder I'll be cutting down for scales. It's a lot more dense than I was expecting, and the color is amazing!

I would say that after working with amber, that a tang cover is doable, though perhaps with a finer quality amber than the southeast Asian amber that I sent Mike.
Baltic amber I've heard is better to work with as some of the impurities in the southeast Asian variety are not present.
All amber is similar but there are slight differences that seem make a difference in tensile strength.
I would wager that tang covers made from what I sent are near impossible... and scales made from ANY amber impossible. Unless ofcourse you can eliminate all flex.
Or the properties of amber would need to be changed.

Originally Posted by prodigy

Just got a block of flame box elder I'll be cutting down for scales. It's a lot more dense than I was expecting, and the color is amazing!

prodigy , that's some very impressive looking wood. That should make a very nice set of wood scales!!!

Originally Posted by outback

Beautiful job Mike, had me worried a little .
But you did it . congrats my friend.

Your hammer is like a dead blow, with the anvil..... Yes!!

Damn straight, solid, no bounce, precise feedback.
I love it Mike. Owe you a few coolies for that, at the least..