How original. Another knife post :)

Heres a few shots of a knife i started to work with. I dont honestly have no idea, what kind of it will be when ready, but im sure it will be bigger one. Ive been playing with images of blade sports knives, tracker / wsk knives, cleavers etc, but we´ll see how it will it end up, or will it at all :).

It started its life as a SKF ball bearing race, about 10 centimeters diameter, 35 mm wide and 10mm thick. I red heated in two times, before i could cut an opening to it with angle grinder.


I didnt remember to take pictures of the progress as i was having a hard time, beating that race, on the horn of anvil, to open the gap in race till i could straighten it all the way, on the anvils straight surface, to form about 30 cm long, 35mm wide and 10mm thick blank. And i tell you that  getting that blank to 5mm thick, took some time as well , this material aint as soft as spring steel you know.

But, after 2 hours or so its looking like this without any material taken away with any grinder & cutter. I try to form the shape now, as much as i can , with forging only, before the actual finishings. The handle will hae more contoured shape, and the blade shape.... i dont know at all,as i said :).  As i own a T.O.P.S Tracker, i do have my opinion about it and i´d like o design that a bit further, maybe, from this piece of steel. But i also like all sort´s os seax knives, hukari´s, etc. Plus, i do love the oearlier style of R. Marchand, and also, many works of Tai Goo, so i am bit lost, you know....

While the big blank was heating i made a quick knife blade from an old Opel coilspring. Its not ready, sharpened etc in the pic, but you´ll see that its bit like some old scout knives that were common here once. It has a diamond / coffin cross cut shape, and a 12 cm blade, that starts from 20 mm and in its widest point before the tip its 23 mm. Thickest part, is about 5mm under the spine, and its 5mm. The spine itself is 3mm.
I think this will have a brass bolster and a leather stack handle, just as the scout knives have.

At home, i had nothing to do so i started to build handles to my laminated big blade that Kotavuopio did to me. It was supposed to be  pretty muhs like leuku with just a full tang but i went and made the handle a bit different after all.

                                           Lots of fitting, trying, removing for grinding, and then again, screwing the handle slabs on again....repeat several times.

In this pic youll see the tubing that i used as a rivet, acting also as a possible hafting point and a lanyard hole, which i see as a good aid especially on harder chopping. Theres also those holes in handle, drilled to lighten the total weight of knife a bit, and more than that, to make the blade better fro chopping-like tasks. I usually like all my knives to be front weighted than balanced equally.

I don thave any special tools nor equipment at home, not to mention a real working table, so i messed up my own mancave room with oak dust, epoxy, leather etc, but i got the handles done.

Then i sanded the handles a bit. Not too much, this is a working tool, not a showcase item by any means. Then a mixture og gunstock oil and red dye, let it settle a while after good scrubbing in of the oil, followed by hard woolsock "polishing". And were good to go, just after i get  a shetah done.