Been playing with a couple of swords lately and the one I recently finished was for a friend who has the LGS and is retiring soon (or sometime ) and wanted that to hang on his wall after he had seen another I had built for an Alaskan hunter. The other one is a European style Hunting sword that I wanted to try my hand at so it will be for me so today I started on the shell guard. I had made a card pattern that was close to what I wanted so drew it on to the 1/8 sheet I will use for the finished guard.


Cut it out and cleaned up the edges.



I needed some of the finished shape to be able to file in the lines for the shell so fired up the forge and with a ball peem hammer in the vise to give me something round to shape it over, got a preliminary shape to file in the lines.



Marked in with tri file and finished with small round file. Was not after perfect lines as a more organic look was my intention and then with a small ball peen dimpled all that will be on the outside of the guard, bar the shell itself. reasonably pleased with the[rogress to date. Of course the shell will be bent fuurther after other shaping is done and I want to add another piece to the top of the guard but that will be for another day.

An AH (Africa Hunting) EDC with curve backed buffalo horn bolster, camel bone scales over black G10 liner with stainless pin and lanyard tube with white bead on black lanyard, all on 1084 blade with the forum logo etched and in closed top sheath with edge stamping and the custome initials. It will go with US based hunters to be gifted to the professional hunter after the safari.

Rather pleased with todays progress having the Hunting Sword done and ready to start on the scabbard. Lots of new things for me on this one so there is improvments to be made but for this one that will stay with me it is not a bad starting point.
Weight is 1lb9oz with balance point 3 1/2 in ahead of the handle so nice blade weight for those slashing cuts but nimble enough for getting in to finish off that arrow wounded stag.

Very cool!

Early in Jan I was asked if I had thought of a camp hatchet and as it happened I had done one about 35-40 years ago but I made it from and old saw blade and consequently it only weighed 10 oz but the design worked nicely for light kindling etc so I used that for the pattern of the one to be part of a camp set and making it from 5.3mm 1075 steel it weighs in at 1lb 3oz with the balance point at the 3rd hole from the acacia handle with a thickened pole of about 9/16 for tent pegging etc then mated it with the Byrd camp knife with its 7 inch x1/8 1075 blade and the field boning knife with a 4 3/4 inch 1075 blade and all being stone washed .
I can now present the Charles Byrd camp set.

Another of the Tahr Hunters ready to go with the scalloped OD canvas micarta over blaze liners on the 1095 blade with spine jimping in the plain closed top sheath having an attached honing steel.

Von Gruff,

Really like that small knife with the buffalo bolsters and camelbone handle. Looks a lot like a short version of the Lion Knife you made for me last year. I'd planned to take that one to Africa, but concerned about the Dutch. Your smaller version looks perfect. What would it cost, just so, but without the logo on the blade or the initials on the sheath and a leather lanyard, rather than the black synthetic lanyard? Also, I know you are quick but I'm leaving mid-July. Look forward to hearing from you.

And, I need some kitchen knives, but that's back burner.

PH's generally want cash as a tip, but knives and guncases are the two things requested.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Von Gruff,

Really like that small knife with the buffalo bolsters and camelbone handle. Looks a lot like a short version of the Lion Knife you made for me last year. I'd planned to take that one to Africa, but concerned about the Dutch. Your smaller version looks perfect. What would it cost, just so, but without the logo on the blade or the initials on the sheath and a leather lanyard, rather than the black synthetic lanyard? Also, I know you are quick but I'm leaving mid-July. Look forward to hearing from you.

And, I need some kitchen knives, but that's back burner.

PM incoming David.

My wife's kitchen knives are a disgrace. Talk about dull and they're not worth resharpening for the most part. I'll talk to you about that when I get back from Tanzania.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
My wife's kitchen knives are a disgrace. Talk about dull and they're not worth resharpening for the most part. I'll talk to you about that when I get back from Tanzania.

Look forward to that. Will be in touch before you go.

Away on todays international courier. Chamois Hunters with spalted Karelian Birch handles in the closed top sheath with attached honing steels.

Beautiful knives! Great work!

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Beautiful knives! Great work!

Thank you. I just had another 4 of these blocks of spalted Karelian Birch arrive from Lithuania yesterday.

This one will be away to Montana next week after the easter postal break.
Bushcraft Hunter with Arizona Desert Ironwood with the A H logo in initaled sheath with attached honing steel.

A Thumbrest Skiner away to Montana with spalted Karelian Birch over stainless bolsters with G10 and stainless spacers in a closed top sheath with attached honing steel.

Another of the hatchets, stone washed 5.3mm 1075 and with buffalo horn handle and thickened pomel for tent pegging ready to head away to Washington State.

An Ah EDC and a Hunbter skinner ready to go.
The 1084 HC AH EDC has camel bone over black G10 liners, curve back buffalo horn bolster with simple leather loop lanyard in the closed to sheath.
The 1084 HC Hunter skinner has the curve back buffalo horn bolster with NZ Rimu handle in the initialled left hand sheath.

I hope that camel bone knife is mine. I love it!

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
I hope that camel bone knife is mine. I love it!

Yes it is

I have been working on a batch of tribute knives the last couple of weeks and they are away being engraved and should be back in two weeks. In the meantime Since then I finished this 6 inch K tip general purpose kitchen knife in NitroV with "spilled milk" acrylic scales.

This Safari knife has CB Buffalo horn bolster and camel bone with black G10 liners on the 1095 blade in closed top sheath having the A H logo and edge stamping with attached honing steel

This lot has been a joy and a drama to do. 10 Chamois Hunter tribute knives with some beautiful Tasmainian Blackwood handles over curve backed buffalo horn bolsters on the 1084 blades in edge stamped and initialed sheaths. I had originally had the blades laser engraved, with the forum logo on one side and names on the other but they made such a mess or the job with no two logo's in the same location and names running off the spine of the knife so it was near two days to hand sand the blades again to clean them up back to the 1000 grt finish. It is way more difficult to do this when the handles are on than with bare blades but I made a leather protected holder to hold the handles that is wedge tightened and it works well but was a real dissapointment to have to do so. Phillipa from McLeay Jewellers & Engravers in Invercargill did a stunning job of traditional engraving to get them all done for me. I wont show the other side as the names are on there are private to the persons concerned. Hard to show all the logo's at the one time as the light and camera angle changes the sharpness but in person it is clear, crisp and really exacting in execution.

This 951 Belt knife is a new design prompted by a customer who had used a similar but much smaller knife and asked for this scaled up version with heavy thumb jimping for general use (skinning etc) and lighter forefinger jimping for when it is being used as a capping knife. The orange liners under the scalloped OD canvas micarta add a splash of colour to this otherwise very utilitarian knife and the 15* down horrozontal closed top sheath to keep it handy but out of the way.

A Chamois knife with these pretty spalted Karelian Birch scales on the 1084 blade is away to a lady hunter in Texas.

Von Gruff,

My knife arrived yesterday and the pictures don't do it justice. Couldn't be happier. Fit and finish is perfect and it shaves the whole length of the blade. Thanks again for another wonderful knife.

quote:

Originally posted by lavaca:
Von Gruff,

My knife arrived yesterday and the pictures don't do it justice. Couldn't be happier. Fit and finish is perfect and it shaves the whole length of the blade. Thanks again for another wonderful knife.

Appreciate the kind words. Thank you.

This Hunter Skinner with Wild Olivewood handle over Gabon Ebony curve back bolster in plain closed top sheath is away on the morning courier.

An AH EDC with Tasmainian Blackwood and dark chocolate lanyard in a horrozontal Sheath.

#'s 960 and 961 ready to go
A Chamois Hunter with brass bolster, an orange spacer and oak scales and a Tahr Hunter with scalloped OD canvas micarta over orange liners in a closed top sheath

A new pattern for me was this Loveless style from 5mm O1 steel, 416 stainless bolster, stainless corby bolts for the buffalo horn handle on the 4 1/2 in blade and weighs in at a hefty 11 oz. The honing steel is handled with a piece of sable horn.

Three away as prizes for the Gorge Road County Club Small Three Hunt competition.
#1 is a Light Hunter with Camel Bone and G 10 liners over curve back buffalo horn bolsters.
#2 is a 4X4 Hunter with dark walnut over curve back buffalo horn bolsters
and #3 is an AH EDC with Mexican Sandlewood handles.

A bearded chef in NitroV stainless with spilled milk acrylic.
Pocket ranger with cross grained Karelian Birch crotch over curve back buffalo horn on the fireball stainless damascus blade
Resin ivory on the ladder pattern stainless damascus K-tip paring knife.
Ladies Boot knife with G10 ring pull and handle scales on the stone washed 1095 double edged blade in kydex boot sheath and with a leather leg sheath.

Three of the 951 Belt knives with thumb and finger jimping on the 1095 blade having scalloped OD canvas micarta handle scales over orange G20 liners and a Heavy Hunter with chocolate dyed Karelian Birch Burl over Brass bolsters on the farriers rasp blade.

A 7 inch Euro chef in cryo quenched Nitro V stainless with customer supplied macrocarpa from their farm.
And a Chamois knife with brass bolster, brass and black G 10 spacers and Lacewood burl scales in the edge stamped sheath.

A pig sticker with Koa on the stonewashed 1075 blade and a 5 1/2 inch chef with black paper micarta on the cryo quenched NitroV SS blade.

A heavy chopper from 1/4 inch 1084 carbon steel with Birdseye Koa handle . Light hamon to the blade with the chopper being 15 inches overall and 21 ounces that makes it a handfull

Nice!

This mix of 2 meat and 3 kitchen knives all in cryo quenched NitroV stainless with resin ivory handles show the 10 inch cimiter, 7 1/2 inch Byrd camp knife, Bearded chef, 6 inch K-tip general use and the little 4 inch euro paring knife are all away to Florida today.