A "naked" Tamang

A

alexs

Joined
Nov 26, 2009
Messages
516
If you ever wondered what would happen if you did away with the black forge scales... and did a mustard etch...

This is my girlfriend's bed-time defense knife and she is not happy with the change, but I think that it looks ancient and menacing, just like the little stinger it is.

Any comments? And where should I take it next? Perhaps a polish, or a real etch?

On a related note, I loved that new-style, (relatively) big and heavy Tamang from today's DotD! I hope we see more of them in the future. I was one click away from pulling the trigger on it, but maybe another time...


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I agree about the heavier/bigger Tamang. if it wasn't for the cleaver, which I don't have the money for but bought anyway... well who knows? I might have bough it to see if I like that style better. If I did I'd just sell my others and replace them with those.

That looks pretty darn good! If it were me, I may go for the polish. Have you used a buffing wheel before? Just be careful you don't turn the knife into a TAMANGATILE (he he, tamang + projectile) and I bet that wold look pretty good. This make me want to try this myself, but I'll need to find something other than mustard for the etch.

As for the way it looks now, I agree. I does have a sort of artifact-ee look that is kinda cool really. Sort of like something you might ind stuck into a tree with the wood all growing in around it or laying in the sun near an old dilapidated prairie schooner roasting in the desert sun... pile of sun bleached cow bones nearby... :)
 
alexs said:
If you ever wondered what would happen if you did away with the black forge scales... and did a mustard etch...
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I'm a novice at this. Could you go into a little more detail on what you did and how hard it would be for a novice to try.
 
Ace hardware sells sandpaper blocks, 3 in a pack with assorted grain. I started with medium grain then fine for a total of 10-20 minutes until I stopped seeing visible progress. There was pitting in the blade that only a buffing wheel can fix but I like it the way it is for now, plus, I am a only novice too.

The etch involves covering the clean blade with acid (natural or chemical) evenly and leaving it for a day. The fastest at hand would be vinegar and mustard. There was no visible hamon this time but this is my first time using this brand of mustard. It's all experimentation really so I should refer you to those who have experimented longer than I have. The links they will inevitably come up with will be plentiful.
 
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I think it looks fantastic, great job, you are giving me some serious ideas for mine.:thumbup::thumbup:
 
pugs75 said:
I think it looks fantastic, great job, you are giving me some serious ideas for mine.:thumbup::thumbup:
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Thank you, sir, and, off topic, thank you for the WW II! The blade shape is great and the fine neem wood handle is all new to me. I am guessing there was BLO or True oil at work, and the result is impressive.
 
warty said:
me too, in fact... I'm just taking a break from working on mine. :)
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Can't wait to see your final result!

I was wondering if I should remove the scales on my villager farmer's knife too (my bed-side defense), but it looks so good I am afraid to ruin it. If anyone tries that too, please keep us posted.
 
that's the exact blade profile and size i'm looking for on my tamang-straight spine, defined point, shorter blade. Nice specimen! I doubt you could make that thing ugly.
 
Glad you like it, little bit of BLO did the trick. Enjoy:D

alexs said:
Thank you, sir, and, off topic, thank you for the WW II! The blade shape is great and the fine neem wood handle is all new to me. I am guessing there was BLO or True oil at work, and the result is impressive.
Click to expand...
 
That really does look nice. If it's possible to make the Tamang look better, I think you just did it.
 
alexs said:
Can't wait to see your final result!

I was wondering if I should remove the scales on my villager farmer's knife too (my bed-side defense), but it looks so good I am afraid to ruin it. If anyone tries that too, please keep us posted.
Click to expand...

I'll post it in a different thread since I did something (old) new when I refinished the handle. I used Ddean's rouge removal technique to wash all of the goop out of the wood first... then I also did something different to finish the wood, instead of my usual BLO the Tung finish, I used Medium Danish Oil and then Minwax Finishing Wax (though only one time so far. I will be waxing t a few more times to get the luster and depth eventually). I was really surprised at how much rouge there was in the wood. If I had sanded all of that off instead, as a lot of folks do or think they are doing (I think they would be surprised at how deep it goes and how much they could wash out AFTER they sand yet), the already small Tamang handle would have been unusable for my hands. It wold have reduced the diameter way too much for my tastes. As they come from Nepal now they are a tad small but work fine for me, especially if I am wearing gloves. :)
 
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