Buggy Fighter

Raymond Richard

Raymond Richard

Joined
Jun 17, 2001
Messages
5,705
Here's one I'm just about finished with. I just got it epoxied and put another coat of Watco on it so it should be finished in a few hours. The reason for the name is the blade and fittings where once part of a buggy. The blade is from a buggy leaf spring and the fittings were once a iron buggy wheel. Haven't done may trailing points the last few years but sure enjoyed making this one. I've been forging in the false edges on a lot of my knives the last few months. Only problem I am having is when I go to grind them I usually lose them but not this time. The blade is 7 1/4", overall its 13". I used curly maple for the handle.

IMG_0499.JPG
 
That is a sweet buggy blade. I 've been wondering how you get the nice taper and curve to your blades. Is it by preform or something else? I think your work is first rate. I've been making for a while but just began forging this spring.
 
james7729 said:
That is a sweet buggy blade. I 've been wondering how you get the nice taper and curve to your blades. Is it by preform or something else? I think your work is first rate. I've been making for a while but just began forging this spring.
Click to expand...


James, No preform with this one. It was forged from about a 5" piece of leaf spring, rust and all. The buggy springs are not quite 1 1/2" wide and a fuzz under 1/4" thick. Learning how to hand forge is a great adventure.
 
Very nice!

A small question Ray, with those mild steel fittings of yours, don't you get rust on them. Or do you have a special treatment to prevent that?

Thanks.

Pad
 
Padrig said:
Very nice!

A small question Ray, with those mild steel fittings of yours, don't you get rust on them. Or do you have a special treatment to prevent that?

Thanks.

Pad
Click to expand...

Lately I've been heat coloring the fitting and they won't rust as much as the fittings I use to etch. When I oil the handle I'll let the oil gone onto the fittings and it seals them up real nice. Rust on my knives just adds to the flavor. :D

Here's a couple pictures of it finished. I'll polish up the handle once the sealer has cured.

IMG_0500.JPG


IMG_0501.JPG
 
Last edited:
Hi Ray. Beautiful work as usual. I found an axle from a cart or wagon or something on my property (1830"s farm house). It looks like one that you posted a while ago, but I can't remember weather you were using it for blade or fittings. I've been wanting to try your style for some time and that seemed the ideal piece. It's about 5 feet long with a square cross section and the ends curving up and outward and being round in cross section. Any thoughts?
Ed
 
happycat said:
Hi Ray. Beautiful work as usual. I found an axle from a cart or wagon or something on my property (1830"s farm house). It looks like one that you posted a while ago, but I can't remember weather you were using it for blade or fittings. I've been wanting to try your style for some time and that seemed the ideal piece. It's about 5 feet long with a square cross section and the ends curving up and outward and being round in cross section. Any thoughts?
Ed
Click to expand...

Ed, I'm sure it would work for fittings but the carbon content is real low. I have made a couple axes out of the axle. I was able to get a little hardness using water for a quench but super quench would probably work better. Here's the last ax I made out of the axle.

IMG_0403.JPG
 
Thanks Ray. I guess I'll stick with 1084 or 5160 and just use some anchor chain for the fittings.
Ed
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top