Copper River

[Jesse Latham]

This one stretched my boundaries a little. 8.5" edge, 14" OA, 5/16" spine with a hammer texture guard and a K&G stabilized brown dyed curly maple handle.

 

[Sean Yaw]

Wow! That looks amazing!

 

[M.McAlevy]

very nice

 

[Tom Lewis]

Beautiful work.

 

[Horsewright]

Wow! Wow!

 

[Jesse Latham]

Wow! Wow!

Thanks Dave!

 

[Jesse Latham]

Beautiful work

Thanks Tom

 

[Jesse Latham]

Thanks Matt

very nice

 

[Michael Black]

That is jaw dropping! I'm a huge fan of the steel pattern.

That must have been tricky finishing the guard like that. I do a lot of hammered finish copper bolsters on my chef knives, and they always warp in the process and I have the grind the back side flat when I'm done. Did you run into anything like that when you made this guard? And if so, how did you get a nice clean fit-up against the wood?

 

[Jesse Latham]

That is jaw dropping! I'm a huge fan of the steel pattern.

Thanks Michael

That must have been tricky finishing the guard like that. I do a lot of hammered finish copper bolsters on my chef knives, and they always warp in the process and I have the grind the back side flat when I'm done. Did you run into anything like that when you made this guard? And if so, how did you get a nice clean fit-up against the wood?

No warpage. The guard started as a .250 bus bar. After flattening on the platen, making the depressions top and bottom I just spent a lot of time with a 2oz ball peen. I made the fit to the wood before texturing and only lightly peened under the edge of the handle.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Really nice, Jesse.

Tips on peening copper for those who want to try it:
Anneal the metal often. Heat to dull red and quench in water. This softens copper.
polish the ball of the hammer very bright. It will leave better looking and smoother divots.
Make several diameters of peens. Mine range from 1/2" round to a conical point with a 3mm rounded tip.
Don't do all of one area. work around the entire surface and fill in between the divots as you pass over that area again and again. This prevents warping a lot and gives a much more uniform pattern.
Soaking in Livers of Sulphur after the fitting is done can darken it to look like an ancient Japanese fitting.

 

[Jesse Latham]

Thanks Stacy! I coated the blade and guard with satin clear gunkote. Hoping to keep the copper color steady.

 

[Michael Black]

Really nice, Jesse.

Tips on peening copper for those who want to try it:
Anneal the metal often. Heat to dull red and quench in water. This softens copper.
polish the ball of the hammer very bright. It will leave better looking and smoother divots.
Make several diameters of peens. Mine range from 1/2" round to a conical point with a 3mm rounded tip.
Don't do all of one area. work around the entire surface and fill in between the divots as you pass over that area again and again. This prevents warping a lot and gives a much more uniform pattern.
Soaking in Livers of Sulphur after the fitting is done can darken it to look like an ancient Japanese fitting.

Ooh, thanks for the tips Stacy! I'll have to try those. I've tried the liver of sulphur before and it works well.