COTS Project Thread

Square_peg said:
Perfect heat treats are an art that only the best blacksmiths and bladesmiths ever master.

But 'good enough' heat treating can be done by almost anyone. Read Weygers 'The Complete Modern Blacksmith'. Print out a temper color chart. And keep a sharp file around for testing.
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I'll be placing my order. Do you think that most vehicle leaf springs would make a good blade? Because it is looking like these blanks are not going to be available anymore.
 
Old leaf springs were mostly 5160, the same steel that Council uses for their Velvi-cut line of axes. New leaf springs are typically one of several alloys with similar properties to 5160.

There are general rules for heat treating and testing high carbon steels. These are outlined in that book. With a little experimenting you will quickly have success with most common steels.
 
Square_peg said:
Old leaf springs were mostly 5160, the same steel that Council uses for their Velvi-cut line of axes. New leaf springs are typically one of several alloys with similar properties to 5160.

There are general rules for heat treating and testing high carbon steels. These are outlined in that book. With a little experimenting you will quickly have success with most common steels.
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I'm all over that, thank you square_peg. I think I can probably score some leaf springs and I suppose coil springs are something similar if not the same.



Sheaths made for my machetes. Sort of the hold up for me in making sheaths has been how to attach them to myself. I decided the simplest solution was probably the best, and with all the holes I should be able to change it easily if I need to. The sling was something I had already made. I think I should be able to put a smaller knife on board and/or some sort of small pouch for carrying a few extra items. Still need to sort that out. I think the thing to do is take Square_peg's advice, get myself some springs and just make the smaller knife, to carry on the rough village blacksmith theme. Anyway, the e-nep sheath will get the pull-the-dot strap as well, I just don't have anymore of them in stock right now.

parang_enep_sheaths by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
 
This was sent to me to hang. I feel like it has a specific purpose but I couldn't find anything about it. The owner wanted a red handle, 19 inches, and octagonal. The eye is only 1-5/8" long and 1/2" wide with no taper at all. I sort of attempted to make the handle more loose at the top so that the wedges would do something but I don't know if it really worked. The wood is bulging out of the top and with no taper it really wants to hang tight, so I guess it'll work. At one point I had to make a special drift just to get the handle out during test fitting. I've never seen anything stick so tight. As tiny as it is, it still weighs 2-1/4lbs. It appears to be really well made. The bit is inserted and clearly visible in the polished steel.

japanese_axe2 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

japanese_axe1 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

japanese_axe3 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

japanese_axe5 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

japanese_axe7 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
 
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Square_peg said:
Old leaf springs were mostly 5160, the same steel that Council uses for their Velvi-cut line of axes. New leaf springs are typically one of several alloys with similar properties to 5160.

There are general rules for heat treating and testing high carbon steels. These are outlined in that book. With a little experimenting you will quickly have success with most common steels.
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BTW, my book came - and the explanation of the heat treating/tempering is remarkably clear and encouraging. Now to scrounge myself some springs. :)
 
Dang, that's a beautiful red axe and hang.

I was wondering what you think about a double-crossed wedge. The long wedge is pushing two narrow slats of the haft sideways -- not too tough to push the these wide, narrow parts of the haft apart.

But the short wedge has to push two much thicker haft splits apart, and it seems like that is a lot to ask of the cross wedge. Two cross wedges would seem to be more effective because each wedge will have less work to do and more wedges to do the work.

I was also wondering how you determine how short to make the cross wedge so it doesn't interfere with the long wedge.
 
Twindog said:
Dang, that's a beautiful red axe and hang.

I was wondering what you think about a double-crossed wedge. The long wedge is pushing two narrow slats of the haft sideways -- not too tough to push the these wide, narrow parts of the haft apart.

But the short wedge has to push two much thicker haft splits apart, and it seems like that is a lot to ask of the cross wedge. Two cross wedges would seem to be more effective because each wedge will have less work to do and more wedges to do the work.

I was also wondering how you determine how short to make the cross wedge so it doesn't interfere with the long wedge.
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My thinking is exactly the same. Especially for full size axes (this one is tiny), you are asking the cross wedge to move a lot of material which to me is asking for a split and I have considered using two cross wedges as you suggested. That strikes me as a good solution. Square_peg and probably others have done it though with a single cross, with good success, and with a split or two as well. For small stuff, no bid deal, and for hammers in particular, it's worth the effort in my opinion. I make the short wedge equal in width to the handle itself, no wider, this way the main wedge isn't fighting the cross wedge. As for compensating for the width of the kerf, yeah, you could, but I've never found it to be an issue. A few pages back in this thread there is more detail on the subject as well.
 
That Japanese axe is really pretty COTS! Bet the end user is happy with it.

Oh and I missed the work you did on your parang sheaths until now - working kydex is a whole 'nother skill set. They are super clean and professional looking.

Kydex isn't a traditional material but is so versatile. Did you make your own press/improvise or buy one, if you don't mind me asking?

Always like a COTS thread update! (keeps the bar high:thumbup:)
 
Thanks! I used to make my own leather things, thinking that Kydex was just too much MORE stuff to get into, and I really do like the traditional appearance of leather better than kydex, particularly where more traditional tools are concerned. BUT, leather is time consuming and expensive (and inexpensive leather is often not very good to work with) and it turns out that Kydex is just more my speed. It's practical. I just screwed a couple 12x12" pieces of plywood together - I think it was 1/2" stuff so I just wanted it to be thicker and stronger. I bought foam from the various Kydex outfits and just use pipe clamps to press it all together. No hinges, nothing fancy, just crush it all together. It's actually really easy and cheap to get into I think. Also, I've seen folks sort of hide the kydex amongst other traditional looking materials to get a more traditional look and with some creativity it works pretty well.

Another shot of the sheaths. A Kukri joined the gang recently.

big_knives_khukuri1 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
 
Check out this rare piece of history boys and girls!
truper_before by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

How about that hang? From the factory with a special offset for added difficulty during use for those outdoor types who love a good challenge.
truper_beforehang by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

And then this happened. I go out and my angle grinder has this s**t eating grin on his face and this is what is left of my beloved Truper. Here you can also see the handle I got for it. It's pretty blocky, just gotta remove the access material I guess.
truper_cutdown by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

Wildlife hatchet helping take off the extra. A saw and chisel helped a bunch before this. In no time my weekends get planned away for me, so this is all for now.
truper_handlerough by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
 
cityofthesouth said:
And then this happened. I go out and my angle grinder has this s**t eating grin on his face and this is what is left of my beloved Truper.
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This made me laugh - I had to read it twice before I understood why.

As long as elective surgery is covered in her health plan ;)

I bet this ends up looking great like most stuff you decide to work on COTS.

Always enjoy updates to this thread.
 
Thanks Agent. Just needed a change of pace from all the other stuff that's been occupying my time - not nearly enough axe related projects. :(

I think the swell is a little small, what do you think? :P Kind of cartoonishly huge but it was just a project, nothing important. This piece of wood was cracked all to hell once I got into it. I'm not sure if it shows in the pics but there is a good check right through the center of the tongue and a huge one fully across the swell. I filled them with wood glue and called it good. No going back on this deal. I have a hard time rounding off the flats. Once I do the octagonal I just like it too much, so I left it.
truper_finished1 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

truper_finished_swell by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

truper_finished_curves by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

truper_finished_wedge by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

truper_finished_fit by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

truper_finished2 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

truper_finished3 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr

For what it's worth the ole Truper sharpened up nicely and I beat on a little bit of that Oak and the edge didn't instantly roll, so I dunno, it may not be the worlds finest steel but it's serviceable for sure.
 
I scrolled down and saw those medullary rays in the 4th pic, and thought for a second you had jumped ship..:D

Nice job COTS!
 
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