Custom machete with wooden scabbard

Storm Crow

Storm Crow

Joined
Apr 12, 2006
Messages
2,506
I haven't posted any new work for a while. Been busy during that time, though. Some of what I've been working on will be posted later.

This short custom machete is ready to ship to its owner now. It has a 13.5" blade forged from leaf spring and was hardened multiple times in veggie oil prior to multiple tempering cycles. It has an integral socket handle wrapped in hemp cord, with a cotton cord double Turk's head knot at the front, all sealed with amber shellac.

Here it is prior to heat treamtnet:

bushsword018.jpg


It ended up with a bit more recurve.

I tested it out on some dead hackberry, which is never easy to cut, prior to sharpening. Here's the video of that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lxq1q5LfSnE

Then I built a scabbard for it out of padouk wood. The scabbard is ambidextrous and has multiple holes for a variety of carrying and accessory mounting options. The overall package is light, and the blade is very lively in the hand, although as you can see it will easily tackle big chores.

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And now that it's actually sharp, let's see what it will do:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbspYMfGQCY&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
 
nice socket, very clean work there and I can tell by your video how well she works. Nice job!
 
I like it. Where do I learn how to make the Turks Head knot you did on your handle. I've been trying to find something on wrapping handles. I like the blade shape compared to a regular machete blade .
 
Too late, Michael. It's already on its way to Idaho. :)

I wish the photos could convey how it feels in the hand. I had a couple of guys who hadn't used a big blade much whack around on a pecan log with it at my shop. You should have seen the irrepressible grins on their faces. :D
 
Richard, take the blade of your choice, go find a whippy branch, and cut it with the hand of your choice. Film it. Go faster than me. Post it on Youtube. :D

"I do not chop with my arm. He who chops with his arm has forgotten the face of his father. I chop with my mind." ;)
 
Nice!

I wish I had a local forge to go learn at. It sure would open up possibilities beyond stock removal with files!
 
Bigfattyt - I didn't have a local forge to learn from. I had the Interwebz and books. Back in my day :D we didn't even have Youtube videos. Sure, it'd go faster if you had a good teacher standing at your elbow, but there is more information easily available on how to blacksmith than at any time before in history. Put together a forge and get to it!

Here's what Tim Lively was using to make knives before he retired:

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I'm curious about the forge, is the fire built in the cavity above the line of holes?
As you can tell it is a very new thing for me, so I am trying to learn how things are done.
 
Yep. Personally, I use a gas forge I made using a Larry Zoeller burner kit. If you're just starting out and are looking at forging as the way to go, Tim Lively's "Knifemaking Unplugged" video is one that I recommend to my students. Lots of good data and good inspiration. Heck, if you've been forging a while the video is still inspirational!
 
That is AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
I'd rather ya all come down here for your chopping demonstrations.... I have LOTS of whippy branches for ya to practice on :) Stormy, all them bigguns you been makin lately, and not a bit of my brush cleared... tsk tsk
 
That's really cool! It actually reminds me a lot of traditional Northern Filipino blades (the socket handle, wrap and scabbard). The Ifugao tribe make similar blades, albeit with open scabbards. This prevents corrosion (they use spring steel too) and also allows the blades' owners to show their bolos off.

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Phoenix1967 - Oh just you wait. I got more big blades that'll be done before the end of June! Side's which got lots of brush down here needing chopped. :)

Jayinhk - That's where the initial inspiration for my socket handled knives came from, the Filipino knives, by way of Tai Goo's awesome creations. Since then, I've found it a multi-cultural thing, with socket handles from the Philippines, Formosa, Japan, Thailand, and even Oaxaca, Mexico. The hikot (open scabbard) is also multi-cultural, though not as widespread as the socket handles.
 
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