Forged W2 tanto in black curly maple.

john april

john april

Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
5,191
i rarely forge, but this is this years inspiration after attending the ashokan knife seminar /hammer in. i used the opportunity to make plenty of sori and a full distal taper. 11" of W2 measured from guard to tip. just under 1/4" thick at the handle. done on a grinder up to 400 grit, then by hand up to 5000. the blade was not etched, only polished with paper and stones. the hamon shows a hint of ashi, after trying about 30 hamons over the years, this is the first time i have gotten some. that made me happy. the wood is curly or tiger striped maple with black stain. i used a tru oil finish, my first time trying it, came out really shiny. it looks like its still wet. pardon all the refections in the photos. the fittings are blonde and red streaked buffalo horn. unfortunately almost all the red disappeared when it was buffed. hard soldered copper habaki with a rainfall pattern. stainless tsuba. japanese characters = april. brass seppa. bamboo peg. retention came out very nice, feels tight but you can pop it out with your thumb. thanks for looking and have a great new year !
DSC_0403 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0427 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0430 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0203 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0169 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0167 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0171 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0065 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0215 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0177 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0222 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0055 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0175 by john april, on Flickr
DSC_0129 by john april, on Flickr
 
That really hits the spot! I can only imagine how that blade will cut with that distal taper....exceptional job all around, going to be hard to top that one buddy. ;)
 
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Great work John - someone is going to be thrilled with this piece. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Hell ya!! That looks awesome!!! The first tanto I ever made I used curly maple and dyed it black just like you. It looks so damn cool when you move it around and see the striped colors appear and disappear
 
john april said:
unfortunately almost all the red disappeared when it was buffed.
Click to expand...

John: You can preserve the red in your buffalo horn by hand sanding to 2500 grit, then Johnson's Paste wax. I also stay away from the buffer for some light woods in order to preserve the color contrast and figure.
 
thank you gentlemen ! tim it was dyed red, just on the surface. i assumed it went all the way through. i will avoid it in the future.
 
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