Fresh blades from rusty files

[Astrodada]

errr....sorry....but what's a hoof ?

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Hooves are what many quadripedal mammals have at the end of their foot like this.

They're comprised of protein like your toenails, only on a much larger and thicker scale. Here's a pic of a goat's foot that's much in need of a hoof trimming.

You just trim 'em down, square 'em off, and clean 'em up, like HD was mentioning.

Sarge

 

[hollowdweller]

Good find Sarge!

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Good find Sarge!

The youngsters back in my old squadron taught me the mysteries of how to Google.

Sarge

 

[LongRifle]

Cool pieces Sarge .

I have one suggestion though, try using oil for a quench medium. You've really got your mojo working if you're successfully quenching in water, especially if you're consistently successful. I've had marginal experiences, to say the least . Vegetable oil works very well, doesn't flash or smell, and is easy to remove. Just take that suggestion with a grain of salt, but if you have problems down the road the oil will be an easy solution to cracked blades .

Take a look here, you might get a kick out of it at least .

Matt

 

[cavetech]

Awful nice work, Sarge. You have a real talent for knife making and leather work.

 

[cavetech]

Thanks everybody, I'm always glad that y'all like the results of my idle foolishness.

Andy, that sheath for the "longwalk" knife is a piece of work. It's got a fully welted seam ( a beeyatch to sew with my homemade awl and saddler's needles) and the back piece of leather is folded over to form the belt loop. It's stout, but flat, and rides high and snug on the belt, so if my T-shirt is untucked, you'd never know I had it on me. I copied the design from an original I got to examine up at the Texas Ranger Museum in Waco. The decoration on it is the result of me getting into a friend of mine's leather tooling stamps. I figured if the knife was based on a Spanish piece, the sheath ought to have a bit of a Spanish flavor to it.

Sarge

Hi Sarge:

May I ask about that nice sheath? I am still learning to master my basket weave stamp. Did you use small individual stamps to make that nice pattern, or did you use a few larger ones? I'm trying to ask if you "constructed" each pattern from seperate tools.

I'd like to try something like that and I'm wondering about aquireing the stamps.

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Hi Sarge:

May I ask about that nice sheath? I am still learning to master my basket weave stamp. Did you use small individual stamps to make that nice pattern, or did you use a few larger ones? I'm trying to ask if you "constructed" each pattern from seperate tools.

I'd like to try something like that and I'm wondering about aquireing the stamps.

Steve, Yvsa or Leatherface are the fellows to ask about stuff like that. My friend has a good assortment of leather stamps, and I quite honestly just picked out a few at random and had at it. That it turned out half way decent is pure dumbarse luck, 'cause I had no idea what I was up to, I just put things where they fit and smacked 'em with the mallet. Sorry I'm no help, but seriously, I was just following my instincts.

Sarge

 

[Sylvrfalcn]

Cool pieces Sarge .

I have one suggestion though, try using oil for a quench medium. You've really got your mojo working if you're successfully quenching in water, especially if you're consistently successful. I've had marginal experiences, to say the least . Vegetable oil works very well, doesn't flash or smell, and is easy to remove. Just take that suggestion with a grain of salt, but if you have problems down the road the oil will be an easy solution to cracked blades .

Take a look here, you might get a kick out of it at least .

Matt

Matt, it may be due to the relatively small size of the blades I've been working with, but I haven't run into problems with the water. I've only ever had one blade crack on me, that was when I was first starting out, and I strongly suspect I had introduced a stress riser by continuing to hammer as forging temp was dropping off. I will, however, never, ever, forget one time I put a lot of work into making a fancy fire steel, and immediately after hardening it, wanted to try it out. And I did, before I had the proper common sense to draw the hardness from that ornately curled handle. You can guess what happened. Big boys don't cry.

Sarge

 

[Sutcliffe]

Classic beauty in a simple knfe.

 

[LongRifle]

You can guess what happened. Big boys don't cry.

Yes they do, and it's all right when something like that happens . Water is tricky, but the results are awesome. Throw a little clay on the next one and see what type of a hamon you get.