Photos Gentlemen. Thank you.

[mpcoppin]

I have been the beneficiary of your free advice and goodwill a number of times. Although I am far from an expert or master, with your help I have produced a couple of things I’m pretty proud of.

I’m not trying to make a living at this. I don’t try to sell my stuff and this is just a hobby for me, but it is a wonderfully fulfilling sensation to build and create beautiful and useful tools that you can share with family and friends.

Sincerely, thank you.

 

[DevinT]

Ummm, there are no gentlemen here, okay, maybe a few.

Hoss

 

[GoldSkula]

Is your makers mark stamped?

 

[mpcoppin]

Is your makers mark stamped?

Yes. But it’s not much of a makers mark, just my initials with a couple of Harbor Freight metal stamps.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Nice knives.
A suggestion on how to get the hammer-worked look:
Take a 16 to 20 ounce ball peen hammer, sand the ball smooth with 400 grit paper and and polish it well. Use this to put hundresds of overlapping divots on the blade while hot. I prefer to do it at the lower end of red heat ( 1600-1700F). Start at the tang end and work your way with firm random blows to the tip. Go back and try to strike between those divots. Repeat as many times as needed to get the surface fully hammer-worked. Finish grinding/filing the main bevel and back side (urasuki if doing one). Wire brush the hammerwork lightly with an angle grinder or bench grinder and HT ( I like using a stiff brass wheel).. After HT, you can leave the black firescale on the upper bevel and just give it a good burnish with 0000 steel wool, or soak in FC to remove thge bscale, but leave a dark etch (I etch in FC).