Inspired by Trypper

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Greg's thread had me thinking yesterday at work while it was slow in the afternoon ( not very common lately). So, I pulled out some 1095 and made these two minis. Sorry the photos are less than perfect, but i just shot some macros quickly for this post. They are much nicer than the shots show. Scale is nearly exact on all dimensions except the D-ring on the acorn nut. It is a bit thicker diameter than I intended. I will re-make it later form thinner steel. The handle on the toothpick is also a bit fat toward the crown, so I will carve it down more,too.
BTW, the poniard guard is a symetrical cup. The reflection makes it look bent.

The first is a poniard. Scale is 20:1
OAL - 1.060"
Blade - .760" ,tri-edge ,tapered, 1095, hardened and tempered
Blade thickness at ricasso - .020", at mid blade - .010
Handle size - .050" X .293", wrapped in .010" gold wire
Cup Guard - .188" diameter X .007" thick, platinum

The second is an Arkansas Toothpick. Scale is 12:1. I still need to dye the "stag" handle to accent the groves and bumps.
OAL - 1.144"
Blade - .674", 1095 hardened and tempered
Blade width/thickness at ricasso - .143" X .023"
"S" guard - twisted and forged 14K gold
Crown stag handle carved in walrus ivory. Acorn nut with movable D-ring.

 

[Burton Harruff]

Nice way to spend an afternoon. Nice work.

 

[Rick Marchand]

That ought to inspire and piss Greg off at the same time.... Ha!

Great looking pieces, Stacy. I haven't the patience or touch for such detailed work. You and Greg both have my respect.

Rick

 

[JasonSCarter]

Awesome work Stacy (as Ususal)

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I just reduced the handle a bit and welded on a thinner and smaller D-ring. The knife looks a lot better with just these tiny changes in scale matching. I'll shoot some better photos tonight.

 

[fast14riot]

Did you really turn both of these out in one afternoon at work?! That's pretty amazing if you did. I guess that's what you can do if you have all the right tools for working in miniature. Do you grind your blades on that mini KMG of yours?


Very nice work, on any scale. But I think your scale ratio is backwards...20:1 would be larger, right?


-Xander

 

[tryppyr]

Very mice! Can't imagine why anyone would think I would get upset by such beauty.

- Greg

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Xander,
Yes,It took about three hours start to finish to make the pair, including HT.
I have all the tools and equipment within a few feet of me ,wear an optivisor all day long, and do two or three hours of extremely small work every day, so as you say, it comes natural.

Greg,
Glad you like them. Rick was kidding, of course.

All:
Notice how a small part out of scale can really make a mini look off somehow. The handle is the main place this happens, so when you think it is just right, make it 10% smaller and you will be getting close. The micrometer is your friend,here. Measure every dimension and thickness - then convert it to scale. Suddenly you may find the knife has the equivalent of a 2.5" wide blade or a 7" long handle.

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Very mice! Can't imagine why anyone would think I would get upset by such beauty.

- Greg

there are players

and there are haters

 

[Daniel Fairly Knives]

Stacy those are really cool by the way, I like them a lot!

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Here are some close ups of the changes. I'll still need to add some dye to the ivory to age it: