M A S S I V E recurve bowie *WIP*

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LongDog

LongDog

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Jan 5, 2014
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Ok Guys so this is the biggest knife i've personally ever done, with a blade length of 12.5" and OAL of roughly 18.25".
Its a commission for a fellow Forumite and I'm stoked to be working with him. His requests were simple.... BIG Bowie, carbon Fiber handle, and the tip pointing down.
so I drew up a sketch and sent it his direction. Once I got the green light it was time to light the forge!

The plans for this knife include:
-W2 blade with Hamon (and only wicked hamons are allowed :p)
-Carbon fiber handle
-Lazy s guard (first for me) with finger scallop and some sort of decorative spacer.
-I plan on bedding the tang and bull nosing the carbon fiber, which are also firsts for me.

Ive also got some pretty fun ideas as far as leather is concerned so there will be a leather working progression in this WIP as well. But thats a bit down the road.

I will narrate each picture as I go, but please feel free to ask questions etc... :D

 
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Starting things off with a .312" thick piece of W2 from Aldo over at the New Jersey Steel Baron.



W2 likes to be forged on the higher end of the spectrum, and the first order of business was to knock the point in and get started on the distal taper. The taper is very important to me, as it is in all my blades, but being how this is a larger knife its particularly crucial to get it right.... or else the knife will handle like a pig on a shovel! :p:(



Stating to get the blade to shape.



I'm constantly checking my progress up against a mild steel template that i have cut out and handy.



And here we have the forged blade! keeping the edge centered was really tough for me, as i don't have experience with blades this size. However, after a bit of tweaking i got it!



After the blade cooled down i went ahead and ground off the majority of the forge scale with an angle grinder. You can use vinegar etc... but aint nobody got time for that :p



Now it was time to profile the blade. Always fun to take pictures of sparks! *Also why you should always wear eye protection fellas



Now that the profile is cleaned up, it was time to establish my flats. I do this by hand with a 100# magnet up against my glass platen. I constantly check the ricasso on my surface plate as well as with a set of calipers to make sure everything is how it should be. Its's very important to get this area of a knife right as the rest of the knife builds off of this foundation.



Now I'm off grinding the bevels! Mwar Sparks!!!



Heres a a progress shot. As you can see i use a carbide faced filed guide to ensure my plunges are even.



Aaaaaaaaaaand i broke it.... i can never have nice things :grumpy:
ill have to fix this later so i can fit my guard....



And Here is how she sits! completely rough ground and ready for HT sometime towards the end of the week. (I've got 2 remaining finals to take then I'm free!!!)
Oh, i also got the top clip ground in. Didn't get any pics of that. I ground it in same as the main bevel :)
My customer says he likes long Clips, so I'm hoping he likes this one!! its going to be fully sharp to boot :D

 
Thank you for the WIP pix!! I really love these. This looks like it is coming along nicely. That is going to be an amazing knife.

Oh, good luck on your final exams.
 
Erick, it's me.
I commissioned this one off Mark and a Kukri after receiving my first knife from him a few weeks ago, which I was very much impressed with!
Mark is in my mind one of a few up and coming young knife makers from the USA who are destined for great things. For someone that is relatively new to knife making his work is up there with some of the best.
Love these WIP threads and looking forward to seeing this one finished.


erik markman said:
Looking good.
If the 6" handle is a request from your customer I might know who that is.
Click to expand...
 
yeah baby.
 
Nice to see you got your Maker's profile. Now I get to follow you here on the forums as well as on Instagram.

This project is looking amazing. I have been really impressed with your work.
 
Nice profile, Mark. I'd like to see the hamon come closer to the tip and edge...it's a more correct interpretation of the Japanese art. Only about the bottom 3rd of the blade should be hardened. It's tricky to control out to the tip but worth the effort to get it right. Keep up the good work:thumbup:
 
J. Doyle said:
I guessed that. :) The carbon fiber and the blade profile were the giveaways.





Looking really great Mark! Looking forward to following along on this. BUT.............I'm not sure I can let you live down the capri pants. It's just not a good look for a man. :D ;) :p
Click to expand...

I figured someone would catch on with the carbon fiber!
LOL well........shoot i don't have any comebacks hahahaha it was hot out!!!!!!!! :p :D
 
Ben Seward said:
Nice profile, Mark. I'd like to see the hamon come closer to the tip and edge...it's a more correct interpretation of the Japanese art. Only about the bottom 3rd of the blade should be hardened. It's tricky to control out to the tip but worth the effort to get it right. Keep up the good work:thumbup:
Click to expand...

Thanks Ben, i aim to do just that! (will settle for nothing less)
Learned a lot from the last build, I'm excited to get to it! :D



And thanks everyone for the kind words and interest.
The next update should include heat treat and blade finishing; if all goes to plan that will land around this weekend (maybe sooner)
Im really having fun with this! something about big blades is just plain C O O L :cool:
 
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