Mark Cooke Camp Bowie - WIP - Coop pics added!

RogerP

RogerP

Joined
Feb 28, 2002
Messages
13,348
Greetings all.

A short while ago I was in the process of scrolling through my Facebook feed and came across a pic of a compact hunter / fighter / utility that really jumped off the screen and captured my imagination. At around 10" in overall length, it packed a lot of striking and aggressive lines into a small package. The impact was similar for me to the first Sam Lurquin knives I came across lo these many years ago now - big or small they all had real presence, real purpose and an element of bold aggression baked in.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. :D I'm still speaking of just ONE knife - but it was quite enough for me to contact this young Texas maker and have a Facebook chat about a future project.

The future comes quickly for the young. :) I suggested taking his original 5" handle 5" blade knife design and stretching it out to a 7" or so blade with the same handle dimensions. Within a few days I had a detailed sketch of the new model. I had a small suggested tweek to the handle design which resulted in the go-ahead sketch below:

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From here, I'll provide Mark's comments on the process, and sit back and enjoy the unfolding with you all.

" Scanned into the computer, printed the copy and glued it to some thin gauge mild steel to give myself a forging template."

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" Here is the forging template all cut out. I think forging to a template really makes a difference in your improvement as a smith, for it challenges you to forge within parameters."

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.25 by 1.5 W2 coming to temperature in my D-Fogg inspired vertical forge. only difference is that mine is ran on a hybrid burners - TREX burner.

The tip has been forged and the distal tapper has been started

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To achieve the recurve i decided to bend the blade over the horn of my anvil, before forging the bevels.
Forging a recurve is pretty hard for me, but thus far this has been the most effective method!


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Here you can see where i started to push the main bevel out as well as the clip. This is the first time I've tried to forge a clip, nerve racking!


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Throughout the forging process i check the blade up against my template to make sure I'm headed in the right direction.


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If RogerP was a stockbroker, I'd be transferring all my funds. Great eye for trending talent.

I project a gratifying build, and a satisfying end.

Coop
 
Cheers gents. Here are a few more.

The blade is forged to shape for the most part, next we move on to the tang!
I hot cut the tang and stuck it in the forge. I wish i had a horizontal forge for this, as I'm worried that I'll drop the blade into the depths of Mordor and have to go divining in after it. So yeah ill make one soon!

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And the tang has been forged out.

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Here i am thermo cycling the blade. I did three cycles, as this is a W2 blade and I'm shooting for a good hamon, so i want to get that grain nice in fine.

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And here is the forged blade next to its template. This is my second forged hidden tang, still a lot to learn but I'm satisfied with the results. For now!

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Wire cup and my angle grinder to remove some of the lighter scale. i chuck up a 100# magnet in my panavise to hold the blade. Works great!

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Heres a picture of me cleaning up the profile of the knife on my KMG. you can see my super high tech dust collection system a.k.a. The Bucketron 2000".

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And the knife is profiled!
Theres Still a pretty good amount of scale on the blade so ill let it soak in vinegar over night then grind it all off this weekend.
The foundation of your knife has been poured Roger!

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good stuff!
All those curves look to be in just the right place.
 
Sweet! I too followed along Mark's last build on FB (same knife you're talkin about), he definitely has a great eye and he really seems to be a natural at bladesmithing/knifemaking. :thumbup:

Thanks btw for sharing the WIP on here, Roger, as I always like to be able to save good WIP's in a specific "favorites" folder for future reference, which ya can't really do on FB.

Will be checkin back for more. :)

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
... (It's been quite a while since I've posted any new vids)
 
This is already looking like the start of a great knife. I love the size and the lines of the design. Very fluid and graceful. Thanks for taking the time to post up the WIP, Roger. I'm enjoying it.
 
Thanks for the WIP!

I've been following Mark on instagram (@longdogforge), and the rate at which he's progressing is amazing.
 
Thanks for tuning in folks. Mark is a student and will be working on the build as opportunities present. Watch this space for more.
 
Some more progress from Mark:

Got my belts in from TruGrit. I went with 3M 947as this time around to see how I like them. They are at a good price, and thus far, i have been quite happy with the performance and life of the belts.

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So instead of using my fancy new belts on super hard forge scale, i decided to knock the bulk of it off with my angle grinder. Plus throwing sparks on the ole' grinder is always fun!

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So the next step is to establish the flats on the Ricasso. I started with a 40 grit belt and worked my way up to 120. Constantly checking the thickness with a set of digital calipers close by.

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This step is always a bit nerve wracking for me; one of these days I'll have to invest in a surface grinder :) Here is a shot of how i do it. Using a 100# magnet, that i got from northern tool, i basically press the blade up against the flat platen ever so carefully.

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And here we have the blade with the flats cleaned up and tang tapered. I could have probably forged the bevels in a little deeper, however being that this was my second recurve i was a bit apprehensive about getting too crazy with the hammer. If any of you guys have forging techniques for recurves I'm all ears! :)

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Here I go grinding the bevels. I use a file guide made by Bill Behnke to ensure my plunges are even on both sides. An important thing to note when grinding recurves is to grind along the profile of the edge; if you pull straight grinds your edge will be much thicker in the shallow of the recurve than on the belly or tip.

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Picture of me grinding. It helps to have some BB-King in the ear buds to get the mojo flowing when grinding recurves!

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A shot of how she sits after todays grinding. I'm thinking of leaving the clip un-ground before HT this time around. I may change my mind between now and then, as a couple of my knifemaker buds have me wanting to try a new technique for grinding in clips. we will see :)

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Truing up the spine with some sand paper, a micarta sanding stick, and elbow grease. Its always much easier to get those nasty grind lines out before the blade is hard!

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THE WORST PLACE IN THE WORLD TO SAND. That little bit of area on the bottom side of the ricasso. It's a major pain, but like I said, much easier to get em out now then later.
Also post HT I'll be pulling the plunge back a bit to make it aligned with corner of the ricasso and where the blade starts. It will get rid of those nasty little peaks we see there, as well as lay down a nice little radius in the plunge; just the way i like em.

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Thats all for this update, next time around we will delve into the Heat Treatment.
Thanks!
 
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