My fist try at a fighter...

[ricky_arthur]

Well here is is nearly complete. It's about to get sharpened and then final polish.

How did I do? Does it say Fighter?

 

[Patrice Lemée]

It sure says fighter. Love the blade and hamon. Can I ask why you did the back of the handle higher than the spine like that?

 

[ricky_arthur]

It sure says fighter. Love the blade and hamon. Can I ask why you did the back of the handle higher than the spine like that?

Just the way it came out I guess. It is centered on the blade. I started to take the handle down thinner while I was rough fitting the handle, but it felt good in my hand. I passed it around to a couple guys who came over and asked them if they thought the handle should be narrower top to bottom, They both played with it for a minute and said "leave it." So thats why.


I should add, it is 5/32 1084, 14 inches long with a blade just under 9 inches.


I should point out the mistake I caught too late. I had assembled the handle parts dozens of times while fitting everything, the fit from blade to guard was very good. I took it down one last time and hand sanded all the brass pieces to make finishing easier after assembling the handle. Then I taped the blade to protect it and epoxied the handle. The tape covered the small gap that my sanding had opened on transition from blade to guard. It's not much you can see it in the picfture. Had I seen it before epoxy, I probably would have remade the guard. I didn't notice it until I took the tape off.

 

[Patrice Lemée]

Thanks for the explanation Ricky. I am sure it felt nice, just not my cup of tea visually but probably more the 90 degree transition. Maybe soften that on a future one if you want to keep the high handle.
Looking forward to seeing the next one.