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[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

No, just post here. The folks following your progress can see it all that way. When you move on to a different knife style or topic, start a new thread on that.

 

[Horsewright]

Everyone needs a Hoss in their shop...

Yep

Course our "shop" might have different definitions than most.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Dan Blocker AKA Hoss Cartwright wore a 10-gallon hat like your avatar photo. Is that you in the image? Also, I'd love to hear how your forum name came about.
Funny thing about a 10-gallon hat is that it won't even hold a gallon ... the number comes from the height - it was 10" tall.

Dave (Horsewright) and others here know how to tell a real cowboy from a fake one. It is easy ... look at the boots to see whether the manure is on the inside or the outside of his boots. When I was young, we called them Drugstore Cowboys. Fellows who sat around the soda fountains and juke boxes dressed like Gene Autry but had neve seen a horse.

Besides many horses and cows, Dave's ranch is filled with lots of lovely cowboy-girls. And he doesn't breed them for show, they are working gals.

There are plenty of us who wear a Stetson every day here in Shop talk. I put a photo of mine below.

 

[A.McPherson]

Stacy, you just described 80% of Texans. They sure think they're country, but don't really know which ends of the horse goes to the front.

Not that I'm much better mind you. But I don't pretend I'm a cowboy either

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

No, just post here. The folks following your progress can see it all that way. When you move on to a different knife style or topic, start a new thread on that.

OK!

 

[GRapp]

Stacy, you just described 80% of Texans. They sure think they're country, but don't really know which ends of the horse goes to the front.

You're talking about folks in the cities here, and you're right. However, you can't tell a cowboy from his boots, hat, or any other visual aspect, got to get him/her in the field for that. Most cowboys don't own horses anymore, everybody's got a side by side now, at least around here anyway. A horseman is not cowboy, and most cowboys are not horseman. Dave appears to be both, a dying breed.

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

Dan Blocker AKA Hoss Cartwright wore a 10-gallon hat like your avatar photo. Is that you in the image? Also, I'd love to hear how your forum name came about.
Funny thing about a 10-gallon hat is that it won't even hold a gallon ... the number comes from the height - it was 10" tall.

Dave (Horsewright) and others here know how to tell a real cowboy from a fake one. It is easy ... look at the boots to see whether the manure is on the inside or the outside of his boots. When I was young, we called them Drugstore Cowboys. Fellows who sat around the soda fountains and juke boxes dressed like Gene Autry but had neve seen a horse.

Besides many horses and cows, Dave's ranch is filled with lots of lovely cowboy-girls. And he doesn't breed them for show, they are working gals.

There are plenty of us who wear a Stetson every day here in Shop talk. I put a photo of mine below.

View attachment 3061107
View attachment 3061126

That image I use is Tom Threepersons (also a real cowboy from way back). My name is Mike, which I suppose I should add to my profile. The AKAT part is the acronym for my business (A-Better Knife and Tool Co., LLC). The first few years was mostly re-sharpening, repairing and restoring anything with a cutting edge. I really enjoyed the restoration aspect of the job and learned much about old knifemakers (I'm a history buff). November and December of '24 I made the decision to start forging my own knives, inspired by the old times I had been researching. I got an old coal rivet forge from an auction, but that didn't work out, so I built a propane forge (not true to history but I really wanted to get going). After much trial and error, October of this year I was able to forge a few blades that were able to hold an edge (abrasion and impact), were ergonomic and did not look half bad. I have a looooooong way to go, but I'm on the road now.
I really appreciate being part of this society.

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

So yesterday I decided to try and break one of my first successfully forged knives. The one I chose I've been using as a test blade/beater knife since late October. I have snapped the tip off of it multiple times stabbing into walnut and trying to pull out chips, rolled and chipped the edges hacking into antler and rebar. I re-sharpened it and then cut rope, corn stalks and small tree branches, batoned kindling and other light stuff and it's held up. It's 1065 steel (formerly a stone impact chisel). Here's the before and after of the knife. I tried to break it about mid-blade but the spine is about .150 thick and I was not able to, so I broke it at the point where the false edge terminated.

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

I pulled some screen shots from the video that shows the blade flex and point where it breaks. Sorry for the low rez pics, this is the best I can do.

When the video is ready to post on YouTube I'll let you all know.

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

And I re-sharpened the knife again, and kind of have a new love for it.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I think it looks like a better knife now. Take a good closeup of the grain at the break on the tip piece and post it.

I somehow thought that avatar image looked familiar. I used to make Tom Threepersons holsters when I did leatherwork back in the 60's. Short with a retainer loop/strap for the trigger. Very different from the large and deep saddle holsters of that time.
Fast-draw was a rage back in the 50's and 60's. Everyone wanted Ojala holsters, but they were hard to make as one-offs. I made a few, but they were pretty much for show.
Jeez, I am getting old. I don't know if anyone even knows about holsters like those anymore.
When hunting, I carried and regularly shot a 44-Walker or a 45 Army Colt. Both in full western holsters and belts. For decades, as a jeweler, I carried a gold plated 1903 Colt .32 with MOP handles, in a custom shoulder holster rig I made. Local folks called me "The man with the Golden Gun".

Tom presented himself as bigger than life ... with an unprovable story. His real life was pretty impressive as it was. But that was in the days of many wild west shows and cowboys with big embellished stories. Some became rich on the "Wild West" tours, and some just became old ranchers.
The Wild West made some writers like Zane Grey and Jack London rich and famous. It also made Jack Shaefer wealthy and famous with his novels of The Lone Ranger ... even though Jack never lived near the western USA ... or rode a horse..

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

I think it looks like a better knife now. Take a good closeup of the grain at the break on the tip piece and post it.

I somehow thought that avatar image looked familiar. I used to make Tom Threepersons holsters when I did leatherwork back in the 60's. Short with a retainer loop/strap for the trigger. Very different from the large and deep saddle holsters of that time.
Fast-draw was a rage back in the 50's and 60's. Everyone wanted Ojala holsters, but they were hard to make as one-offs. I made a few, but they were pretty much for show.
Jeez, I am getting old. I don't know if anyone even knows about holsters like those anymore.
When hunting, I carried and regularly shot a 44-Walker or a 45 Army Colt. Both in full western holsters and belts. For decades, as a jeweler, I carried a gold plated 1903 Colt .32 with MOP handles, in a custom shoulder holster rig I made. Local folks called me "The man with the Golden Gun".

Tom presented himself as bigger than life ... with an unprovable story. His real life was pretty impressive as it was. But that was in the days of many wild west shows and cowboys with big embellished stories. Some became rich on the "Wild West" tours, and some just became old ranchers.
The Wild West made some writers like Zane Grey and Jack London rich and famous. It also made Jack Shaefer wealthy and famous with his novels of The Lone Ranger ... even though Jack never lived near the western USA ... or rode a horse..

I've met very few people who even ever heard of Tom, let alone anyone who about his holster design. Much respect sir! Sounds like you have a pretty interesting back story too.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I'm just one of many interesting folks here in Shop Talk. Dave is one of the most interesting to me.

BTW, I found a better shot of my hat. I was demonstrating the temper of a 300 year old sword blade when the photo was taken.

 

[Horsewright]

My work hat with my personal Horsewright Mestano in 26C3 with what I call a working hamon.

The hat is a custom from Mackey Hats (Ron Mackey recently passed), that I've had for years:

My wife Nichole and I on our place some years before it was our place. Both wearing Mackey hats.

We do a lot of gun leather too.

Loop holster with an original Colt Bisley in .38-40:

Fully carved pancake style done as a holster or a sheath:

Another Mestano with that old Colt:

Most of my knife models have western names, now there's a surprise:

A Rodeo.

A Vaquero.

A Cowboy Toothpick.

A Cowboy.

Well time to ride off into the sunset for a bit:

Head right at the sun and ya come to the house. More about this caboy stuff later, gotta go feed the ponies.

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

My work hat with my personal Horsewright Mestano in 26C3 with what I call a working hamon.

The hat is a custom from Mackey Hats (Ron Mackey recently passed), that I've had for years:

My wife Nichole and I on our place some years before it was our place. Both wearing Mackey hats.

We do a lot of gun leather too.

Loop holster with an original Colt Bisley in .38-40:

Fully carved pancake style done as a holster or a sheath:

Another Mestano with that old Colt:

Most of my knife models have western names, now there's a surprise:

A Rodeo.

A Vaquero.

A Cowboy Toothpick.

A Cowboy.

Well time to ride off into the sunset for a bit:

Head right at the sun and ya come to the house. More about this caboy stuff later, gotta go feed the ponies.

Wow - I don't even really know what else to say! You are blessed sir! And that old Bisley is very cool.

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

Here's a close up of the broken tip. Let me know what you guys see.

 

[A.McPherson]

Looks pretty course to me... You shouldn't be able to see any individual "grains" it should look smooth.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I agree, it looks like it was overheated in forging and/or HT. Did you do any grain refining steps before final HT?

Here is WEO's excellent photo comparison:

 

[AKAT_MIKE]

For this knife I have to go back to September, so I was still trying to figure out my final heat before anneal, as well as final heat treatment. I can see from that stack of material where my piece fits (thank you Mr. Apelt). This blade was not properly normalized.

Up until recently I've relied on a simple physical test for each blade post heat treat, which consisted of stabbing into a block of walnut and trying to pull out a chip, then chop into deer antler to test the edges, then clamp in a vise and test to see of the blade would bend or flex. I recorded the results and used these to make adjustments according to what information I had available to me at the time (my first reference book was "The $50 Knife Shop).

Like I said I'm a true beginner, and embracing that approach, this is a fascinating experiment and adventure that I'm grateful to have the opportunity to be a part of.

Next week I will complete a blade using my "new and improved" process specifically for a destructive test, then post the results including process steps for evaluation.

Hope everyone has a great New Years eve!

 

[Lorien]

it should be said; Bladeforums is the single most important resource for people to start learning about knife making since the advent of internet.