VorpelSword
Gold Member
- Joined
- Dec 27, 2007
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I spent several years working offshore in the Middle East in the early 1980s, as an outside contractor. Each month 'on", I went out to a different rig, so I was always "that New Guy". Each rig had a somewhat different culture, but everywhere I went, there was some craft project the crew fooled around with in their down time. Often this was a signet ring laboriously hand-carved from a stainless-steel nut. . . .another story.
On one rig, a small group were making knives. I observed one knife in progress. It was for someone's son to be given before his first deer hunt. First, the mechanic declared this large Nickolson mill-bastard file as too worn and rusty to be used (wink-nudge). The welder annealed it some to allow it to be worked at all. Then the profile was ground out on a powerful industrial grinding wheel, a classic clip point Bowe style. Then the bevels were ground in using an angle grinder; flat ground as I recall. The handle area was a full-length hidden tang. Then they heat treated the blade with a torch (no forge) and old gear oil. Brass bolsters were brazed on at the hilt and a chunk of half-round brass stock onto the tang-end. And now it got interesting.
An oval brass biscuit was brazed onto the side of the tang, roughly the same thickness as the bolsters and rear piece. Everything was carefully leveled with slow hand work on a flat surface with a pretty rough grit. Matched steel plates were clamped together on each side, spanning the bolsters and end piece. Pieces of collected (and hoarded) scrap aluminum were then melted in a heavy iron cup and skimmed over and over. Then the molten aluminum was poured onto and over the tang to fill the space between the clamped steel slabs. . . .and left-over night.
The next week was taken up with carving out a nice handle from the bolsters, aluminum and end cap. Along the way, the brass ovel showed through the aluminum flush with the surface. No voids or gaps showed and after endless finish work it looked really nice. Engraved initials were tone done at home I was told. I had to leave and never returned to that rig with that crew. I have always hoped that kid (now in his late fifties I guess) treasured that knife, hand crafted by his father, his father's co-workers and friends.
On one rig, a small group were making knives. I observed one knife in progress. It was for someone's son to be given before his first deer hunt. First, the mechanic declared this large Nickolson mill-bastard file as too worn and rusty to be used (wink-nudge). The welder annealed it some to allow it to be worked at all. Then the profile was ground out on a powerful industrial grinding wheel, a classic clip point Bowe style. Then the bevels were ground in using an angle grinder; flat ground as I recall. The handle area was a full-length hidden tang. Then they heat treated the blade with a torch (no forge) and old gear oil. Brass bolsters were brazed on at the hilt and a chunk of half-round brass stock onto the tang-end. And now it got interesting.
An oval brass biscuit was brazed onto the side of the tang, roughly the same thickness as the bolsters and rear piece. Everything was carefully leveled with slow hand work on a flat surface with a pretty rough grit. Matched steel plates were clamped together on each side, spanning the bolsters and end piece. Pieces of collected (and hoarded) scrap aluminum were then melted in a heavy iron cup and skimmed over and over. Then the molten aluminum was poured onto and over the tang to fill the space between the clamped steel slabs. . . .and left-over night.
The next week was taken up with carving out a nice handle from the bolsters, aluminum and end cap. Along the way, the brass ovel showed through the aluminum flush with the surface. No voids or gaps showed and after endless finish work it looked really nice. Engraved initials were tone done at home I was told. I had to leave and never returned to that rig with that crew. I have always hoped that kid (now in his late fifties I guess) treasured that knife, hand crafted by his father, his father's co-workers and friends.
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