Russ Andrews

Nice thread Keith. I look forward to seeing what Russ does with the design. That piece of mammoth has a lot of potential.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing how this one progresses. I like everything from Russ that I've seen so far, and I'm sure this one will continue that trend.
 
It's been awhile, so here is another photo. This is the rough forged blade with the large fuller forged in. To forge in the larger of the two fullers, Russ used a treadle hammer and a set of dies he made from a hammer head. The fuller is about a half inch radius now, but will be taken down to a quarter inch radius for the smaller fuller. The dies are only about two inches wide, and each strike has to partially overlay the previous one to maintain allignment. Forging a fuller near the spine causes the blade to want to turn downward, which means that the blade has to be repeatedly straightened in order to be able to
gauge whether the fuller is straight.

Russ will have some photos taken as he's forging the smaller fullers in.

Once the fullers are forged in, the blade will be spherodized, which will leave it stress free, and as soft as can be. After that, Russ will start the grinding, and working the fullers down with mold stones.
 
Forging in a fuller and keeping it straight - both lengthwise on one side of the blade, and producing its mirror image on the other side - strikes me as quite difficult. The very thought of trying to do TWO of them, side by side, makes me want to run screaming out the door.

Roger
 
While this wouldn't be my personal favorite style, I still can't wait to see how it turns out. Knowing Russ like I do, it'll be awesome.
 
Danbo said:
While this wouldn't be my personal favorite style, I still can't wait to see how it turns out. Knowing Russ like I do, it'll be awesome.
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I am damn sure of that.

I have a rather eclectic taste in knives. Though bowies are my favorites, I tend to like just about every style of bowie. This knife however can't really be referred to as a bowie, because the original was made before Bowie was born.

Roger, I wouldn't think those fullers are even remotely easy to do. Especially since they are being forged in.
 
Like to others, this is not my favorite shape; the one detail that bugs me the most is the lack of a choil. That's a big part of what makes this style different, but in my opinion it negatively impact the esthetics.

I'll be interested in hearing how Russ carves the grooves (or is it only on one side?).
 
A choil/dropped edge doesn't produce or take away from the appeal that a knife has in my eyes. Neither does the lack of a ricasso.
 
Keith Montgomery said:
The fullers are on both sides and are forged in. They will be worked in with mold stones.
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Just completing the fullers sounds like a long........long.........tedious project ! A labor of love for sure ! Great project Keith , looking forward to following the progress.
 
Thanks for this Keith, it looks like it will be a stunning piece , by a truly talented maker. From the design (fuller, straight handle, sharpened top clip , s guard ...) it appears to me to be a thorough bred fighter ..... so though some may not like the absence of a choil , IMHO there is no need for one, pesumably it may have even intereferred with entry and removal in those far gone days when such practical matters where of concern:D ;)


Stephen
 
The first two images show Russ forging in the second fuller, a little shallower and norrower than the first, and trying to keep it in line with the first. Next comes a closeup, attempting to show the necessary alignment of the dies. The last image shows the two fullers.
 
Wow, those pics are GREAT! So cool that he got images of the process of forging in the fullers.

Roger
 
By the way, earlier I mentioned mold stones. For those that don't know what mold stones are, they are soft man-made stones that break down as they're being used, to continuously expose new/sharp grit. They can be shaped to accomodate the piece being worked. These stones are meant for use with kerosene, but Russ prefers to use a light oil.
 
Here is an image of the blade after some rough grinding. The fullers are still scale covered. After Russ finishes the rough grinding he will work on the fullers. After that he is going to put the blade away for awhile and start to work on the pattern welded steel for the hardware.
 
Keith,

That's a nice looking blade, congrats. I'd prefer shorter fullers but overall it looks great. The dropped handle design looks much better, good decision. Initially I didn't care much for the ivory but am looking forward to seeing what Russ does with it. :thumbup:
 
Some more images from Russ.

This shows the start of making the pattern welded steel that will be used for the hardware.

First is 15 pieces combined of 1080 and 15N20 bound with iron wire. The next image shows the billet in the forge. The final image is the billet welded with the iron wire removed. The billet will then be drawn out and cut into three pieces, tacked and bound again and then welded the same way. The process will be repeated once more after that to produce 135 layers (somewhat less than that actually, due to scaling).
 
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