Salem Straub - Deschain Dagger

1

12345678910

Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Messages
20,797
Let's talk about this

[video=youtube;rpxZ3lHxxqY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpxZ3lHxxqY[/video]


There's so much I really like about it.

That's real stabby goodness.

The wire wrapped handle is something else
I've got questions

Tutorial link ?
What is the handle form> Wood?
Can you do a palm swell under that ?
Is it a real bastard to keep it all tight and even ?



Is there guard gap, or is it just the camera?
 
This damascus looks so good in person, pictures don't do it justice.
 
I am amazed at this dagger. It really is on another level.
Watching some of the process on Instagram was really enjoyable.
 
12345678910 said:
Let's talk about this

[video=youtube;rpxZ3lHxxqY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpxZ3lHxxqY[/video]


There's so much I really like about it.

That's real stabby goodness.

The wire wrapped handle is something else
I've got questions

Tutorial link ?
What is the handle form> Wood?
Can you do a palm swell under that ?
Is it a real bastard to keep it all tight and even ?



Is there guard gap, or is it just the camera?
Click to expand...

IIRC, Kevin Cashen did a tutorial on one of his daggers like that.
The under form is wood.
You can do a palm swell .. and even a fluted handle with twist wire.
Yes, it is a bastard to keep things tight. Doing a Turk's head in twist wire is only recommended for sailors and Canadians .. both of which curse in French.
 
I've been drooling over it on IG. It's stunning. And the etch/blackening with parkerizing looks exactly like what he was hoping for by doing it that way. Bold as can be.
 
That thing is wicked!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Hey Count, I didn't see this until now... thanks for the interest!
Stacy is right, it's a real bastard, all of the wire work including the TH knots. Those are the worst. I did one of these handles before, two years ago- and when I picked it up to try again last week, frankly I had not recalled how difficult it was and almost gave up! I had to sit there and practice all evening while watching Youtube, and then go twist up more wire (I had kinked the first stuff all up) and have another go until I finally got it. After I'd done the first one, the second one came much more naturally. There is a technique you pick up after becoming familiar with the material's quirks, it would be hard to explain. All I can say it tie a bunch with cord, then twist up a bunch of copper and just go at it. My hint is to work on a tapered mandrel that is the right size near the middle. It's a great help being able to slide it down for some space at times, or to slide it up to planish it a bit bigger when fitting at the end.
I have some pictures which I posted to IG of the build, which now that I see there is interest here, I'll import and post in this thread. It shows some of the wrapping of the core, the carved wood, lathe turning the fittings, etc.
You can do a palm swell with this wrap, although a big one would be hard. This handle had an even taper throughout.
I've never seen a tutorial that deals with wrapping wire over a fluted core, and then conforming it to the flutes. There is some material out there about tying TH's in twisted wire, as that is a historical touch people have tried. I'm not aware of Cashen posting actual how-to about it anywhere.
The degree to which I've been forthcoming about the techniques to people, is the most I've seen about it anywhere yet.
Kevin C. was kind enough to tell me how to go about the fluted/wire wrap thing, after I emailed him about it. I can share here, later when I have the time.
There is a slight guard gap, as the knife is a takedown. Nothing very much, though. It was press fitted before the blade and fittings etch, and the guard slot was masked off for that, too. The depth of the etch on the blade/tang loosened it a bit. The pommel screws on tight and locks it all up!
More later.
 
Ok, here is laying out the flutes, an old school way with twine and tacks.
15056323_1173237616085646_358508041877340403_n.jpg


Pencil lines from that... four flutes, one full twist.
15073294_1173237596085648_1901715062715158834_n.jpg


Beginning to cut flutes with a triangle file. All the carved fluting was done with various files.
15027850_1173237812752293_4276706644750665198_n.jpg


Twisting iron wire up tight with a ring in the drill. It breaks pretty easy toward the end... be ready to grab it, cut some off, re-tie to the ring and twist it up tighter yet.
14938330_1173235992752475_8581188977582918961_n.jpg


One spool right hand twist, one spool left hand twist. They are both on a bolt, with a spring and nut to hold adjustable tension when pulling wire off in a pair. Works great!
15032254_1173237132752361_7499667099439942160_n.jpg


Wrapping the core...
15036759_1173237242752350_592358896361128456_n.jpg


All wrapped tight. The left hand twist and right hand twist wires start and finish 180 degrees from each other, on the ends of the grip. Each one originates and terminates in a little #65? IIRC hole, with superglue tack, and runs out a little cut channel to the outside surface of the grip, into the spiral wrap covered area. Clear as mud, I'm sure.
15055650_1173237439418997_8838169638711906665_n.jpg


Sprinkle a little of this on...
00079200350260.full.jpg


And it will look like this.
14980563_1173236902752384_1253660685617390762_n.jpg


Questions? More to come, tomorrow.
 
Salem - that is more than AWESOME!!!! I study the photos of the handle wrap, then go look at handle in video...... I'm still not sure how it lays in the flutes so well. The final result has a nice dip into the flutes giving it a "rope" look running in a spiral parallel with handle. You sure did some GREAT work there. While I might never attempt anything like that, I sure do enjoy watching a Master work his magic.

Ken H>
 
The trick is, to make a micarta or even brass tool to push the wire in. I use a thing like a wide chisel with a 80 degree end, i.e. two 40 degree bevels meeting at a blunt point. That's a tool to shove the wire to the bottom of the flutes.

I work on a leather caul over my granite layout slab, and using this tool, which fits into the palm of my hand, I work back and forth up and down all sides, pushing the wire in farther and farther with quite a bit of force. It just stays in there. The softness of the wire holds its shape, and Im pretty sure the force involved may be actually pressing it into the surface of the wood a small amount. Certainly it has to be stretching somehow, or going somewhere, to be gaining the necessary length to conform to the wood.

This is basically what KC told me, it was a little hard to take at face value, but I tried it and it works very well... the only glue I used was to tack the wire ends into their holes, and a little smear on the first wrap at each end to make sure it didn't fall off the end while working on it.

We'll see if any more handles in this style pop up after a while, having posted this out in the wide open... it's difficult for sure, but certainly doable. KC told me freely, and so I pass it along freely.
 
Salem, It's amazing how much folks like you, Stacy, and many others sharing knowledge and how to do things has improved and widen the custom knife field. While it might seem like it's just increased the competition by teaching other folks, I do think it's widen the customer base even more.

Thanks again to ALL of ya'll Masters for sharing,

Ken H>
 
I think it's a big experiment in a way, sharing trade "secrets" freely now. I do think it has benefited the knives greatly, and to a purist, that is the most important thing. I personally have benefited hugely from freely imparted knowledge- the internet has been an absolute game changer. I am part of that last group of makers who can remember back to books, videos available for sale through catalogs, and personal interaction being the only ways to learn. I've seen the number of younger makers especially, who are doing seriously impressive work, seemingly increase exponentially in the past fifteen years.

I think the competition is fierce out there, the market is saturated, and there are more makers doing fine work at reasonable prices than demand can support.
Hopefully this is changing due to things like the ascendancy of food TV and foodie culture opening up the handmade kitchen knife market, and shows like Forged in Fire informing the public, in however distorted a fashion, that we exist. I've had several people in the last few months buy their first custom knife with me, and that is heartening.

In the end, I'm not at all convinced we are heading into a brighter future in the custom knife trade at least- there will be the strong who survive, but any profession that relies heavily on discretionary income will always be precarious, especially in these economically tempestuous times. I'm just trying to retain a compartmentalized, detached interest in the experiment, whatever the outcome. Perhaps in the future, we will all have learned a bitter lesson and be less sharing once more with our fellows...
 
Salem, I have often wondered about the sharing of secrets. The information passed along to me has helped me greatly, and it is much appreciated. The second side of the equation is having an eye for design and skills mastery. No matter how much free information we get, we still have to learn how to actually do it, and do it well. I have had many creative hobbies working with my hands (my day job is intellectual) and it's taken me four years to build knives I'm now proud of. Us newbies still have to put the time in to apply the free information.

With the economy being poor, I'm seeing a return to a bartering economy. I got two cords of split firewood in exchange for two machetes. We were both pleased with the deal, and came out ahead economically. :thumbup:
 
Salem Straub said:
I think it's a big experiment in a way, sharing trade "secrets" freely now. I do think it has benefited the knives greatly, and to a purist, that is the most important thing. I personally have benefited hugely from freely imparted knowledge- the internet has been an absolute game changer. I am part of that last group of makers who can remember back to books, videos available for sale through catalogs, and personal interaction being the only ways to learn. I've seen the number of younger makers especially, who are doing seriously impressive work, seemingly increase exponentially in the past fifteen years.

I think the competition is fierce out there, the market is saturated, and there are more makers doing fine work at reasonable prices than demand can support.
Hopefully this is changing due to things like the ascendancy of food TV and foodie culture opening up the handmade kitchen knife market, and shows like Forged in Fire informing the public, in however distorted a fashion, that we exist. I've had several people in the last few months buy their first custom knife with me, and that is heartening.

In the end, I'm not at all convinced we are heading into a brighter future in the custom knife trade at least- there will be the strong who survive, but any profession that relies heavily on discretionary income will always be precarious, especially in these economically tempestuous times. I'm just trying to retain a compartmentalized, detached interest in the experiment, whatever the outcome. Perhaps in the future, we will all have learned a bitter lesson and be less sharing once more with our fellows...
Click to expand...

I can identify with that.

There are no groups that I know of near me that i can learn in person.


I remember the agonizing I have done before ordering a video.
Videos were sight unseen, no youtube previews; just what you could glean from a photo of the cover
A $60 video with shipping, import fees, taxes and a crappy exchange rate turned into $100
(depending on my age, that was 10 to 30 hours of work)
Only to watch dark, pisspoor production of grainy, shaky, dark images with futtzy sound.
If you were lucky, there was something you could glean, if not you just felt like the kid who got coal in his stocking on Christmas.



The differences in makers who survive is marketing and presence


I said this before, I learned more about Damascus from Bruce Bump's WIP threads that i have from all the books I specifically bought for that.


I have seen Kevin C's posts on this type of handle before, but can't find them now.

I can't name every maker in the ABS, but I do know the ones who taught me things on here.
 
Yeah, you can't really find a better way to learn w's or feather pattern than Bruce's legendary WIP work. And other things, like workflow from design through execution.

I know there are things I've been fortunate to learn for free for the asking, that either I'd never have figured out or I'd at least have been an old man by the time I did!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top