tanto in 1030/1095 and fiddleback koa

[Eric Dobratz]

Hey all,

Joined up about a year ago, daughter was born the next day, and I haven't been back since I can usually sneak a couple of hours in the evenings to work on knives, so it's slow going...

Thought I'd introduce myself on this forum with a few pics of one of my more recent knives.

The details:

The blade is over 1400 layers of 1030 & 1095, and was clay quenched with the spine exposed to make a very non-traditional "double" hamon. The habaki was cast from shibuichi, then drilled and carved (the heart), the seppa is copper, and the koiguchi and fuchi (the "caps" for the wood) are pure silver. The handle and saya are fiddleback koa.

Hope you all like it, and I hope to be more active on this forum in the future.

Eric Dobratz
Scarab Forge

 

[planube]

Really very good job. I think it isn´t easy to hold the clay in this form.

Lovely hada and hamon.

Regards, Pablo.

 

[Eric Dobratz]

Thanks. I cheated a bit with the clay and made little "U" shaped wire braces that went over the mune with a bit of clearance space, that helped hold the clay together and in place.