The 72 Hour Bowie (Forging with Farr, Part 2)

Incredible stuff, Roger, Dan, and Matt.

Roger,

I'm still hoping you'll reconsider and start a waiting list.
 
Great thread waiting for more! I'm facinated buy the different kinds of advils that are used. I saw an article that showed Mr.Fisk hammering out a blade. The advil he was using actually had his name on it.
 
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fantastic stuff looks like you had a great time. Great knives good scenery and the animal mounts where a nice touch.
 
Thanks gents - I'll try to push through to the end of the tale.

Milling the guard - when you have a digital readout that measures to 1 / 10,000th of an inch, you watch it very carefully and turn the slide wheel very slowly:

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The mill doing its thing:

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Drilling the hole for the tang:

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Which was then escavated with these handy-dandy tools built by John Perry:

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The block of walnut and ebony spacer were then clamped to the soldered guard with a super strong super secret epoxy, the details of which are only known to us Groundborne Speacial Ops Ninja Smiths. I could tell you, but then... you know... :D

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This took us to late Saturday night - we retired to let the epoxy set overnight.

The next morning we still had a gorgeous block of wood, but the ergonomics needed some work. ;)

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Thus commenced Dan's advanced course in handle shaping and finishing.

A tracing of the handle is outlined on the block and rough-formed on the band saw:

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Then off to the grinder to learn about handle shaping from someone justifiably reknowned for it:

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You gotta have a plan and you gotta go slow. You can progressively take the wood away, but you can't put any back.

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The next several shots will show the handle slowly taking shape:

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Duke takes only mild exception to Matt interrupting some quality lap-time to consult with Dan on the progress of the handle.

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Which is progressing quite nicely:

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Dan drills the hole for the lanyard - I hold my breath.

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I drill the hole for the pin, Matt holds his breath, Dan can't even watch.

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Okay we can all exhale together:

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Insert and epoxy the lanyard tube and pin, clean up the handle and blade, and at 7:30 pm Sunday, we're as done as we're going to get without spilling over to Monday.

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The handle finish is not complete - there are some tiny voids that we will fill and put a full finish on the handle - but that can wait until after Blade. Matt will be ordering a stencil for all our names on the knife, and once it is REALLY complete I'll see if Paul long will be kind enough to build me a sheath and have Coop shoot it.

I have to express my sincere thanks to Dan for his hospitality, patience and guidance, to Matt for his tireless work and unfailing can-do attitude and to them both for their friendship.

It feels a bit unseemly to go on at all about the knife itself considering I had a hand in making it, but I have to say that I am extremely pleased with the result. Unlike my first attempt at forging out blades - where I basically tried to hammer out a couple blade-like objects and work the end product into something resembling a knife. Sure, they were forged to shape - just not to any particular shape (I believe the technical term is "letting the steel speak to you." :o)

This time, I started out with a prticular design concept and worked as a group to bring it to reality. The aesthetics, dimensions and ergonomics are all VERY close to what I had envisioned and all of that is exceedingly rewarding to see come to fruition in such a short period of time. And I can tell you that Matt positively nailed the flat grind on this piece.

Thanks also to Jerry for designing one of the best camp knives ever which inspired the creation of this particular piece.

And finally, my thanks to you all for taking the time to look this over and for your feedback.

Roger

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That is a fine looking knife. Exceptionally clean and the design is excellent. That looks like exhibition walnut like that used for fine rifles.

Did you try it out on those vines?

Peter
 
Hi Roger, it's great to put a face to the name. Thanks so much for providing such a great little piece of edgeucation.

I just today received the article that you so kindly sent to me. Thank you so very much! I can't wait til I have some time to read it:rolleyes:(busy days these days).

You are, like, the ultimate knife knut in my book!

P.S. love that 'made in Canada' shot!
 
Very enjoyable, Roger. Looks like a fun, productive weekend for the three of you, with a tremendous result. That chopper really looks comfortable in your hand. Awesome walnut. That is a great camp knife design.
Appreciate seeing a little cutting going on during the process. Well done!

- Joe
 
I can't even describe how hard Roger and Matt worked on this knife! Literally 18 hours on Friday, 18 hours on Sat, and 12 hours on Sunday. There was no short cutting to get it done. The blade is over 11 inches long. When I saw what they wanted to make, I thought it would be a stretch to make it straight and without hammer marks. I would have forged out 2 just in case if I was making it myself. It really finished out great. Light as a feather for the size.

The whole weekend was a blast. Roger and Matt did the whole process from start to finish, while appearing at least, to have a good time. I enjoyed every bit of it.

The one thing we did prove, (via the scientific method), is: one scrawny spider dog aka Duke, when fueled by dove bars and chocolate chip cookies, can whip a scrawny man aka Matt, fueled by some awful health food in a 2 mile flat out sprint! Of course we had to put rocks in Matt's pockets so his bike could get traction....
 
so you like riding bicycles, eh...?:D
 
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