The Alaskans' bladesmithing adventure in Brazil!

Now hold on a second - I thought this thread was going to be about a bunch of hard work and sweaty knife poundin' and forging' and grindin', etc.
I'll admit, I see a few knives got made - but what's THIS! all about?

P1050708.jpg
 
Thank you guys for all the kind support!
Yes, it was a trip of a lifetime, but hopefully just the first of our visits to Brazil. The knifemaking community is global, and for us, it has been a doorway to friendships and great experiences. We are hoping to travel to other parts of the world as well, and what better way to see another place than through a knife shop!

Marcel, Rodrigo is going to send pics of that bowie when it is finished, and I'll post them then. I can't wait to see it too!

Karl, We were probably just waiting because Jimmy was using all the tools in the shop at the same time.

For all of us who like integral knives, Rodrigo and his school are a valuable resource. I can heartily reccommend taking a class with him if you want to make this style of knives.

Adam-
 
Unbelievable What a great experience, but you know, the rules clearly state that if you spend too many winter months in tropical climates you get down-graded to Cheechako. I'm teasing cuz I'm insanely jealous. All the best you two.
 
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Karl B. Andersen said:
Now hold on a second - I thought this thread was going to be about a bunch of hard work and sweaty knife poundin' and forging' and grindin', etc.
I'll admit, I see a few knives got made - but what's THIS! all about?

P1050708.jpg
Click to expand...

We were testing how repellant our Alaskan skin was to hungry ants...purely scientific I assure you:D

Mark Knapp said:
Unbelievable What a great experience, but you know, the rules clearly state that if you spend too many winter months in tropical climates you get down-graded to Cheehako. I'm teasing cuz I'm insanely jealous. All the best you two.
Click to expand...

Thanks Mark,

Cheechako?!:eek: That's really harsh...maybe we could downgrade to snow bird?

-HD
 
Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Great pictures, great knives and great memories! Nice!
 
What's a Cheechako? We have folks that leave my neck of the woods in wiinter and share the same snow bird term for them. Can't blame em', last week there was five feet of snow on the flats.
 
Congratulations Adam journey I hope it was very instructive for you and your wife.
Hopefully it will be the first of many coming to Brazil.

Hugs and until a next time.
 
I bet you guys were just happy to have some sunlight... ha.

Beautiful knives by all of you. Looks like a fantastic trip. Thanks for sharing the photos.

Adam, how is the handle attached? Is it 2 scales around a center tang?
 
What an adventure--looks like so much fun. Great pictures and some wonderful knives. Thanks for posting this.
 
Thanks all!

Stewart, The handle is the key and the tang is the key hole. It is one solid piece of wood that fits all the way through. It's a very tricky fit, but a simple idea.
One of Rodrigo's mantras is: "Don't think about how to make it easy to build; think about making it beautiful".

Adam.
 
Thanks for sharing your awesome trip with us. Great knives.
Would love to get down there myself at some point.
 
This rates as one of my favorite threads......thanks for the posts/pictures and sharing your trip with us. :thumbup:
 
A most excellent adventure. Thanks for sharing it with us. :thumbup:

Hope you both will be at BLADE again this year with lots of new stuff. I say 'lots' because it could be a banner year at BLADE if what just happened at the AKA show in Little Rock also plays out at BLADE. The AKA just set a new show record for knives sold! What's that all about? Not sure, but it couldn't hurt to be prepared in case something similar happens at BLADE.
 
Mike Quesenberry said:
What's a Cheechako? We have folks that leave my neck of the woods in wiinter and share the same snow bird term for them. Can't blame em', last week there was five feet of snow on the flats.
Click to expand...

Mike, that's too much snow...we live in Alaksa so we don't have to deal with that kind of nonsense! Only a foot here right now.

A 'cheechako' is an Alaskan term for a newcomer to the great white north who has no clue how to survive in the wilderness...as opposed to a 'sourdough' (who usually needs a bath very badly).
Traditionally you have to spend more than two weeks 'outside' to get tagged a snowbird but then again it was WAAAAAYYYY south!:)

Buddy,

Glad to hear the Little Rock show went so well. We'll be at BLADE, table 13Q again and have all the knives we can manage between the two of us. The woodpile has a way of calling immediate attention to itself this time of year but we're pretty focused on the show from now on. See you there!

-HD
 
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Adam, thank you for a very pleasant trip south of several borders.
The knives you two made are spectacular. I actually like Haley's the best.:D

One added thought. Please!, please take those rivets like you put on that otherwise gorgeous sheath and file them in the trash. No quality sheath deserves to be "decorated" with rivets either inside or out. Obviously they are not structurally necessary on that beautiful piece of work.

Paul
 
DesRosiers said:
The handle is the key and the tang is the key hole. It is one solid piece of wood that fits all the way through. It's a very tricky fit, but a simple idea.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation. It occurred to me that that was the way it was done. It would be a tricky fit over that width and would preclude a "cheat" by slightly flaring the piece to assure a tight seam.
I wondered too about how it's secured from lateral movement. This lead me to think it two pieces of wood.
 
Thanks for pointing that out Paul. I was wondering why that sheath looked funny. I really need to get down there and take some lessons from you on the proper use of rivets!
Seriously though, you're not the first person to mention my ugly rivets, and I wish I could dispense with them, but alas, I don't make regular knives, and all too often I cut through the welt and stitching in that spot. I assume it is because I am an inferior sheathmaker, but like to pretend it's because my knives cut like lasers!

It really was a cool trip to a beautiful place. Rodrigo and Glenda's Hospitality was amazing! They are currently building a new home and shop, and hopefully by next year they will be moved in. It seems that with all the hard work of Jerry Fisk and the Brazilian bladesmiths the market has developed down there to the point that a hard working knifemaker can make a really good living.

Stewart,
It is a press fit that goes in under a lot of pressure. I wondered about the lateral movement myself until I messed up my first try and had to remove the wood. Believe me, it's not going anywhere! The "twin" tangs are spring tempered, and actually hold tension on the wood. You can further "key" the wood in place by grinding a groove in the internal surfaces and filling it with epoxy, and if you were really paranoid, you could pin it all together from top to bottom, but I don't think any of that is neccessary.
Adam-
 
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