- Joined
- Oct 25, 2004
- Messages
- 3,178
It's this guy here, and that leads me in to the story of how this blade found me.
I don't work in the woods anymore. The Navy has seen fit to build an indoors facility for me to work in and I don't like it. There are cubicles. The phone rings all the time. It has running water. It's on base. I don't get to chop wood in the course of my duties anymore. For the most part it reinforces my decision to seperate but possibly the one good thing about it is that I have access to a computer several times a day, rather than once every two weeks, and I now have a shot at some specials.
For this particular special I made a grab for the Uddha. I've wanted one ever since I saw the first, and with that handle I knew it would be a keeper. The problem was that I was about an hour late. I sent off the email, hopeful anyway, but after a short time I realized that I didn't really want that Uddha...I mean, I did, but I wanted the bolo more. I considered sending a second email saying that I'd changed my mind and wanted the bolo instead but Yangdu didn't need the grief so I held off. There'd be more of both eventually. (The very next day, in fact, but I wasn't around a computer for that.)
I'd missed it. I replied back saying that if the bolo was still available I'd take that instead - mind you, this was some time after the sale had started and I wasn't hopeful. Shortly thereafter I got the welcomed "Done deal will ship tomorrow many thanks" and I knew that my blade had found me...even if I hadn't been looking for it.
The short version: I like it.
The long version: when I initially drew it, my first thought was, "Man, that's an ugly handle."
My second thought was, "This thing's a baby tarwar!" And that got me thinking...I'd purchased my tarwar as an extra-heavy-duty machete, a job that it does well. Problem is it's a bit large to be packing around for extended periods of time and some folks just do not react well when they see you clearing a path with a sword. I'd thought that a smaller version would be better, and HI was already making one. Why am I always the last one to know anything?
I've said in the past that I really like the handle on the Cherokee Rose because of its length and shape - depending on how you position your hand, you have either an agile, neutrally balanced blade or a point heavy chopper and both positions are secure. The bolo has something similar, complete with the "stop" at the hilt.
The more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me: if a tarwar and a Cherokee Rose had a kid, it would look something like this - plus a fuller and minus a guard, of course. (Random mutation there.) Look closely at the three of them.
If the bolo's handle was chandan there would be no doubts.
Speaking of the handle, let's take a look at it.
The shape is good and it's nice and thick. It fits my paws very well but those with smaller hands might need to sand something like this down. One can choke up on it for maneuverability or "slip" it for added impact on a chop - nice. (I favor such a grip very highly on anything one-handed.) I'm seeing what I'm assuming are identification tags on handles more and more often; I'm thinking that this one says "Himalayan Rhodadendron" or something similar but your guess is as good as mine. This is my first such handle and I'll state two things for the record:
1. It's not pretty. Little to no figure and white as a bone. It reminds me of some of the uglier stocks the Soviets put on their rifles. It darkens with dirt very quickly; when I pulled the tape off I was left with a white band around it.
2. It feels wonderful. The sensation is very much like waxwood.
This is the first piece of HI wood that I've stained. After taking the grimy wood off with some #100 sandpaper and smoothing it down a bit with #600 (not optimal, but all I have currently) I considered what to stain it with. I opted for my favorite on light woods, Minwax's English Oak.
Now that's more like it. This is going to look pretty good when I get some oil into it.
Also note that it's a partial tang, pinned.
The blade's good and straight - not quite Bura straight but certainly good enough for me. It wasn't quite sharp enough to saw through paper; that will be fixed later. I went on to etch with PCB etchant. The first etch didn't take and I wound up scrubbing most of it off with a Scotch Brite pad. The second etch went better.
The hamon is still very understated but it's visible enough. It begins about halfway down the edge and runs to the tip. I'm noticing a trend with this. There's a bit more visible to the eye but not the camera. It looks solid enough.
I'll finish up the handle tonight and put an edge on it tomorrow. Besides the usual recyclables and such I plan on chopping some wood; also, I lucked into a length of mooring line and once I figure out a way to hang it safely the bolo (among others) will be chopping up some rope. It should be a good time.
All told, I think this one's a keeper.
What are we going to call this? We've been tossing the term "Bob White's Bolo" around quite a bit but "the Bob White Special" has a certain ring to it.
I don't work in the woods anymore. The Navy has seen fit to build an indoors facility for me to work in and I don't like it. There are cubicles. The phone rings all the time. It has running water. It's on base. I don't get to chop wood in the course of my duties anymore. For the most part it reinforces my decision to seperate but possibly the one good thing about it is that I have access to a computer several times a day, rather than once every two weeks, and I now have a shot at some specials.
For this particular special I made a grab for the Uddha. I've wanted one ever since I saw the first, and with that handle I knew it would be a keeper. The problem was that I was about an hour late. I sent off the email, hopeful anyway, but after a short time I realized that I didn't really want that Uddha...I mean, I did, but I wanted the bolo more. I considered sending a second email saying that I'd changed my mind and wanted the bolo instead but Yangdu didn't need the grief so I held off. There'd be more of both eventually. (The very next day, in fact, but I wasn't around a computer for that.)
I'd missed it. I replied back saying that if the bolo was still available I'd take that instead - mind you, this was some time after the sale had started and I wasn't hopeful. Shortly thereafter I got the welcomed "Done deal will ship tomorrow many thanks" and I knew that my blade had found me...even if I hadn't been looking for it.
The short version: I like it.
The long version: when I initially drew it, my first thought was, "Man, that's an ugly handle."
My second thought was, "This thing's a baby tarwar!" And that got me thinking...I'd purchased my tarwar as an extra-heavy-duty machete, a job that it does well. Problem is it's a bit large to be packing around for extended periods of time and some folks just do not react well when they see you clearing a path with a sword. I'd thought that a smaller version would be better, and HI was already making one. Why am I always the last one to know anything?
I've said in the past that I really like the handle on the Cherokee Rose because of its length and shape - depending on how you position your hand, you have either an agile, neutrally balanced blade or a point heavy chopper and both positions are secure. The bolo has something similar, complete with the "stop" at the hilt.
The more I thought about it, the more it dawned on me: if a tarwar and a Cherokee Rose had a kid, it would look something like this - plus a fuller and minus a guard, of course. (Random mutation there.) Look closely at the three of them.
If the bolo's handle was chandan there would be no doubts.
Speaking of the handle, let's take a look at it.
The shape is good and it's nice and thick. It fits my paws very well but those with smaller hands might need to sand something like this down. One can choke up on it for maneuverability or "slip" it for added impact on a chop - nice. (I favor such a grip very highly on anything one-handed.) I'm seeing what I'm assuming are identification tags on handles more and more often; I'm thinking that this one says "Himalayan Rhodadendron" or something similar but your guess is as good as mine. This is my first such handle and I'll state two things for the record:
1. It's not pretty. Little to no figure and white as a bone. It reminds me of some of the uglier stocks the Soviets put on their rifles. It darkens with dirt very quickly; when I pulled the tape off I was left with a white band around it.
2. It feels wonderful. The sensation is very much like waxwood.
This is the first piece of HI wood that I've stained. After taking the grimy wood off with some #100 sandpaper and smoothing it down a bit with #600 (not optimal, but all I have currently) I considered what to stain it with. I opted for my favorite on light woods, Minwax's English Oak.
Now that's more like it. This is going to look pretty good when I get some oil into it.
Also note that it's a partial tang, pinned.
The blade's good and straight - not quite Bura straight but certainly good enough for me. It wasn't quite sharp enough to saw through paper; that will be fixed later. I went on to etch with PCB etchant. The first etch didn't take and I wound up scrubbing most of it off with a Scotch Brite pad. The second etch went better.
The hamon is still very understated but it's visible enough. It begins about halfway down the edge and runs to the tip. I'm noticing a trend with this. There's a bit more visible to the eye but not the camera. It looks solid enough.
I'll finish up the handle tonight and put an edge on it tomorrow. Besides the usual recyclables and such I plan on chopping some wood; also, I lucked into a length of mooring line and once I figure out a way to hang it safely the bolo (among others) will be chopping up some rope. It should be a good time.
All told, I think this one's a keeper.
What are we going to call this? We've been tossing the term "Bob White's Bolo" around quite a bit but "the Bob White Special" has a certain ring to it.
