What's going on in your shop? Show us whats going on, and talk a bit about your work!

Great improvement adding a camera for the CO2 laser (Aeon Mira 7 / Lightburn), it allows for longer burns and better use of the leather by nesting many sheaths.

Pablo

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Tony Mont said:
Messing around with different sub-hilt construction techniques, both are equally a pain to execute.
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Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Also, newer knife makers reading through this need to take note of the grid pattern and layout lines you have scribed on the guard to grind to. Use that on guards, handles, plunge lines, etc… Everything will be way more even if you use a grid and layout lines than if you eyeball it.

I’ve learned a lot over the years just looking at the pictures of how you and other makers lay everything out.
 
jfk1110 said:
But both will be equally gratifying when you're finished....😉........LOOKING GOOD..👌👌👌
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Retired Spook said:
As always, you will turn out phenomenal knives.
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ScarFoot said:
Looking forward to seeing the finished product!

Also, newer knife makers reading through this need to take note of the grid pattern and layout lines you have scribed on the guard to grind to. Use that on guards, handles, plunge lines, etc… Everything will be way more even if you use a grid and layout lines than if you eyeball it.

I’ve learned a lot over the years just looking at the pictures of how you and other makers lay everything out.
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Thank you guys for the kind words, I really appreciate it!
Grids are indeed the way to achieve symmetry. While some makers are really good eyeballing stuff, the grid can show inconsistencies that otherwise would go unnoticed.

To keep the theme of the thread, I made some progress on the sub hilt.
Contrary to popular belief, I use grids and hand sand my fittings even when I plan to antique them.
Still lots of work but so far so good.
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This blade is my last of 2025. A Bill Bagwell inspired fighter with an antiqued overall finish.3H5A5963 copy.jpg3H5A5966 copy.jpg3H5A5971 copy.jpg3H5A5976 copy.jpg3H5A5989.jpg
 
This one has a long and interesting back story. I was stationed in Japan back in the late 90's and that was when I started making knives...or, more accurately, knife like objects. This one was the only "traditional" Japanese style tanto I tried at the time. It was cut out of plate D2 bought from the Tokyu Hands store with a hacksaw, and hand filed to shape, the bevels were not even and overly convexed. I sent it to Rob Simonich for heat treat in 1998/99. Got it back and realized I was a bit over my head, so it went in a box with some other materials.

Recently I found the box in a Pelican case. Now, 27ish years later, I have decided to finish it. Primary grinds are done, bevels are (mostly) polished and the habaki is shaped/soldered. Still a long way to go.

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One of the knife making books I’ve been reading recommended polishing the faces of your peening hammers to help the pin material flow. Hopefully this is good enough… I went with a 600 grit satin finish everywhere else except the markings. Surely that will help with aerodynamics or something. These are all undoubtedly older than me. Two 4 oz heads and one that is now a 5 oz.

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ScarFoot said:
One of the knife making books I’ve been reading recommended polishing the faces of your peening hammers to help the pin material flow. Hopefully this is good enough… I went with a 600 grit satin finish everywhere else except the markings. Surely that will help with aerodynamics or something. These are all undoubtedly older than me. Two 4 oz heads and one that is now a 5 oz.

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How long did it take to polish just one surface on one head?
 
Nate’s Knives said:
How long did it take to polish just one surface on one head?
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Probably 10-15 minutes tops after I removed the pitting. I took the flats up to 600 grit on the 2x72 then went up to 2500 grit just rubbing them on paper laying on a piece of rubber. For the ball ends I just chucked the heads in a mini 3 jaw chuck I have for my drill press and worked through the grits then used some simichrome. After that I buffed everything with green compound on a loose wheel.

You want to be careful cleaning up old hammer heads. They’re not always hardened very deeply so you don’t want to take much off the striking surfaces. Those three just had some very minor pitting and dings on the faces.
 
The biggest advantage of polishing the faces on a peen is it will leave much smoother marks. It displaces the metal evenly, too.

Japanese smiths will cut marks into a peen or hammer face to leave a specific mark, like hashmarks.
I have a peen that leaves an impression of my kanji mark in each dent. Used to put kurouchi in a blade it leaves hundreds of tiny characters.
The image below is my" Bladesmith" mark kun'yomi to .... (craftsman/artisan of sword blades).
The blade shows it engraved. I'll have to look for the marking hammer and make some strikes to show the textured effect.
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Thr tsuba (brass) and seppa (copper) will have to wait. Had to order new coping saw blades.
 
ScarFoot said:
One of the knife making books I’ve been reading recommended polishing the faces of your peening hammers to help the pin material flow. Hopefully this is good enough… I went with a 600 grit satin finish everywhere else except the markings. Surely that will help with aerodynamics or something. These are all undoubtedly older than me. Two 4 oz heads and one that is now a 5 oz.

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I can almost see myself
 
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