WIP: Bowie with Files, Stones, and Sandpaper

[John Frankl]

Before I start this thread, I have to give a few warnings.

First, I am a horrible photographer. Second, I just learned how to post images. Third, after forging, this bowie was profiled using a belt grinder. But I am attempting to use only hand tools to do the rest. Fourth, I forged this thing out on a visit to JD Smith's shop a few years ago, so you know I'm not a fast worker. Finally, I will be moving day after tomorrow, so there may be a bit of downtime, though only in days this time, not years.

I began posting some of this on a different thread, but my photos there were awful. I am starting over, and I hope some of my photos and explanations prove interesting and helpful.

Here it is, forged and profiled.

Here it is after a vinegar soak to remove the scale. It's still dark, but thats a vinegar etch. About 99% of the scale came off in 24 hours.

I'll stop here on this post, and check to make sure all images are up.

Thanks for looking.

 

[Matthew Gregory]

Sweet, John - can't wait to see where you take us!

 

[John Frankl]

Okay, except for my crap photos, this seems to be working okay.

I had a heck of a time figuring out the most effective way/direction to go about filing this thing. I tried a bunch of stuff, and settled on one direction for a while.

I had tried draw filing early on, but it wasn't working the way I liked, so I moved around a bit. Particularly because I am looking for a well-defined plunge line and shoulders I needed to file those in, and then attempt to blend the rest of the blade. I can tell you right now that a Japanese style blade or another style without the whole plunge line/shoulder thing is much easier to draw file from the beginning.

I finally settled on "push filing," or whatever the exact opposite of draw filing is. It is like using a Japanese sen, and with the double cut mill bastard it is really hogging off the metal. It also ends right at the plunge line, defining it a bit more with each stroke.

Here is a photo of the side that is "done." I put done in quotation marks, because I still have a medium and fine double cut, as well as a single cut file to work through. After that it is stones and paper, likely beginning at about 150 grit. But I do have the pre-heat treat geometry pretty good for the grit and stage it's at.

 

[John Frankl]

And here is the other side, which is still not even "done" with the roughest file.

You can sort of see from the ink and scale what I am attempting to do. I filed in the edge thickness/geometry first. Now I am "push filing" in the primary bevel. I will keep working, expanding the clear section in the middle until the ink on the edge and the pits/low spots nearer the spine are gone. Of course, like the other side, I plan to leave about a half inch of "character" along the spine. It worked on the first side, so my fingers are crossed for similar results on this side.

Oh, yeah, the edge is down to about 0.050. It may get a bit thinner. Without a grinder, I am looking to get all the "grinding" pretty much done before heat treat.

 

[Hengelo_77]

Nice going, it looks promising
Did you find a beautifull, unknown but very pretty, local hardwood for the handle?