Here are the last two knives I finished:
Archive for the Blacksmithing Category
Custom Hunting Knife
Posted in Blacksmithing, bladesmithing, Forging, knifemaking, metalwork, Tool Making with tags Camping, custom knife, edc, forged, hunting knife, Knife on July 20, 2018 by JimA little hunter I just finished up with some progress pics. It is 1084 steel with a stabilized box elder burl handle and a brass guard.
Just off the anvil.
Forging done and profiled.
Ricasso flattened in preparation for laying out for grinding and for fitting the guard.
Starting to fit the brass guard with a guard press.
The guard slotted and rough shaped.
Laying out the blade on the handle material.
Thanks for looking – happy making,
Jim
Instagram hammer-in August 26th!
Posted in Blacksmithing, bladesmithing, Forging, knifemaking, metalwork, Tool Making with tags blacksmithing, bladesmithing, Forging, instagramhammerin, knifemaking on August 23, 2017 by Jim
Saturday August 26th, 2017 (1pm CDT) – four of us are going to do an Instagram hammer-in (#instagramhammerin) for you all to watch. We will each forge a knife of our own design, starting with the same sized stock, forge for two hours, and show a picture of the blade every 10 minutes or so.
There will be four smiths working ABS Mastersmith Lin Rhea, Forged in Fire contestant Robert Burns (Wilderness Ironworks) , blacksmith instructor Matt Jenikns (Cloverdale Forge), and me.
This is not a contest. No prizes will be awarded – it’s just for fun and hopefully the pictures will be an educational resource for new bladesmiths.
We hope you follow along, ask questions, and enjoy these great smiths (and me) showing us their forging step by step. Follow along by watching the hashtag #instagramhammerin
Forging a bottle opener from a bolt
Posted in Blacksmithing, bottle opener, EDC, Forging, Gear Making, metalwork, Tool Making with tags blacksmithing, bottle opener, edc, Forging, forging a bottle opener from a bolt, make stuff with your hands, makestuffwithyourhands, recycling on June 10, 2017 by JimI posted a video on YouTube showing how I forge one of my large bolt bottle openers.
Thanks for stopping by,
Jim
A Brut de Forge Dagger from 2016
Posted in Blacksmithing, bladesmithing, brutdeforge, EDC, knifemaking, Leather working, metalwork, Uncategorized with tags americanbladesmithsociety, blacksmithing, bladesmithing, brutdeforge, copper, dagger, handmade, joekeeslar, knife making, knife sheath, leatherwork, sterlingsilver on December 13, 2016 by JimI met Joe Keeslar this year at the ICCE knife show this year and I wanted to make a dagger in his style. Below are some photos of the process.
Here it the initial forging. I started with 1.5″ x 1/4″ 1084 steel:
Here is the forging complete:
Profiled and finish ground:
Then a mystery wood handle (rosewood or ironwood, not sure – it was a gift):
A handle detail showing the sterling silver and copper pins:
I etched my logo:
I also made the sheath:
And here is the entire package:
This was a really fun build – it pushed my abilities in both blade and sheath and I am happy with how it turned out.
Thanks for looking – keep making,
Jim
Loveless Style Hunting Knife in O1
Posted in Blacksmithing, EDC, Forging, knifemaking, Leather working, metalwork, Tool Making with tags 01 steel, edc, handmade knife, hunting knife, loveless bolts, loveless drop point, micarta, pocket knife on January 7, 2014 by JimI started this knife quite a while ago. It has been sitting on my bench for over a year – until now.
I made it to be part of a hunting set and showed the smaller first knife here quite a while ago.
Here are the two knives finally together.
I carry the smaller knife as a fixed blade edc pocket knife.
They are both 01 steel with green micarta handles and red liners. The blade on the larger one is about 3″.
I also made the sheath and to be honest – I almost enjoyed that as much as making the knife.
Happy Making and new year to you,
Jim
Integral Knife forged from 52100
Posted in Blacksmithing, Forging, knifemaking, metalwork, Tool Making with tags 52100, blacksmithing, bladesmithing, hand forged knife, stag handle on November 4, 2013 by JimI recently got a beautiful integral fixed blade knife from Master Smith Ray Kirk. I like it so much that I had to try and make one for myself. I bought a couple 3/8″ round bars of the 52100 from Ray and here is what I came up with:
Thanks to my friend Dave from Circle H forge for the beautiful piece of stag.
Lots of folks have been helping me with all this. Ray spent an hour walking me through how to make a blade like this.
Also, Master Smith Lin Rhea is always there with an answer to anything I need help with.
I have come to find that the folks in the American Bladesmith Society are just some of the best people out there.
-Happy Making,
Jim
Making a drop point hunting knife
Posted in Blacksmithing, knifemaking, metalwork with tags bob dozier, bob loveless, drop point, hunting knife, knife pattern on August 25, 2011 by JimI am starting work on a set of three hunting knives all based on Bob Dozier Patterns which are based on Bob Loveless patterns.
Here is your treat for tonight, the first patten:
If you make knives or are interested in making knives, go get a copy of ‘Knifemaking with Bob Loveless‘ right now and read it. This book is a good one.
Happy making,
Jim
Make Stuff With Your Hands 