From Charly, who I think is being much too modest:
This is the first knife I have made with the help of my out-of-scraps built belt sander and my drill powered lathe. Because this was a learning exercise for me, I took a bunch of old worthless stuff – a rusty file, rusty pipe, some old hinges, broken furniture legs and a piece of cow bone dug out of the ground in the garden. I have also deliberately used only the machines to do most of the work, including polishing – I wanted to see what kind of fit and finish I will be able to get this way.
Because it was learning exercise and because the materials were of bad quality (the pipes were a bit too rusty, I sanded through them at a few places) the result is not something too great, but it is sharp, pointy and dangerous. The design is a sort of hybrid between the Fairbarn-Sykes and a medieval rondel dagger and I freehanded most of it, with almost no measurements.
Stats: overall lenght 33,5 cm, blade length 22 cm, work time approx 12 hours (not including curing of the paint)
I am not intending to stab anyone, but it is extremely good letter opener. Click for full size!
© Charly, all rights reserved.
Marcus Ranum says
That’s really good! Nice clean lines! The ferrule on the scabbard-tip is a nice touch!
It does express the relationship between the medieval knife and the fairbairn-sykes.
Caine says
I think it’s beautiful, and I would be proud to have that in my collection of Sharp, Shiny, and Lethal.
kestrel says
Beautiful! That is amazing that you could make use of such ordinary things to create something so extraordinary. I hope you will keep us updated on future projects, I bet they will be very exciting!
jazzlet says
I areee, beautiful. What is the inlay on the sticky out bits of the hadle (demostrates near total ignorance of proper terms) please?
jazzlet says
Argh, the handle not the hadle …
Caine says
Jazzlet, it’s cow bone Charly dug up, pictured in the first photo.
Giliell, professional cynic -Ilk- says
I’m drooling
Yes, my husband always carefully steers me away from vendors of sharp and pointy things.
jazzlet says
Thank you Caine. I did read about the cow bone, but didn’t conect the two. Particularly daft as I have a couple of bone crochet hooks sitting next to the laptop.
rq says
Thus is beautiful! Very dagger. You make beautiful things, Charly, you have amazing skills.
jimb says
That’s an excellent piece. Great work Charly!
Charly says
Thank you, I am glad you like it.
In retrospect for learning I should have used a new cow bone -- an old weathered one is actually rarer. It has a quite pleasing beige colour and is easier to glue, because all the fat has completely decomposed.
Onamission5 says
Whoa, those were not the results I was expecting based on the description of the raw materials. Beautiful!
Ice Swimmer says
A sleek, shapely dagger. And the handle looks like one that won’t slip in the hand.
Joseph Zowghi says
Wow. Very nice. I did not know that about crafting with bone.
Crimson Clupeidae says
I like it. It is very much in the style of what is called a ‘rondel dagger’.