This is a dagger named “Beast Mode.” It’s not quite finished, yet, but it’s close. The handle’s done and that was the hard part.
This is a dagger named “Beast Mode.” It’s not quite finished, yet, but it’s close. The handle’s done and that was the hard part.
Right-o, we’re back on the highland dirk.
This is going to be a bit meandering, but it’s because pretty much everything in this topic can be answered with “it depends.” It is in response to Line Infantry Commentator fusilier’s question at [stderr]
[By the way ‘#’ in this posting is pronounced “grit” – so, “80#” is 80 grit. An 80 grit abrasive is pretty rough!]
The faster something removes metal, the easier it is to rapidly screw up a blade. If the tools you are using produce perfect surfaces, they’ll be slow but you’ll enjoy the results.
Grinding and grinding and more grinding… As my buddy Mike says “blacksmiths turn the universe to dust, one piece at a time.” That’s neglecting hand sanding.
A voice from my past contacted me, and apparently they had been looking at some of my online postings, in which I mentioned that the skinny dagger I made for R.B.’s dad was a “letter opener” – she asked for a “husband opener.” Well, who could say “no” to that?!
There are traditional ways of making a blade, which have been figured out at great expense over 1000+ years.
I made the “uptown shiv” and it turned out, as I had feared, it was a bit too ostentatious.
My high school science teacher asked me if I could make a hiking staff for one of my other high school science teachers who is retiring in September. How could anyone say “no” to that?
What I realized is that I was making those chisels for a beginner, who was going to be working at a makerspace, and, unlike mine, the chisels were not going to sit permanently on a rack near the lathe. They were going to wind up being transported in a car, carried around, etc. Godzilla chisels might be a tad ostentatious. Also, the skew chisel might be mistaken for a harpoon, or a murder weapon, and police involved. We need a chisel carrier!