Spring steel on a spring day of metal
My older brother and I attended a knife making workshop at Kowhai Forge in South Waikato. There were seven students and we got to choose our style of knife. My brother and I choose this hunting/woods style knife while everyone else selected a kitchen knife. My brother wanted a longer blade while I wanted a short blade.
We started with a flat piece of steel which the master blacksmith started the initial shape. We had to forge out the shape of the handle and blade plus curve the spine. We also did all the grinding, heat treatment, quenching and handle making. The blacksmith checked our work, added the distal taper and did the edge.
I'm very happy with the result. Of course, with more time, I could have a nicer finish but this knife fits my hand really well. I will need to make a sheath and this could become my belt knife of choice if I'm also carrying a machete or axe. This knife style generally has a fat belly for skinning animals, but I gave mine more of a point because I do more wood work.
I'm thinking of going back to made a trade/north American style tomahawk.
For the best experience view this post on Liketu
Nice blade!
And I really love my Damascus tomahawk. Unfortunately the spike makes it more of a war hawk than a camp tomahawk.
So I got my own! And it is absolutely awesome.
Sounds awesome! They're great tools - though I've been more of a saw guy lately. Axes are carthartic tho.
You totally got to use the right tool for the right job.
I've got the 2 ft long double edge self sharpening super saw! Plus I've got the folding 18-in one. Plus I've got a 3.5" one on my leatherman. I absolutely need a saw especially to cut through the grain. Splitting it I need a completely different tool! I've actually got two axes and one is purely combative. Because I really think that if you need to bury a tomahawk into somebody's skull you should at least have a quality tomahawk to do it with.
Maybe it is a native American thing....
I have a few saws at home, but when I'm outdoors, it's a small silky saw for me. Although the SAK and Leathermen have saws when I need something small.
Might need some advice on a tomahawk. I'm thinking of forging a small North American style tomahawk/trade axe. A very simple one.
I absolutely love having saws! The right tool I absolutely makes life perfect. And then of course I've also got the chainsaw. It isn't the biggest chainsaw but a sharp chainsaw is a lifesaver when you need to cut things.
I just buy the crkt chodan tomahawk. If you grind off some of the weight you can perfectly fit it's weight to what you want.
I love mine. And it's a lot easier than trying to learn how to forge your own ax.
Some of it is the forging / made-it-myself aspect I must say. If I were using said tools daily, I'd just buy the best one made by expert tool makers.
💪😉 nice! quite a good skill to have. great little blade too!
Mere looking at the knife, you'd realize that it is very sharp
It is cool that you gained some knowledge at the knife making shop
It's not that sharp - but I will sharpen it properly in a few days time.
that s very nice knife