House!

So right now, buying a house is my biggest project of all. I close September 28 and move in October 2. I will have a sewing room/home office that I have some very interesting plans for. Hopefully it works. I will have a surprise after Crown, and I've started to form the tang on my next knife. Other than that, I've been sewing and embroidering. And lots of packing to move and also getting rid of things.

Finished!

The knife is finally done and has an edge. I just need to make a sheath. I started hand sewing new rapier gear, but I don't remember how many layers I needed. I had it tested a long time ago already. I'm going to try some modern metal work next, an outlet cover. There will be chasing on it which I don't know how to do so it'll be a good learning project.

Damascus Knife

Week by week I am getting closer to finishing my first knife. It isn't the first one I've started, just the first one that I've actually finished. Several billets were repeatedly lost, misplaced, or finished by others. The pictures are dark, but that is so you can see the layers of the knife. There is some de-lamination on the top edge where I had the weld failure. You can't see it on the pictures. It was too deep to grind out so that will have to be filled in. The pits are also too deep to grind out so they will just be there. I've hit the polishing phase and am currently at 320 grit sandpaper. After all the polishing is done, the handle will be added and carved. The blade length is 4 5/8" long from tip 8" to shoulder and just under an inch at the widest part. The tang is 3 1/8". The handle will be between 3 1/8" and 3.5 inches once added.

Forge Night

I had sparks flying in my hair again. Luckily, I did not start on fire. All in all, it was a productive evening. Only Danr and I were in the shop so I was able to get a lot done tonight.
The last fold on my motorcycle chain knife is done. First, it had to be made into a billet and then I folded it four times. It will be a damascus knife, although I don't know how much of the pattern will actually be visible. I'll have to see about that when I'm done. This is my first knife and no welds failed! It will not have a full tang to the knife, and it isn't going to be that big. It'll be a small utility knife.
I nearly ruined it tonight, and Danr thought I couldn't fix it but in the end I had a good idea that worked to fix it. It took both of us to make it work. It was enough work to make it into a solid piece of metal so I could begin folding that I would be very unhappy if I couldn't fix what I did wrong. I was too thick at the end so the metal I had to take away to fix the mistake worked out just fine. I've now begun shaping the knife, and I need to consider what kind of shape I want. I'm hoping to hav ethis done by Boar's Head so I can show everyone.