Message-Id: <3.0.5.32.19981026195818.007c5910@sowega.net>
Date: Mon, 26 Oct 1998 19:58:18 -0500
To: baidarka@lists.intelenet.net
From: Wynne Eden <graymare@sowega.net>
Subject: Re: baidarka crooked knives
In-Reply-To: <009601bdfdc9$05cb3820$57e1490c@packard-bell>
At 02:31 PM 10/22/98 -0000, Gene wrote (in part):
>Pete Culler had some interesting suggestions on this. He proposed that if
>you didn't overdo it, and were willing to experiment a bit, you could make
>knives out of files and rasps by just grinding them to shape. The idea is
>that the grinding will heat the file just enough to draw the temper a bit,
>so it isn't so hard.
I've been doing this for awhile. Older files work best, I guess the steel
is better. I just made an 11" bladed Scottish Dirk with an antler handle.
After looking at it for the past couple of weeks, the blade's too narrow,
so I may cut it off and make it a more useful knife. This was an old,
rusty file I found in my yard, and I left some of the pits in the blade,
partly out of laziness, partly out of the "style" it lent to the blade. I
shaped it with a stone on a power drill, as I was staying home on a Sunday
with the kids so couldn't get to the shop. I still don't have an edge on
it. I usually wait awhile for this, until I know the shape is what I want.
I've used old pickup leaf springs for blade stock, files, even bought some
steel a couple of times. The steel from the leaf springs worked best for
my mediocre technique and simple tools. I'm still looking for the flat
early 70's Dodge 4-wheel drive front spring that makes a perfect sword..
I've not perfected the corrective annealing necessary for using old steel
that Gene talks about, so the edge holding qualities of my knives is very
inconsistent.
Wynne
Americus, GA
USA