Man At Arms: Reforged

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I was recently invited to work with the awesome folks at Baltimore Knife & Sword on their Man At Arms: Reforged series. I’ve known Kerry and the crew there for years, and it’s a distinct honor to be asked to come work with them. It’s a lot of work, and a heck of a lot of fun as well. A couple of weeks ago the first of the episodes I got to be a part of aired on YouTube.

In that episode we made the sword “Eclipse” from the new Gearbox game “Godfall: Eclipse”. It’s a pretty complex sword with dual blades with mirrored right and left hand twist Damascus, and a lot of cast bronze. It was a lot of work, and definitely a lot different than my normal work, but it was a lot of fun to do.

Today, a new episode featuring the Luck/Pluck sword from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure was released. I only helped a little with this one, but Kevin and the rest of the guys did a bang up job on it.

I’m looking forward to doing more Man At Arms episodes in the future.

Update on “The Big Project”

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For well over a year now, you all have been hearing about the upcoming “Secret Project” I will be making steel for. It’s been the cause of a lot of new stuff in the shop, and a lot of learning and work as well.
 
Well, I’m finally at a point where I’m allowed to let the cat peek out of the proverbial bag. There’s still a long way to go, and I won’t be able to divulge much in the way of specific details for a while, but I’m proud to say that the steel in the attached picture is from my shop and that there will be a LOT more of it coming over the next year or so that will be made into more gorgeous 1911 pistols like the one shown here.
 
I’ll post more details over the next several months as things progress, but it feels great to finally be able to tell you all what I’ve been working on!
 
#damascussteel #damascus #1911pistols #m1911 #blacksmith #bladesmith #firearms #firearm #guns #45caliber #damascusguns #dekerknives #damascus1911 #manthisisgonnabealotofwork

A neat trick from my class this past weekend

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So, I don’t often toot my own horn about stuff like this, but I pulled off something I thought was pretty cool while teaching a class this weekend.

I usually do a heat treatment demo on grain growth where I snap a file (Nicholson in this case) to show the grain, then I blow the grain up with excessive heat and quench from a really high temp, then snap a piece off, then normalize to reset grain, quench properly, and snap another piece off to show the effects of grain refinement.

I do all of this during classes by eye in a dark room, with a coal forge, using a muffle. It’s great because I also get to demonstrate decalesence/recalesence while I’m at it.

So, why was this weekend special? Because using simple tools, my eyeballs, and a little Parks #50, I *BEAT* the factory HT for grain refinement.

In this picture, the top piece is broken off of a stock Nicholson file. The bottom piece is from after I blew the grain up, and the center piece is after I reset the grain. It was a little hard to get all 3 in focus because of the angles, but it’s pretty clear that I got the grain more refined than Nicholson does in their factory.

This just goes to show that with simple tools, proper steel selection (and no, don’t ask me what a Nicholson file is. I’m not paying to have one tested…I could do the same with 1084, but don’t have a “factory HTed” piece to work against), some skill, and some patience what can be accomplished.

Kalamazoo Horizontal Bandsaw For Sale

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UPDATE: This Saw is *SOLD*

 

Kalamazoo Model P-45 Horizontal Bandsaw

– 3ph motor (Probably 1HP, but the motor plate is AWOL. A VFD would run it, or a 1ph motor could be swapped in)
– Looks like it will do about a 14-18″ long cut (I’ll actually get a measuring tape and update this in a bit)
– Comes with a (non stock) coolant pump and a lovely metal tub as a coolant reservoir.

I’ve been looking for a manual, but haven’t found one yet. The instructions sheet under the lid is a little worse for wear, but it’s a pretty simple machine. There are a couple of YouTube videos showing restoration of this model saw from Keith Rucker of VintageMachinery. They give a good overview of these saws.

Things that it needs:
– One guide bearing (that my finger is pointing to in the pic)
– Drop cylinder needs to be cleaned up, refilled, and bled. I may get this done if it’s here for a few days more.
– A new blade (the one on it is probably 18-24TPI and DEAD)
– Some general cleanup (I haven’t done anything to clean it up as I figure that the new owner would want to do that like I would. That said, if it hangs around very long it will get cleaned up and the price will go up with that.  )
– Some adjustment of the stop switch, It’s basically a screw that hits the stop button. A longer screw would do it, or replacement with a slightly less used stop button. (forgot to get a picture of this. I can if you want.)

I tried a test cut or two and it looks like it will cut straight, but the blade just wouldn’t finish the job without forcing it a bunch, which would guarantee a crooked cut.

$500 ($450 if you want to pickup or pay before Friday)
You pick up in Hanover, PA
I MAY deliver nearby if you have a way to unload it, or ship via freight if you just have to have it, but cost of palletizing, etc. would be passed on to you.

For Sale: Turkish Twist Gents Knife

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Now available for sale is a Turkish Twist pattern Gent’s Knife.

This knife is made from 1084 and 15n20 high-carbon steels, forged by me. The inset handle scales are of fossilized Mammoth Ivory. Note that while screws were used on this piece for aesthetics, is it not a take-down construction. Comes with a custom wet-formed sheath and lanyard by Brett Smith of T-STAR Leather that make for a very slim and elegant package. The lanyard is not currently attached so that the new owner can set it to their preferred length.

My apologies for the poor quality of the pictures, I’m a good knife maker and a poor photographer. 🙂

Price is SOLD delivered within the United States, international shipping will be extra. Email me if you would like to own this beauty!

Turkish_Gents1_crop Turkish_Gents2_crop Turkish_Gents3_crop