The Rope test and Vegas

Now practicing guards for a cutlass type blade, And working on single alloy steels. Testing in the fashion of the "Journeyman Bladesmith test", A rope cut....on a free hanging 1" manilla rope in one swipe. Chop through 2, 2X4's for toughness. Then shave hair on the arm for durability, Then put the blade tip in a vise for a 90 degree bend for a break test. It is not to break more than half way thru the blade. 5160 worked great for this.




This is what I used on a Cutlass given to Linda's adopted Moms husband Gary Shattuck, A three tier guard with a bronze pommel, 5160 blade (Spring Steel) this blade felt really good in your hand.
Fall 2004
A Las Vegas trip was planned, Linda's son Jeremy was to marry his fiancee' April at Mt. Charleston Lodge. During the visit he showed me a knife he liked to skin with, but it was too long. So I was to make a wedding present, A ladder patterned Skinner for Jeremy and a Damascus Bracelet for April. With a severe topographical etch.
Linda's son Carl received a Skinner for birthday present, Which is from the same billet as Jeremy's and also Linda has a small skinner out of the same billet too. It worked out good that way I think.


Winter 2004
Able to forge the cable....
Elk hunting with my Dad in the Blue Mountain area, I picked up a piece of 1-3/4" type 1 general purpose cable a few years ago. I planned to forge something from it after laying it in my scrap pile, James (James Cox from the Farrier supply) decided to make a blade from it.
I hesitated to do anything with it because I didn't know if I would like the pattern.~ Being just 1 alloy of steel, But after seeing the blade profiled by James, I liked the pattern.
This piece of cable I decided to forge was laying in the mountains for years. This will be my attempt at an Ax and hatchets. The huge knot was forged into 1 large plate of steel, it looked like it wanted to be a double bladed battle axe. I seen one in a video game. So I figured I would run a drift thru the top of the plate, form a hole for a handle,This cable doesn't like that. It looks like it wants to be two axes.
One took the shape of my first battle axe, Next took the shape of a throwing axe. The patterns revealed, I look into them, I'm posessed...I have to make a Saber too.