These English cutler kits are extremely good value for money, and contain all you need to put together your knife, including instructions.
I had a specific project in mind, so I sent him a picture of the dagger I wanted to make (below), asking Leo if he would tweak the content of his kit. I asked for a suitable blade, some thick brass for the top and lower Rondels. I also asked if he could provide a handle that would be close to the chosen design, and even for a bit of brass tube that would fit the lower part.
Tod was kind enough to accommodate all my annoying requests, but said he could not help with regards to the brass tubing.
Yet it was not long until I received the below:
A nice, long & thick blade (5mm thick at the blade shoulders - granted, the original dagger features a blade that is likely much thicker than this and likely triangular in section, but I'm not looking for a carbon copy - just something in the style of...), a piece of leather to wrap a scabbard (fit to the size of your blade which is not the case in the pic below :) ), a rounded and tapering wooden handle perfect for my purpose, a needle, some thread so bind the scabbard, and behold...an expected freebie: a brazed cylinder of brass to dress the handle lower part.
All this for little more than the original kit price tag.
So to sum things up I was very happy with this purchase, and Tod was extremely nice to deal with. I highly recommend that option if you able to manage a project like that. Tod certainly makes this as easy as possible, as gathering all this stuff is time consuming. His explanations are also really clear and simple to follow...So I let it aside thinking I'd come back to it shortly, and forgot about it while focusing on sword projects for the past 4 years.
Now it's time to put this thing together and I have just begun.
Cleaned of the brazing on the brass tube. It looked rough when I received it, but after a few passes on a grinder, the weld is impossible to notice..really neat brasing job. Sanded the bottom of the handle to allow a tight fit. Filed the inside of the handle (was already drilled) to be able to fit the blade in roughly.
that's one hour, and I'm already close to a functional knife. In fact it is so pointy and sharp that I will make a scabbard leather core asap, as it scares the hell out of me.
More coming soon (shaping the lower rondel - the upper one I'm not so sure now, having seen Fabrice Cognot's dagger and looked closely into books, the upper one should be a thin sheet folded down the handle, so will likely do it that way).
J
