Thanks very much everybody for your interest and kind words.

Julien M wrote

Quote:

Would the below be the or one of the pieces you have based your ear dagger on? the fueller layout and what I can see from the hilt furniture seems to be fairly close.

Yes they are similar in many ways, but these daggers were often of a fairly standard construction and as Nathan says, the assemetric grind was quite common.

I worked again on the dagger today and made the brass scales and cut them to shape, bonded and shaped the bone, rivetted them in place and finally rivetted the horn ears in place.

I have added a picture of me holding the dagger in an overhand grip and I am certain that this is pretty much the only way to hold and use this dagger type from an ergonomic view.

I hope you like it.

Tod

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brass scales

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bone and brass assemblies

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hilt

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overhand grip

Looks excellent! I really want one now!

To the future owner of this piece:

Jean, I'm jealous.

It's beautiful already.

You're very quick, Tod.

OMG, that is really beautiful and exceeds my already high expectations by a factor of 10. :) :cool:


As far to grip is concerned I guess I will have to check it out as to usability with a normal point forward grip: I'm assuming that it wouldn't be impossible but not optimum.

The ice pic grip is very versatile and effective when one knows how to use it that way and not the supposedly poor grip chosen by the untrained street thug in a few " modern " knife training books I have read in the past. ( Well, the untrained do use the ice pic grip but they have no idea how best to use it )

Back to the Eared Dagger: The contrast of shape and colour of steel, brass and bone looks very rich as well as the grind lines really " popping " with the handle furniture in place. :) :cool:

That's a work of art. No kidding, it's amazing in every respect--aesthetically, technically, historically....

I've never really seen the appeal of this style of dagger.

Until now. ;)

That is a thing of beauty.

Leo - awesome piece!

Jean - I'm jealous too :lol:

Congratulations, Jean! I hope you love playing with it, as much as looking at it, because it really looks fun to hold!!
Will it be kept as a display piece, and subject to only infrequent handling, or do you plan to ever test it out on something? If you ever do, please, tell us about it!

It looks quite stiff.
Tod, I imagine you could answer this question. Is there ANY give to the blade at all?

I REALLY love the whole package, but the scale and tang... That is really intriguing. When the cinquedea was being discussed Tod mentioned the scales, how they often didn't match up with the tang, and I seriously debated getting things done that way, the way they are on your ear dagger here, but I chose not to and am glad and happy with my decision, but upon seeing this piece... I am actually quite fond of the tang not matching the scales. I might have to get something like this in the future. I really wonder what that would feel like after gripping it for awhile...
Tod:
That is such a beautiful piece.... I'm impressed, Sir.
Jean:
Congrats again! Wow. I'm jealous.

Fantastic! I have always liked ear daggers and this one reminds me why! Congratulations Jean! Your collection gets more impressive and more eclectic from month to month it seems! Well done Tod.

Absolutely stunning!

I really like these "how it´s made" threads.

/Viktor

Hey Tod,

What an elegant weapon...you absolutely nailed it! Would you by any chance bring it over at the Bushforge this week end? I would not mind having a closer look :)

Craig Shackleton wrote:

I've never really seen the appeal of this style of dagger. Until now. ;)

True for me as well, and that's twice now because I felt the same about that superb cinquedea sword Tod/Owen made a while ago...I guess Tod's aesthetical approach would make an eating fork appealing to me...

Cheers,

Julien

Beautiful! I really like daggers and knives lately but I'm not interested in weapons I can't use and I don't know how could I test and use dagger, especially one meant to be used in armored combat. What do you guys do with your daggers (the metal ones ;) )?

If it's half as nice as this one, I bet they are kept plenty busy by simply wiping drool off of them :)

But that does get me thinking... If it's stiff, well made, and feels natural in the hand, does not that well enough test the qualities of a dagger made mainly, if not solely, for thrusting?

I suggest, if you need something more visceral, finding an answer to the question I ask with impact weapons: If a wild and angry pumpkin were to attack me, what would the pumpkin look like afterward?

I've also found it quite satisfying to take sword tips to cardboard boxes, and if the type and example can sustain it, plywood. You could do the same with daggers? Take it up against different surfaces and see how it feels to pass through them.... I don't see this as completely, or at this point in history at all, necessary, but it can be fun.... And I expect with enough intent and carelessness VERY dangerous.

Do we have a finished weight on the ear dagger? =)

Ryan A Currier wrote

Quote:

It looks quite stiff. Tod, I imagine you could answer this question. Is there ANY give to the blade at all?

Well the blade is pretty much 8mm at the hilt and stays up at about 5mm to pretty close to the tip and is about 250mm long so there is basically no flex at all.

Julien M wrote

Quote:

Will you be taking it to Owens hammer in?

Yes and a few other bits and pieces as well; knives and bows and what not, so see you there.

A bit more progress today on the scabbard.

I have taken two poplar boards, made a scraper and scraped the groove, which being poplar is not as neat as could be, but as it has the consistancy of a bundle of string is not the smoothest finish, but it seats the knife well. The two halves were bonded with the knife in situ to make sure it fits well. The block was shaped down socketed into the top disc of the scabbard. Ready for covering and a chape.

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poplar boards

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scraper

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bonding the block

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shaped scabbard

great work Tod

what kind of glue do you use for the scabbard core???

Ben Anbeek wrote

Quote:

what kind of glue do you use for the scabbard core???

Clear epoxy. I use a variety of adhesives depending on application and other factors, they can be old school or modern.

I find that clear epoxy cures to a slight yellow and so looks pretty much like both rosin and hide glues.

So here it is after quite a slog and I hope you like the end result. I decided yesterday to reduce the top disc on the scabbard and am rather glad that I did. The scabbard is sewn from a single piece of leather and the chape was fabricated in my usual way, but with a bit more detail than I would put on as standard.

Thanks for following the story.

Regards

Tod

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