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Mark Moore
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Posted: Thu 01 Feb, 2018 12:29 pm Post subject: |
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I always forget about Crazy Crow! So much good stuff there. When I was MUCH younger I was really into the whole 'mountain man' thing. Hmmm....I may have to pick up a few of those bare blades. Make a few gift knives for Christmas 2018. ....McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Sean Flynt
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Sean Flynt
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Mon 12 Mar, 2018 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Sean,
do you think the tang on these blades is soft enough to peen over a pommel plate if you cut it the way shown in your picture?
Has anybody else tried this, maybe?
I was thinking instead about cutting a dovetail slot in the end of the tang and brazing in a short tang extension of mild steel, to mount a pommel plate on.
BTW, I also just got one of these blades for a future project. Planning to mount it up as a sort of "short messer", with a slip-on guard with quillons and a nagel.
Alex.
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Mark Moore
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Posted: Mon 12 Mar, 2018 1:31 pm Post subject: |
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Sean Flynt wrote: | Hey, Mark! My Crazy Crow order came in, and I'm seeing great potential in these inexpensive blades. Good length. Good thickness. Lots of options. Early bowie, CSA bowie and, of course, Bauernwehr! Wotcha reckon? |
That looks like a nice design you have inked on there. Do it, man, do it! ......McM
''Life is like a box of chocolates...'' --- F. Gump
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Sean Flynt
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Posted: Tue 13 Mar, 2018 6:35 am Post subject: |
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Alex: I haven't tested these blades and don't know their origin, but if they're anything like Windlass they'll be very hard throughout. I always have to anneal the peen area of Windlass blades, but that's not a problem. I wrap a wet rag just below the area to control heat. Also, cutting a slot in the base of a solid pommel and brazing that to tang does appear to be an historical method of attachment. You can see it on some of Tod's knives.
Mark: Yep, I marked it up quickly just to get a sense of proportion but it doesn't look half bad!
-Sean
Author of the Little Hammer novel
https://www.amazon.com/Little-Hammer-Sean-Flynt/dp/B08XN7HZ82/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=little+hammer+book&qid=1627482034&sr=8-1
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Tue 13 Mar, 2018 6:59 am Post subject: |
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I am almost 100% sure these Rifleman blades are made by Windlass. I also recently got a few Windlass made blades from Atlanta cutlery, including the Companion (https://www.atlantacutlery.com/companion-blade) that was discussed earlier on this thread. The way they are packaged, the look of finish, and the INDIA stamp - everything is pretty much identical between them. This model must be an exclusive for Crazy Crow, can't think of other reason why it isn't sold via Atlanta.
BTW, I noticed that the Companion and Rifleman have the same blade length (about 11") and general width/heft. I am thinking about seriously reshaping Companion's tang and making it into a Bauernwehr (steel bolsters with nagel, no pommel). Could make an interesting contrasting pair with the Rifleman mounted as I said above as a Messer.
Haven't decided yet which one to start with, as both sound as very interesting projects (I have never done either Bauernwehr or Messer).
Alex.
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Sean Flynt
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Alex Indman
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Sean Flynt
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Wed 14 Mar, 2018 12:15 pm Post subject: |
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Sean Flynt wrote: | you just need something rated for stainless. those are not expensive. |
Sean,
are you sure? Have you actually tried it? Stainless steel in general is rather soft, compared to a hardened carbon steel blade.
Alex.
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Sean Flynt
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Wed 14 Mar, 2018 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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I believe I have some of these cobalt drill bits, use them a lot for mild steel. Will try on the blades, they are cheap enough so that even wearing one out for a single hole will be worth it. Really want to do a proper nagel passing through the blade for both projects...
Thanks.
Alex.
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Mon 19 Mar, 2018 6:57 am Post subject: |
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Tried the Cobalt bits in my drill press at lowest speed, and they cut both blades with no fuss. I also found that at least the Rifleman blade can be cut even with my Nicholson files. Not as easy as mild steel, but they do cut and don't get damaged. So these blades are not really "knife hard", they are apparently heat treated more like machete blades (springy but not too hard).
Which is a good thing because I was forced to rework this blade a lot. Maybe I got a lemon, but the way the tang was shaped was just horrible. The blade/tang junction area was both narrower and thinner than the rest of the tang, and what's even worse it is wedge shaped towards the edge. Which of course would make it impossible to fit a slip-on guard. Not to mention the tang wasn't close to true flat, and pin holes were drilled out of perpendicular and not all the way through (1/4" drill fixed that).
So I spent a good chunk of Sunday taking the tang down from about 3/16" to 1/8", while leaving the guard area intact. Which wasn't a trivial undertaking with my little 1" belt grinder, especially keeping it reasonably flat. Also took 1/16" off the back of the tang to create a second shoulder for the guard to sit against, and partially off the front to make it straight. I think what I have now (see attached picture) should allow for fitting a guard more or less tightly, but that will still be a tricky job.
BTW, the cut at the butt is for a short mild steel extension to be fitted and brazed in (to hold a buttcap).
Overall, this is turning into a kind of project my late grandfather used to call "let's make a piece of candy out of this piece of shit". He was of the opinion that any idiot can do a decent job given perfect materials, but making do with whatever crap you happened to be able to get your hands on - that takes real skill. This kind of thing gives you certain satisfaction IF you can pull it off. Will see how it works out with this one.
Alex.
Attachment: 276.51 KB
[ Download ]
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Harry Marinakis
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Posted: Sat 24 Mar, 2018 3:01 pm Post subject: |
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Nice work!
Can anyone tell me where this image came from?
Attachment: 75.54 KB
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Thu 14 Jun, 2018 8:59 am Post subject: |
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Just finished my project with the Rifleman blade discussed above, posted at http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=330194#330194
So, do you think I managed to pull off the "let's make a piece of candy out of this piece of shit" trick here?
Alex.
Attachment: 226.51 KB
Messer in scabbard [ Download ]
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Sean Flynt
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Thu 14 Jun, 2018 11:58 am Post subject: |
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Sean Flynt wrote: | I'd love to see that out of the sheath, too. |
Sean,
follow the link I posted: http://myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?p=330194#330194
This is a separate thread for this project. More pictures and detailed description there.
Alex.
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Alex Indman
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Posted: Sun 25 Nov, 2018 3:26 pm Post subject: |
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I posted back in March about
Alex Indman wrote: | ... the Companion (https://www.atlantacutlery.com/companion-blade) that was discussed earlier on this thread... I am thinking about seriously reshaping Companion's tang and making it into a Bauernwehr (steel bolsters with nagel, no pommel).... |
So I actually finished this project, just need to organize the pictures and post! The project includes one more Atlanta Cutlery blade used as a by-knife with the Companion Bauernwehr: https://www.atlantacutlery.com/small-hunter-blade
Since this thread was in large part about using and modifying Atlanta Cutlery blades, I decided to start by showing here how I reshaped the blades for the project.
I believe the seriously modified Companion's tang profile not only looks more authentic as a Bauernwehr, but feels more comfortable in hand. It really shouldn't have been so curved, but nothing could be done about that...
And the by-knife was just a little reshaped to match the Bauernwehr's rounded handle style better.
A separate post to show off the competed project coming up soon!
Alex.
Attachment: 122.72 KB
Before (main blade)
Attachment: 158.73 KB
After (main blade)
Attachment: 116.07 KB
By-knife marked for rounding off the butt.
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Sean Flynt
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