[Benjamin Rial]

This is the first Elite Line Dagger for Forged In Time. I'm using Cruforge V for the blade steel, brass for the fittings and macassar ebony for the grip. Blade length is 7.75" with an overall length on 12.75". Blade width is 1.45"; thickness is 0.25" at guard with a convex distal taper. This is the master prototype. Finished pieces will include a black leather sheath with brass fittings. The blade is differentially heat treated and the tang is peened; a feature not often found on daggers these days.
I should have info up on my website in the next couple days.
Let me know what you think.
Thanks for looking.

[Ben Sweet]

That looks clean, I like it.

[Christopher Gregg]

Very nice!

[J. Hargis]

I want one!
Looking forward to seeing the sheath for this.
Well done, Ben

Jon

[Benjamin Rial]

Thank you gentlemen.
I felt a sort of late 15th century inspiration for this one. Not a replica but I was trying to capture some of the flavour of the early renaissance in north-western Europe.
The more I work with ebony, the more I appreciate its attributes. I was contemplating nickel silver for the fittings but the brass just seemed to "fit" the blade style.
I probably won't get to the sheath for another week or two at least but I will post pics when its done. I've got a bunch of orders to get out the door taking priority. This dagger is one of those side projects that develops over time. I've added it to the Elite Line on my site. The guard was shaped mostly by hand filing.
I started peening more tangs on daggers over the last two years and have been quite satisfied with the results. Most of my "standard" stuff is still threaded/compression hilt construction, but I'm going to be offering peened construction on all of the upper end stuff and some of the more popular models.