In Progress.



Twist Damascus Blade - Probably Circa 1983.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2017 06:31PM by barnespneumatic.

That there is a sweet toothpick! The whole md 97 looks revised to a smaller footprint but longer .
Thanks I'll take it!

Thanks
Kurt



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/08/2017 09:59PM by kurt wag.

Btw, that's Ebony, Mammoth, and Turquoise.

The blade is heat treated and tempered, but not yet polished and etched. The pattern is a maiden hair twist.

Kurt,

Thank you so much. We sincerely appreciate it. That will be a huge help.

As a matter of curiosity: to the best of my recall, I believe this blade should be from about 1983. Now, in October of 1983 - I was granted the ranking of "Master Bladesmith" from the American Bladesmith's Society. Debbie Harry (Blondie) was dating a big knife collector at the time. They asked her to issue the rankings that year. So; somewhere there's a picture of a baby Gary shaking hands with Blondie. Smile. Let's see, I would have been 29 at the time. The youngest Bladesmith, to that time, to achieve the Master's ranking. See how I sneaked that fact in there...?

Which brings up - HOW can I have a blade, forged in 1983 that never made it into a knife? Sounds like a fish story .....

Well; in 1980, having moved from the rented home which just burned in February.... we dragged my tools out of the frozen filthy debris which the fire and firemen's hoses, had left as my basement shop. What a mess. In negotiations with the owner of the New Windsor property, we got permission to move the tools into a little 1880 something one car garage. ASAP, I enlarged the building and built a forge. Then I designed and built a hydraulic rolling mill (thinking I could weld and stretch Damascus with it). And, I did ... and I could, but it was too slow. So; next came a 13' tall 115 pound Power Hammer. (The 115 pound figure denotes the top "hammer" part of these machines). I hand picked used steel, flat belt flywheels, and the odds and ends needed .... from "Reliable Junk Salvage Yard" on East Street in Frederick, Maryland. And, beginning by planting 3 steel I beams in 42" of concrete, I fabricated my power hammer design ... in place ... where it stool for the next 35 years! What a BEAST.

It worked beautifully. Amazingly so. It's now disassembled - laying in my way - in the lower work shop. It kills me every time I see the pile, because I really want to use it. But when in action, I made finished billets of Damascus Steel, about the size of a pack of Cigarettes. That was enough steel for several blades. And so; I'd forgeweld the billet ... and then I'd stretch off a piece of Damascus, and then forge that into blade blanks. One or two would get made into blades and then knives. The rest would get labeled with a marker, and stood in a soup can .... to await another project that wanted that shape/length blank, that thickness, that steel cosmetic pattern, that set of alloy components, etc. As you might guess; usually the next project wanted something different. Or, I wanted to include a new Steel in the composition of Steels making up the layers. In 35 years, blades collected. Cans of blades collected. The marker labels faded, and got remarked from green, to red, to blue. They don't go bad, and they wait patiently. And so; I chose this blade blank this week.

Now you know .... the REST of the story!

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/09/2017 07:27PM by barnespneumatic.

Well that was quick
Good move Kurt,
Jeff

Yeah Jeff .... (you think he knows it's a kit? .... hehe ....well he's good with tools .....)

Hi Jeff & Gary
You gotta be fast here cause they get scooped up fast .
Jeff I'm hoping you are healthy and got a good crop of tobacco this year . My small garden got flooded out but looks to be popping back ok .


Gary
I love the scale design & if I'm not mistaken that mammoth will be that taffy yellow I love the most . I've never been a turquoise guy but that blade Scott had really caught my eye. Usually it's too much too green but the way you integrated with the other natural materials it's my new favorite gem stone . I have a great rock collection of geodes and agates and quarts that are mostly found through hunting but ..... no turquoise till now !
Thanks for the opportunity!

Thanks
Kurt

Hi Kurt,
I know that for sure! I have had some new challenges this year. So, no tobacco. I do still have a few pounds from my last crop of Virginia just aging sweetly. Enjoy that beautiful knife.
Later,
Jeff

Good snatch Kurt!
I bet that blade polishes up to be a real beauty.

Scott

Nice!

Lon