I am not handy with tools. For me, a wheelbarrow is complicated machinery. On a good day, I can maybe drive one nail out of three without bending it, smashing my finger, or both.
However, a while back, I got the urge to see if I could make a knife, so I did. I took an old machete, annealed it using a torch, cut it, using saws and a Dremel, filed and ground and sanded it, tempered it, using the same torch and the straw-color-quench-it-in-oil method, polished it, then added faux-ivory scales and a buffalo-horn guard, held on by homemade brass rivets.
It is very crude, but I was inordinately pleased -- I didn't smash my finger, or burn myself, or blow up my garage, and it actually looks kind of like a knife. It will hold an edge sharp enough to be useful. Eight inches long overall, three and half inches of that blade, full-tang.
(Serious knifemakers will take a chunk of steel and forge it, hammering it to shape, then working it down. Some makers will buy already-forged steel and then grind it to shape, hence the tags "grinds" or "forges" when speaking of knifemakers.)
The sheath, even cruder, was made from scrap leather, dental floss, and glue, cut and put together while watching an episode of Monk on television, took about half an hour. Not going to win any prizes, either, but it covers the blade ...
Somebody asked me about it, so here it is ...
Dude, you've gotta be kidding. That knife is AWESOME. It's not only functional but it's stylistically attractive as well. It looks like you put quite a bit of work into it.
ReplyDelete"I am not handy with tools. For me, a wheelbarrow is complicated machinery. On a good day, I can maybe drive one nail out of three without bending it, smashing my finger, or both."
People have way too little confidence about this sort of thing. You don't sit down at a typewriter your first time, or your tenth time, and churn out War and Peace. Skills take practice and time.
On the contrary, I'd say you're very talented indeed with tools.
Much of that kind of "talent" is really just planning ahead. The nice thing about intelligence is that it's essentially fake skill at anything you try.
As long as you use it.
Well, thing is, as a silat player, I've been around some excellent knives, ranging from traditional ones by makers long-departed, to modern ones by makers still working. Among the latter, I've laid hands on knives by people like Mushtaq Ali, Shiva Ki, and Steve Rollert. I know Desiderata says you aren't supposed to compare yourself with others, but when I look at what I made and what these guys made, it's pretty humbling.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with golok. It looks pretty damn good to me, especially as you didn't just buy a knife blank and do a little finishing and tempering. I've seen a lot worse by people with a lot more experience.
ReplyDeleteI agree: it looks mighty good to me, too. Nice work, and who knows? Maybe you should take up carpentry next!
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