Logging cable knife

[Brin]

I forged this blade out of logging cable / wire rope; most likely it is improved plow steel 1085. The brass guard is made from the buss bar out of a big 440 elec. box. The pummel is a piece of brass I cut off an old king pin from an antique car. The handle is made out of leather scraps I had laying around and the black plastic spacers are cut out of a car’s wheel house mud shield. I am old school and don’t like spending money for stuff that I can find cheap or free to make knives.

 

[bob_atl]

Love the whole package.
Any chance you could show a pic of your forge ?? TIA

 

[JeffG]

Outstanding. Very nice work!

 

[bikerdoc]

Indeed the work of a master

 

[Brin]

Love the whole package.
Any chance you could show a pic of your forge ?? TIA

I have three venturi gas forges, a one burner, a two burner, and a three burner. The three burner forge gives me the welding heat that is necessary to make Damascus steel but it needs to be rebuilt because Borax destroyed the insulation.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

Yo Brin in Oregon, I like your old school craftsmanship,Well done! When you get around to it, show us some more of your Damascus knife projects! I, and probably others are suckers for Damascus.

 

[bob_atl]

That's the real deal there, thanks for sharing the pics.
I have a buddy that's been forging for several years but he only has one, think it is a two burner.

 

[hso]

Borax destroyed the insulation.

Use kaowool and satanite.

 

[Valkman]

Very nice, beautiful work. Love it.

 

[Brin]

Indeed the work of a master

Hi Bikerdoc, thanks for the nice comment. I don’t know about being a master, I still occasionally make mistakes. I spent over 50 years working with my hands building or repairing things for a living which made the knife making learning curve easier for me. I started my knife making hobby by scrounging from the local logging mills most everything I needed to build the tools, machinery, and steel to make knives. I enjoy building the machinery and tools as much as I do making the knives.

 

[bikerdoc]

I have made a few basic blades but not close to that quality.

 

[Speedo66]

Beautiful! Like the idea of using found material. I have a feeling it's going to be lots stronger than the aluminum foil knives. lol

 

[Brin]

Yo Brin in Oregon, I like your old school craftsmanship,Well done! When you get around to it, show us some more of your Damascus knife projects! I, and probably others are suckers for Damascus.

Yo John, here are some more Damascus knives.

 

[1976B.L.Johns.]

^^^Thank You!^^^

 

[jmr40]

Nice work, beautiful and still functional.

 

[bannockburn]

Brin

Some beautifully crafted knives there, I especially like how you use different materials sourced from various places to make your knives. Thank you sir for sharing!

 

[foxmeadow]

I think he's referring to the welding flux. Kaowool and satanite are great for building or rebuilding forges.

 

[Vonderek]

Beautiful work. Would love to own one some day.

 

[Brin]

I think he's referring to the welding flux. Kaowool and satanite are great for building or rebuilding forges.

Foxmeadow, Yes, I was talking about borax as a flux when forging logging cable or making Damascus. When borax melts it turns into molten glass. It is sticky, runny and very corrosive and over time it will go through the refractory used in the lining on a gas forge and destroy the Kaowool. There are ways to mitigate damage caused by anhydrous borax. You can use a kiln shelf or fire brick for the floor of the forge. I put sand over the fire brick on the bottom of the forge and have the back of the forge 3” higher than the front this way the borax will run out of the forge instead of building up into a hot sticky mess.