A birch bark knife

[Scott Roush]

Hi folks... I took an old Dexter fillet knife that I got from a fish processing house that gives away their over-used knives (see my other thread).  This is my second knife and I thought it would be good practice to play around re-shaping and putting a new handle on.

So I annealed using my woodstove, shaped, re-hardened and put on this combo of birch bark, tigerwood and some old brass washers.  I've really been digging the Puuko style knives and I noticed a lot have birch bark handles... so, I was inspired. I got the bark from a tree in my backwoods. The blade is 2.5" long.  I've started putting a super glue finish on but I'm still working on that.

This first attempt at a sheath was a quickie job... I have a lot to learn about that work too!

Anyway... it's pretty rough, but I thought folks might enjoy looking at it.. or laughing at it!

 

 

[Scott Roush]

I should mention... I had a hard time working with that stainless steel. It was still pretty tough after annealing. Also, the metal was already pretty thin so I did very little other than just shape it.  I'm done working with that stuff though... I really like the look of other steels that have more character in the metal... pits, etc.

[farmboy]

I like the scandininavian knives as well.  They are just simple practical and take a scary sharp edge!

That is a great lookin knife and should be comfortable to boot.

Stainless is tough to work with for us backyarders without heat treat ovens.  Carbon steels 1084 etc are forgiving and make great knives.

[Steve Nuckels]

Nice work Scott!  I like the sheath too!

Steve
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ABS Apprentice
Potomac Forge
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IN GOD WE TRUST

[prarieboy]

I like that !

[Scott Roush]

Thanks guys...

Speaking of the Scandinavian blades... What steel is typically used for some of those Puuko knives? I particularly like the blades with the black, gnarly looking patina. Can anybody tell me about that kind of steel?  I was looking at the Helle knife thread and some of those look a lot like what I'm lookin for....

[Scott Roush]

Also... I've got two farriers files I will be working on next and I really wanna give them the simple look of the Scandinavian knife.  Any tips or suggestions on achieving that kind of grind style?

[farmboy]

I think the gnarly lookin stuff your reffering to is damascus?

Blades are usually 3/32-1/8 in thickness and usually have a flat grind that starts 1/3 or so of the way up from the blade edge.

Alot of Scandi blades are laminated.  they have a core of hardened high carbon that is 60 rc or above and an outer jacket of softer steel.  Makes for an easy to sharpen tough blade that holds a great edge.

[Scott Roush]

No... not Damascus. By 'gnarly' I just mean the hand-forged look with pits, etc and sort of powdered black finish. My Gransfors axe has that finish.  

Bear with me boys... I'm learning here! I probably really need to get into the fundamentals of forged steel...

Thanks Farmboy... yeah, I just was reading about the laminated stuff... And I found a good source for ground blanks... but I'd like to find some stock that will allow me to do all the shaping and grinding...