EeBHuS (pro photo pg 3)

[Lin Rhea]

Pronounced ee-bus. Yes, I made that up.      

But, that is what I shall call it. Better than just EBHS.

This is a European Boar Hunting Sword. The Europeans would use one to finish off the boar after shooting it with a bow or something. As swords go, it is rather short and nimble, kind of light weight.  

A friend of mine who often helps me in the blacksmith shop collects these swords and has been showing me some. What they amount to is a bowie that is stretched out a bit. Most have a unique little side piece that is usually carved into a shell pattern. This has given rise to the name Hanger or German Hanger. Most of these have some form of embellishment from almost plain to  very elaborate.

I got the bug to try to make one and I have been working on it a full month. That explains why I haven't been posting very much lately. I've waited to post anything about it because so much can go wrong during the forging or the heat treat. But it's now past the danger point and the blade is etched. Here is the start of the blade. This the billet and the forged blade. It's about 18 inches long.


       

     

I'll post more pictures in a few minutes.

[Lin Rhea]

   

I have some close ups of the details if need be.

[Doug Campbell]

Awesome piece of work Lin, can't wait for the finished pics.

Did you forge the fullers?

[Lin Rhea]

No Doug, I ground them in and hand sanded them to finish.

   

[Bladepeek]

Wow! I can't wait to see that finished. They're useful tools, but not exactly an EDC knife.


While living in Germany, we found a lot of WWII weapons dumped at the bottom of a deep lake. I kept a couple of the K-98 Mauser bayonets. They were badly pitted and of no collector value, so I re-did one trying to copy a German hunting sword (Hirsch Faenger). I wanted to do the shell guard but knew that was WAY beyond my ability at that time. I kept the blade cool, while forging the "forked" tang together and stuck it in a nice piece of stag. The fit is a total embarrassment now, but I was rather proud of it at the time (20 years ago).

I carried this for many years in the trunk of my car in case I needed to put down the loser of a car-deer accident. I expected the steel to be very soft, but this one is definitely a good piece of steel that had good heat treatment. We drove it into a tree and stood on the handle. The blade bent, but returned to straight and it holds an excellent edge. It even has a fairly nice distal taper and balances well.

Anyway, these things fascinate me and I can't wait to see what you come up with.

 

 

 

 

 

[Doug Campbell]

Welp, that's the way I'd a done her too Lin. Did I mention that is one awesome blade!

I've got a Scottish Dirk in my future somewhere. Researching I found where some folks, (Vince Evans specifically) made a scraper and scraped the fullers. May have to play with that.

That is a pretty cool reworked bayonet there too Ron.

[D.Ellis]

This is gonna be awesome!
I have used a bowie knife several times to finish off game that had been spine hit(mostly with firearms) and it is an extremely quick and humane way to dispatch game.......anyone who has killed game with a broadhead arrow knows how lethal a sharp blade can be.

I have heard that a lot of the time hunting with firearms was considered less sporting, and the use of dogs and a blade was the preferred method for both boars and stag. Interestingly, stags were considered to be quite dangerous when at bay.

Sure look forward to seeing the finished photo's.
Darcy  

[Lin Rhea]

Thank sirs.

Ron, you did a nice job on that handle. It gave the bayonet new life.


Doug, I used a smallish round wheel and, more or less, hollow ground it. I happened to have a heavy cylinder of the same diameter of the wheel and hand sanded the hollows. While you might think a lighter backing would be good. I think the heavy weight helped it to track and to provide momentum.

Darcy, I hope to be able to show some more progress after this coming weekend. It's pretty much crunch time to get it done. It has potential if I don't mess it up.

[Track]

Always been a big fan of swords since my childhood days. Can't wait to see what this one turns into.

[ymountainman]

Thanks for posting LIn!

[gudspelr]

WOW. That's really impressive, Lin. My brain's trying to imagine what you'll come up with for the fittings and handle. No doubt, the whole package will be incredible.

     

Jeremy

[kbaknife]

That picture just kind of leaves me speechless.


 

Originally posted by Lin Rhea:


       

[Danny Rowan]

In the words of Crocodile Dundee "Now that's a Knife."

[Steve Nuckels]

Lin, your skills are awe inspiring!

That blade is fantastic!

Steve
---------
Potomac Forge
Member, W.F. Moran Jr. Museum & Foundation
ABS AP

[Lin Rhea]

Thanks

I have been working hard on this project but it is slow. I have a couple of pictures that will show the direction it is taking.

   

This shows the strap that has been forged. I pinched it off the end of a 1 X 1-1/2 inch bar of 420 stainless. Quite a bit of reduction.
     

Such as it is, there is some engraving/chasing on the fittings. This is the hanger.
   

There is still a couple more days of work to get it done if all goes well.

[Fallguy]

It is going to be a special one for sure.  

[kbaknife]

That hanger rocks.

[Lin Rhea]

Thank you guys.

This one of those projects. I have to spend days, literally, thinking and adjusting things. Not because I don't have a plan, but because I have to figure out how to enact my plan. This sounds crazy, but I like to draw the piece to stretch my skills. I suppose it is an old guy's version of thrill seeking. Part of the fun is to try to do something I have never done before even if it is just a small feature. I'm so far in I cant afford not to get it right.

I want EeBHuS to be a mix of modern and vintage. I should have a few more photos soon. I'll be on it again tomorrow full speed (which is slow  :rolleyes: )till I get it done.

[D.Ellis]

Nice Lin! Good to see you start doing some engraving    
Darcy  

[Lin Rhea]