Time for a new BBQ Challenge - The Camp Sword

I'm having some mixed feelings about the idea of paying for the "privilege" of posting pix of my work. So, until I decide what I want to do, my knife is going on hold. If I don’t finish it on this thread, you’ll know why.

It’s not about the money. It’s the principal of it.
 
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Tai, I'd love to see it continued. Hopefully the moderators will amend their rules.
 
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From the Mod - The rule has always been there. It isn't new.

Now, from Stacy-
Sometimes it is no fun to be the Moderator.

Tai and I have been talking, and we both want him to be able to finish showing this build. So he is going to post more photos as he finishes the Camp Sword handle.

Problem has been resolved. post away, Tai.
 
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Alrighty then. :)

To fit the reticulated pieces over the wood core, first I make a paper template to get the shape needed.

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I bend a wire around the wood core, about the same thickness as the reticulated piece and straighten it back out to get the length. It’s better to have it come out a bit too long than too short, because you can always cut it open and saw/file a little out. I shoot for just right and hope not to have to do that though.

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… Cut it out, bend it around, silver braze the seam, slide it on the handle, use a wood hammer and the core itself as a mandrel to get the fit.

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No two pieces ever come out exactly the same. So, the way I arranged them was with the one with the highest relief at the back and the shallowest relief in the front which just seemed natural. I made them all a little bit extra tall so I can trim them down to get the spacing right for the half round silver bands. The silver bands will separate each piece, frame them in and (counter intuitively) help get the whole handle to look more unified and flow together. The banding will also help create a "rhythm" through the whole piece and help tie it together with the scabbard design wise.

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I needed to cast an ingot for the half round stock. I’m using a simple cope and drag and premixed sand (reusable).

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For the form I used a pencil.

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Pack the sand in one side, then put the other side on and pack the sand in.

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Pull the pencil out and stand it up with a clamp.

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Melt the silver, grab the melting dish with some tongs and pour it in.

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After it cools, take it apart and remove the ingot.

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After that, I just cut the top off, do some rolling and forging to make the half round stock.
 
Hey Thanks Calvin.

I got the half round bands in place. I made all the parts a bit extra tall, so now I need to trim them down to fit the length of the handle core flush and maintain the equal spacing.

I intentionally made the spacing equal. However, since it's on a taper, the larger diameter pieces look proportionately shorter and the smaller diameter pieces look taller. I like playing subtle "optical illusions" like that. I think the camera angle did amplify that effect in this shot though. It will be very subtle in the finished piece, and the angle you view it from will also effect it.

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Square on it tricks the eye or mind a little.

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I got all the parts fabricated and fit up this morning.

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You’re probably curious what the side with all the seams looks like. I put them all on the edge side, which "seamed" natural.

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… starting to look like a camp “knord”.
I think I’m going to go back, work on the quench line and finish the blade up next,… then work on the rest of the finish, patina etc., before final assembly.


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Yeah, wow!

I think that one of the real lessons I have to work hard to learn is delaying final assembly
MUCH further that I would have thought possible.
 
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Thanks guys!

I need to run into town and pick up some finishing supplies today,… to get this puppy done. This is the fun part,… playing with the quench line, patina etc. After that, the final assembly should go smooth, nothing too tricky about that part with the good tight fits etc.
 
Thanks Stacy. This one’s definitely been a “challenge“… but at least I got this far without having to redo any parts.

Seeing it now, the thing that strikes me the most is… it looks fairly simple.

I just got back from running errands. I picked up some liver of sulfur for the patina on the silver, but in case I don’t like the way that looks also got some Griffith “Silver Black”, just in case. I’ve used both in the past, but sometimes one just falls in better than the other. I think a black highlighted patina will help tie the handle in with ebonized scabbard. We’ll see… not sure if I’ll use a patina on the bronze yet, or just let it go natural. It patinas fairly quick on it’s own.

Once I bring the quench line out some more, I think the rhythm of the natural “ashi lines” will help with the sense of like a song or musical knife concept… using perpendicular lines to create rhythm (division of time/mathematically measured and timed/spaced out)., volume etc., and horizontal or parallel lines, texture and color etc., to create melody, timbre, flow etc., like a musical composition, beginning, middle and end,… like a "3D wave file". It’s a new way of looking at my work and I think it may lead to some interesting new designs.

Thanks for the opportunity to share.

... It looks simple, natural and warm,… but it’s all very cold and calculated. ;)
(That’s the paradox and the illusion.)
 
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'Tis the gift to be simple,
'tis the gift to be free,
'tis the gift to come down
where we ought to be,
and when we find ourselves in the place just right,
'twill be in the valley of love and delight.
When true simplicity is gained
to bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed,
to turn, turn, will be our delight
till by turning, turning we come round right.
( sounds of Appalachian Spring played on ukulele waft over us).

There is a lot of truth in that song.
 
Since I got everything I needed yesterday, I changed my mind this morning and decided to work on the finish of the handle a little instead. I ended up going with the “Silver Black” instead of the liver of sulfur. The liver was a bit too “bluseish” and iridescent. The Silver Black was more neutral… did some sanding, patina, buffing with finishing pads, steel wool and polishing paste,

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The reflection of the color off the bronze makes a subtle color transition onto/into the silver when the light hits it just right... "reflect light" is another important reoccurring design principal/element/illusion in cutler's art.

… It’s not so much “striving for perfection” as it is creating an “illusion of perfection”,... or "beauty". Perfection, order and beauty are just states of mind and "Illusionistic" in nature.
 
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the patina makes a big difference in how I perceive the knife handle. Sometimes the little details really change perspective. Once I made a short sword that looked very bad and chaotic until I filed in a set of plunge cuts to define the false-edge. Then, suddenly the whole thing looked planned and careful.

For me, the patina does something like that for this handle. It looks more like a complete unit now. Thanks for showing this much of the process.
kc
 
Funny how perception plays such a huge role in everything. When everyone perceives greatness however, you start to wonder if its something more. Excellent stuff Tai.
 
I have been stalled on handle material. I initially planned on Toxic and black layered G10 with yellow G10 liners, but now I am leaning towards a maple burl piece I have had.
(I wasn't getting enough thickness out of the G10 stack) What do you guys think?

Also, I should be getting some stencils in the mail from Ernie any day now. This will be my first etched blade.

G10 Stack.
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Burl
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