I'm not a "knife guy"and in fact somewhere back in my life I read the phrase" a woodsman can be judged inversley by the size of knife on his belt"... I've never owned or felt a need to own a really large knife. But in experimenting: with my apologies to the knifesmith's on board I comitted several sins: I picked up a new(discontinued) Cold steel(sin#1) chinese knockoff (sin#2)trailmaster bowie(39L16c) to playwith $70 shipped (feebay)(sin#3).Its'sk-5, scary sharp out of the box and IMHO "huge".I got it with an eye towards woodland "survival" chopping duties in the bob. I don't expect to fell mighty oaks, but it and my usual pocket carry swiss army folder should be able to handle northern forest "survival" shelter building. I'm now Thinking I'should'vejust bought the 6" buck 119 sheath knife. I have yet to get out side and (test) play with it (this spring). I'm not even sure this "sword" is legal to carry on the belt in this day and age Any big knife fans? Is there a place for the bowie sized (9.5")knife in our kits? chopping? More "reach" used as a weapon ? I am not a knife"fighter;" shoot me please,anything , just don't cut me open... Do you think nothing replaces a hatchet in the forest? Guess I'justwondering if I'm,missing something on the utility of carrying a sword like this(now that I can actually hold it in my hands) "That'snot a knoife; mate this is a knoife!":
While there is merit to large blades, in my opinion they are specialized tools. You don't need a 9" blade to baton, whittle skin and animal or cut a block of cheese. In fact this size just becomes cumbersome. When I say larger blades are more specialized tools what I mean is a machete is a large, usually thin blade. It will be at least 9" and probably much longer. A machete is very useful in clearing a path through thin vegetation, but isn't all that useful for anything else. An axe is larger (counting the handle) and it is hard to beat for splitting wood, but it certainly isn't my choice for skinning a deer. I could go on, but my point is that large and or heavy blades are made to excel at a specific purpose. An all around knife can be divided into two sizes. Under 4" and 4-6(7) inches. The smaller size is the size folks will likely have for every day carry and press into use for a variety of chores. The larger size is more of an outdoor/survival knife useful for batoning wood and if the blade (spine) thick enough even a (very) lightweight prying/digging tool. Getting larger/heavier than that and the blade may become more useful for one task while less useful for others.
ROFL! I can't stop laughing!!! Tango, you are gonna make me pi55 myself, I swear! *collects himself* No wait... ok. Yeah, knives are like -the HEART of my kit nerd-dom. I have so many dang knives, I forget what the heck I was doing most of my life. Swords, oh yeah got them. Hand forged Starfire swords for fair practice (shhhhh!) to Japana-tanto blades to samurai swords, and even Ninjato's. And all I *need*... is my skinning blade, my fillet (folder) knife, a good multi-tool, a couple pocket knives, perhaps a single combat knife (thanks to Valkman), and a tomahawk. I have never really found an ideal purpose for the larger knives, even though I too have purchased a handful of them.
... Merely a little buyers remorse setting in, They sell these humongous(?)things ? I guess their number one purpose is; to separate said fool from his/her frn's!!!
i live up the road from a dump and found a whole stack "about 20 " of them carbon steel saw blades they are about 2-1/2 x24" long. i sold about 5 or 6 of them and now i am makin knifes out of the rest the knifes are nice because you have a blade on one side and a saw blade on the other and it's carbon steel that is made to cuth through steel pipe so you know it'sw gonna never where out sawing through wood. it just takes forever to shape this steel i done went through so many of them flapper wheel pads for the 4-1/2 grinder but it's gettin there.i'll post some pictures of the blade tomorrow i ain't no pro knife builder so don't laugh infact a amuture knows more than me.lol here is the blade pictures.
I carry a Randal combat knife that's pretty large but I find it useful for camp tasks and very intimidating. If I were expecting to be over-run and in a hand to hand combat situation, I would much rather have a Bowie than a respectable sized edge. They had small knives when the Alamo was over-ran but you wouldn't imagine that Jim Bowie used one. I like big guns and big knives for defensive purposes, they just aren't always the most convenient things to carry so instead of a Bowie and a .45, you usually got a Keltec and a Spydreco. They aren't much use for dressing squirrels but they'll do just fine cutting a slice of change in attitude in a mugger.
..hmm strictly considering defensive/offensive antipersonnel uses" i.e. that's not a "knoife" mate;this is a"knoife":intimidation factor is pretty high. Its the sharpest thing I have, The thought of slashing exposed skin with this makes me bit "squeamish". Perhaps you hit its best use on the head Sea cowboys. after "o-biden" makes us all file for permission and screening to own our own handguns...Non "firearm" weapons may become important.
Sh0ot. When it comes to fighting Zombies, I go with a Ninjato or a Samurai. But you're not gonna see ME carrying that crap through the woods, nosireezee.
does anyone know how i can pop a hole through the carbide or carbon steel blade i'm makin to finish putting my handle on it? i tried a few drill bits but they didn't even scratch it is there a special bit out there that i need i have a bunch of oak wood drying out and some nice cedar too. plus i picked up some marble slabs out the dump well they are the imitation marble but they look nice for gun handles and knife handles so i picked them up too but i gotta find a way to fasten them to the knife.
Well, if you want to spend money, there are drill bits (carbide, diamond, *insert type* tipped) probably cost a fair amount, too -that are meant to drill harder metals... Annealing is heating the metal basically to change its properties. (sorry, I am no expert) Since the metal is already hardened, by heating it, it realigns the molecules...and the cooling process determines its final characteristics (this is all a very simple explanation, mind you). So, cooling it (after it has reached 1800 degrees Fahrenheit) by dipping it into water or oil will both yield different results, thus hardening the metal...and allowing it to cool on its own in the air should "soften" the carbon steel somewhat, as opposed to oil immersion, which would quickly harden the blade. You could also try punching through the blade after or while heating it, but I am not sure how comfortable you would be with that idea. Oh, and a very easy way to tell if the metal is at 1800 degrees is to try attaching a magnet to the blade (CAREFULLY) -and it shouldn't be magnetic. Again, this is all just a VERY vague description...and I am sure if Valkman sees my post, he will clear up any discrepancies I have left in motion, hehe.
Spot annealing is very tricky. I think I'd spend the money on a drill bit that will do the trick rather than mess around with heating and trying to control the cool down in a small area that thick. Next time, do the annealing first, then rough shape the blade, drill the holes and so forth, than re-harden to suit. Much easier. While drilling, flush the area generously with a oil (used motor oil works well enough with steels) to keep the bit and workpiece cool. Bits will last a lot longer, and there won't be a heat affected area around the hole when you are done. Let the bit tell you when to feed, don't force it. Once the chips become uniform, you have the pressure about right. Don't let up on the oil, it shouldn't smoke. Valkman will surely know better ways, he's got good experience.
i'm gonna check into the drill bits because i have afew more blade i wanna do so i guess the drill bits might pay for themselves.
Annealing it is the only way I know to soften it, the other option is carbide bits which I use to drill hardened steel. I also use carbide end mills and they go right through!
drill press or mill with a"cobalt" bit might go through drill a small pilot hole and then enlarge it. Realize drilling creates heat. if you repeatedly try to drill stainless in the same spot, it gets harder than chinese algebra. Some where a yearor so back I posted a thread of a video of a guy making primitive knives out of old files. first step he built a large wood fire, laid the files in the ashes and let it burn out and cool overnight. It makes the hard file steel workable. Heated to the point magnetism is lost long; slow cooling allows the carbon to reform in such away the steel is not as hard. Then Do all your filing/grinding and shaping. heat the finished blank up to the point a magnet won't stick anymore. if you cool it suddenly(say: water) it will become very hard but very brittle, some folks cool in oil or sand to control the rate of cooling, then finish it up, put it in a toaster oven at 400 degrees for a while and let it air cool"drawing it back" just slightly to add "toughness the ability to bend without breaking guess custom smiths have their own "secret" recipes...again i'm talking out of place Valkman should be here...
i use oil to cool my welds on small parts it might smaoke but it won't cool it down so quick that it makes the steel brittle.
thanks for the videos tango i'm on my way to the cyropractor but when i get back i'm gonna look at them then i'm gonna give it a try on one of them other blades . thanks again man !!!
