I got an old 5lb doghead hammer back up and running for working on my round bar, it's a lot tougher to move than I thought. I have annealed a piece to work with (I did assume it was shipped annealed, but you can't be sure) so I'll give it another go later in the week. Tonight I'm quenching and tempering a batch of blades. View attachment 8716522View attachment 8716525
The place i get my steel from usually gives info how it was annealed, like how slowly it was cooled down C per minute.
But quite often that annealing has been done when the steel has been a roll, then afterwards its been straightened by cold rolling, thats why it might warp when quenched(cold forming the steel in any way introduces internal stress just like hot forging)
Heavier hammers are harder to swing ofc, got myself a 12 pound sledgehead and put a short handle on it.
Its a workout and you CANNOT swing it like a hammer, its more like a workout where you lift up a dumbell and let it drop while putting some force behind it.
I only use it for forge welding, i could do the same work with a lighter hammer but the surface area of the sledges face is large so i like using it to weld.
I do this for the first and second heating of a billet, then i use a normal hammer so i can be more accurate.
These are my first and second prototype bushcraft/camp knives. The one with the Jarrah handle is mine (version 1), but I slightly enlarged the blade for version 2 with the G10 handle.
Both made of 3.5mm 1084. Sabre grind with a 15 degree edge. I have a blank cut out of 5mm thick 5160, just so I could go full retard down the track.
I'm sending version 2 to a friend for him to do some testing on (he has a teenage son, so it'll get some abuse).
I had a small box of damascus billet offcuts, like the size of a coin but 3-6mm thick, bunch of em.
So i decided to clean them up, stack em up, add some welds on the side with a MIG welder, slobber the stuff with borax untill i thought i put too much, then added some more.
Forge welded, drew it out to a bar, then cut it halfway and added one bar of 15n20 and 80crv2 inbetween, drew it out again and folded it, then drew into a round bar and twisted it, folded and forged it into a knife.
Imagine stacking bunch of coins and then mushing them down and spreading the coins into a flat longer bar, thats bout the process here.
Kinda surprised it didnt fall apart, im pretty sure it has bout 5-6 different sorts of shit in it and im surprised i only got one "void" in the structure.
theres old carbon steel file parts, 15n20 and 80crv2, 1095, 20mm armor piercing steel bullet and old handsaw blade in it.
everything but the kitchen sink.
Fuel cost was 7.5kg of charcoal and maybe 2kg of propane.
I started with a hefty handfull of billet bits so im just going to assume i lost bout 50% to cleaning and scaling.
These are my first and second prototype bushcraft/camp knives. The one with the Jarrah handle is mine (version 1), but I slightly enlarged the blade for version 2 with the G10 handle.
Both made of 3.5mm 1084. Sabre grind with a 15 degree edge. I have a blank cut out of 5mm thick 5160, just so I could go full retard down the track.
I'm sending version 2 to a friend for him to do some testing on (he has a teenage son, so it'll get some abuse).View attachment 8736078
doublepost because i forgot to mention this.
You should polish that with sandpaper, as asinine it might sound, but scratches and sharp angles on that part of the blade create a stress point.
Fuck im so paranoid about stress relieving that i polish the area where a puukkos blade becomes the tang, and i polish it lengthwise so theres no scratches across.
If it adds 1-2% of durability for 15 minutes of work i dont care im near autistic about this stuff because i learned on my own by trial and error until i started going to professional blacksmiths to learn.
this drawing is shit, that 90 degree angle is SUPPOSED to be a round arch, sharp 90 degree angles break on hardened steel really easy.
REEEEEEEEEEEEEE
doublepost because i forgot to mention this. View attachment 8750421
You should polish that with sandpaper, as asinine it might sound, but scratches and sharp angles on that part of the blade create a stress point.
Fuck im so paranoid about stress relieving that i polish the area where a puukkos blade becomes the tang, and i polish it lengthwise so theres no scratches across.
If it adds 1-2% of durability for 15 minutes of work i dont care im near autistic about this stuff because i learned on my own by trial and error until i started going to professional blacksmiths to learn.
View attachment 8750450
this drawing is shit, that 90 degree angle is SUPPOSED to be a round arch, sharp 90 degree angles break on hardened steel really easy.
REEEEEEEEEEEEEE
I know that knife isn't perfect, it's most likely headed for destructive testing (although that makes me sad).
It's just my first prototype, which is why I put (free) hardwood handles on it rather than paying for G10 or Micarta. Though if I can work out the best method for sealing hardwood for outdoor use I'll possibly start using it. Jarrah is hard as fuck, and a beautiful colour.
I know that knife isn't perfect, it's most likely headed for destructive testing (although that makes me sad).
It's just my first prototype, which is why I put (free) hardwood handles on it rather than paying for G10 or Micarta. Though if I can work out the best method for sealing hardwood for outdoor use I'll possibly start using it. Jarrah is hard as fuck, and a beautiful colour.
Some pics from few weeks ago:
Charcoal forge is used for forge welding, as my gas forge isnt made from aluminium silica BUT from firebricks.(temperature doesnt get high enough, silica insulates, fire brick holds heat)
First forgeweld and stretch. test etch to see how good the welds are.
(second fold, no picture of first one) Second fold, hotcut with a chisel on the anvil, slobbered with borax, went to sleep.
First forge weld, start of billet did not have enough heat. Reason: bottom of the firepit had a clump of molten borax, ash and glass(from sand) which blocked airflow.(notice color difference between "bottom" and "top" layer of billet and the gap between so heat does not transfer over, which means NO WELD)
Forge welded, second welding heat, after forge was violently cleaned with a chisel and a hammer.
Grinded off the "fat folds" aka steel gunt, inspect weld, gotta go grind deeper to remove the edges of the welded billet to remove "void lines" so there wont be any fucking birds or cracks in the finished blade.
Okay welds done for now, now to stretch the billet and then form it into a round rod with a hammer AKA alot of precise hammering=time. So im switching over to gas forge because its cheaper as i do not need forge welding temperatures. As it just above zero degrees celcius outside, i placed the gas canister into a warm water bath because all valves involved were at their max. If i hadnt used warm water, the gas canister wouldve frozen over due evaporation AND that means i get less gas pressure.
Gas to air mix is way gas high so there is no oxygen in the forge to cause decarburization or cause "scaling".
Streeeeeeeetch.
Twist, did not count how many twists as copious amounts of beer was involved.
Before this image, i slobbered the twisted rod in borax and hammered the rod into a square rod as much as i could(you cant really forge the spiral edges back into the billet so you lose ALOT of material to grinding) Image taken before forge welding.
How the blade came out after grinding. Here its being normalized to relieve internal stress before quench.
Kinda nice how you can see the layers even if it hasnt been etched since nickel steel oxidizes differently in the air than low alloy carbon steel or just normal carbon steel.
Cost of making just a single blade?
Materials, fuel, 45 dollarish.
Time? I didnt fucking count, who cares.
Hey @Adolf Hulkler , I want to do some cultural appropriation and make a Puukko. If I wanted to do it as traditionally as possible what dimensions should I be aiming for?
ETA: I imagine Puukko probably just means "knife" in Finnish, so I should clarify... a standard/general purpose knife someone would take camping.
Hey @Adolf Hulkler , I want to do some cultural appropriation and make a Puukko. If I wanted to do it as traditionally as possible what dimensions should I be aiming for?
ETA: I imagine Puukko probably just means "knife" in Finnish, so I should clarify... a standard/general purpose knife someone would take camping.
Ah no there is Puukko then there is Veitsi, veitsi means knife.
Puukko is a type of a knife, a knife being a puukko doesnt have much criteria.
Only dimension reguirement is it not being a machete.
This is probably the best gallery for nice ones.
For dimensions, handle should be comfortable for you, for blade length 10-15cm is the norm, 20cm+ is pretty much only done in storra niiba(Leuku, google it) and in JääkäriTommi(Jäeger Tommi).
Theres quite a few types of puukko but only difference usually is materials and the sheathe. All named types usually have origins going back 100-200 years.
Except one, Roselli puukko. Named types only become named if they catch on and it happens veeeeery rarely nowdays.(rosellis handles shape is wayyyyy different from every other puukko)
A basic puukko is something like this
If i were you, as a first puukko id make the handle from bark.
Theres two ways of doing it, with or without glue.
I see no reason to use glue, because the way you assemble the handle is like plywood, the grain/fiber of the layers need to be 90 degrees to each other.
If you stack every piece in the same fiber orientation your handle will split easily. Assemble it as if you were making plywood and its so so much durable.
Youl need some sort of a press for it tho, like hammer in the blade into a 2x4 gently and then assemble the handle, then put two threaded rods through the wood and make some sort of a plate with a hole in it so you can tighten the barch around the tang with nuts and a spanner.
Thats how i used to do it, now i have a dedicated heavy hydraulic press and hole plates for that.
The handle compresses alot.
Or just, get some flame birch or curly birch (better yet, curly flame birch)
No idea how expensive it is there, i remember looking at boards being sold in america years ago and the price was triple that its here.
Sheathe is its own thing, to make it so that its tight and there is an audible "click" when you seat the knife into the sheathe.
This is a dedicated puukko press, you can do the same thing with two threaded rods too.
There seems to be alot of instructions in english about the sewing of the handle and the basics of making a puukko.
On youtube and other sites.
this one has some of "shaping" the sheathe at the end.
Oh and if youre going to make a birch bark handle, you WILL run out of sand paper quickly.
I usually preform the handle with a bandsaw, then shape it with a rasp and only then start beltsanding with a 80 belt.
And be careful, if you go above 180 grit with the sandpaper AND you also sand the brass parts at the same time, you will ruin the surface of the handle with fine brass dust and you have to remove it by, more sanding.
And painting it with penetrating paints like alcohol based ones is a pain. Id just leave it as.
I would love to, but the nearest Birch trees that I know of are 200kms away. I was considering a stacked leather handle to approximate the look, but I'm not sure at the moment. I've not yet made a stick tang, so I'm very much in the experimental stage.
If I do a bark handle without glue, is peening a pommel on going to be secure enough, or is it better cutting a thread and using some kind of cap nut?
Or just, get some flame birch or curly birch (better yet, curly flame birch)
No idea how expensive it is there, i remember looking at boards being sold in america years ago and the price was triple that its here
Curly Birch is only available in Australia from a knife supply company, so it starts at $25 for a handle block (120 × 40 × 30 mm). I think I'll be looking for a local equivalent instead, because that's ridiculous.
I would love to, but the nearest Birch trees that I know of are 200kms away. I was considering a stacked leather handle to approximate the look, but I'm not sure at the moment. I've not yet made a stick tang, so I'm very much in the experimental stage.
If I do a bark handle without glue, is peening a pommel on going to be secure enough, or is it better cutting a thread and using some kind of cap nut?
Curly Birch is only available in Australia from a knife supply company, so it starts at $25 for a handle block (120 × 40 × 30 mm). I think I'll be looking for a local equivalent instead, because that's ridiculous.
Thats a marttiini brand one.
Those cup pieces are "annoying" to make.
Yeah i figured curly birch would be expensive there, if it starts at 25. Here it starts at 5 euros for a handle piece that is the lowest grade with no flaws.
The best hand selected pieces go for:
This is where i get alot of stuff(except steel and brass, i get cheaper and better shaped barstock for my needs elsewere): https://www.brisa.fi/en/
Its got pretty much everything, its sparse on north american stuff like californian buckeye and those neat australian woods.(i can get them in other shops tho).
But it has a huge selection on exotic african and asian woods. And ALOT of chemically stabilized woods(vacuum resin).
Peening is fine and itl hold. No puukkos to my knowledge use threaded endplate/pommel.
I peen my handles when theyre in the press under pressure.
I think the most expensive handle piece(by material cost) was desert ironwood, if i recall it was around 40-50e.
Oh and one fun lil technique i sometimes do when putting together the handle if its just one piece is burning the handle in with the knives tang.
Just drill a 4-5mm hole through the block and rasp the inside a little, then heat up the tang and shove it through the wood gently. Would NOT recommend with woods that contain alot of resin(fun toxic smoke)
Oh and, if youre a perfectionist you will rip your hair when trying to seat the bolster against the plate.
Its normal, one stroke with a needlefile too many and you get a gap(if you counterdrilled the bolster from the other side to make the hole where the tang goes, thinner for ease of filing).
Also, fuck needlefiles, fuck them fuck them fuck them, decent ones cost twice as much as a box of 5-8 needlefiles.
I used to buy the cheap ones, 10 euros for 5-8 files. I bought a box of Bacho made ones but their quality is shit since its nowdays chinese if i recall.
So i bought a couple of needlefiles from austria germany or swisserland i dont remember. Each file was 20 euros.
Theyre jewelry files, they work so god damn good. Buuut i once touched up a quenched and tempered piece with it (if i recall it was O1 steel, contains tungsten) and it dulled a part of the file and it after that would get glogged with brass when used.
If you havent forged "rat tail" or puukko style tang before, id recommend forging it in as a rod, instead of it being a tapered tang. Why? Because that thin tapered tang loses heat fast when out of the forge. Then id grind it to be a tapered tang.
Making the "start" of the tang can be kinda tricky, i use the counter forging method(for the blade part) so i have a flat bottom, rounded quilotine to get the tang part started. Easier, faster, precise.
I think i posted this before, but this is a method that works great so you dont need to worry about the blade becoming "curved".
And for clarity, the piece is NOT flipped 180 degrees at pictures 5 and 6.
I used this a long ago in a starter class, if you can get it roughly translated i think itd be good use for you.
Shame that the people who used to teach how to make named puukkos are all old and retired, especially the two absolutely most coveted ones like Vyörin puukko and Toijalan puukko.
Thankfully i met people who knew how to make them years ago, not even knowing it till some years ago, who then showed me.
Puukkos are my autism, and its a superpower.
If you have any nitpicky questions just ask.
