Middle Earth Ranger Forum

Ok.... I like my sharp things.... Also... Kinda particular to what touches my food.... So I been planning on making this for a bit and started it a few weeks ago and got it quenched today..... This is a camp cleaver/food prep knife I been wanting to make for a while. I started with an old fantasy blade from a known renfair shop that's been sitting around my house for probably 10 or 15 years. The steel is either 1080 or 1095 not sure... Anyways the blade was useless for anything but fantasy stuff so I decided to make it useful to me....

What it started as


Then I laid out what I wanted and went to town with the angle grinder and a cutoff wheel



Little bit of rotary tool smoothing and shaping


Then I started on the belt sander.... I wanted an single flat face one one side then a heavier working bevel on the other.... Also rounded the nose and did a "false edge" bevel to use it as a spatula as well... I am left handed so a flattened out the right side of the blade and did my bevels on the left.




Then I drilled for pins and a lanyard and got a wild hair to try a clay quench and see if I could develop a hamon... Today I went to my buddies house and fired up the forge


Heated till non magnetic and quenched in regular canola oil


Came back home and knocked off the rest of the clay and did a rough polish to 150 grit to prep for tempering!! But look at the hamon that's already apparent!!!!!!


Super excited!!!!! Tempering and then final polish tomorrow and might even get the wood scales epoxied on with brass pins and a bronze lanyard fitting done

Looks real nice so far

What's your plan for the handle?

Handle will be some cherry wood I think. One of our groups rangers works in a cabinetry shop and brings scraps of stuff. I have some walnut cutoffs but they are not wide enough and some cutoffs of what looks to be cherry.... It's a really pretty red wood with straight grains... So I am going to use that with 2 brass pins and a bronze bushing for the lanyard hole.... Then shape it all down to a slim but comfortable handle.

It's currently in the oven at about 385 tempering for a bit. Then I will do a final polish, handles, then bring the blade up to my typical stupidly sharp standard

Can't wait to see it finished

Is your whole group in your area? Sounds like a good number of you are local to each other.

Nice work!

Greg wrote:Is your whole group in your area? Sounds like a good number of you are local to each other.

Nice work!

Let's see... Most of our little group met through ALEP.... We have 5 here in Ohio,3 or 4 in Kentucky, 2 in Virginia, and one all the way from Canada!!

Thanks!!! Polished so far today to 1200 grit... Going to vinegar etch right now then. Give it a brush down.. and get the handle scales epoxied on tonight.....

Ok here are the follow up pictures!!! Finished it today! Tempered in the oven at 400 for about an hour and a half then left in oven till cooled completely. Came out a nice straw color like it should...

The polished to 1200 grit and etched, glued up the scales and pins and lanyard bushing


Let that sit over night then shaped everything and torched the scales for a bit more color..




Then sealed with boiled linseed and the reveal!!!!!!!



I am so stupidly happy the way it turned out....

That looks amazing

And it's always good to see a build-along

Well that just came out fantastic!

Far better than the original design, I think. Very very cool!

Thanks everyone!! Making a leather sheath for it tonight... Actually making a leather sheath for it, my axe, and a leather harness for the bedroll