kukri & bush knife with micarta handle...completed

[brihacharan]

Hi Marthandan,

> Excellent designs / profile & craftmanship
> Now a few dumb questions....
1. Can one take a lorry leaf spring & trace out the knife profile on it,
2. The cut it out using an appropriate tool
3. Thereafter give it a proper finish
4. Heat Treat it
5. Then give it a proper edge & do the final polishing

Cheers
Briha

[Moin.]

Outstanding job Marthandan, simply outstanding. Has really come out well.......

Best
Moin.

[essdee1972]

Uhhh, buddy, words fail me!!! This is the place where even 40 year old like me can use "AWESOME"!! No kidding!

How do you tan the leather, anyway? Amazing finish. On reading up the DIY sites, it seems I need to spend a few crores to buy a huge piece of land to set up a tanning unit!

I have the same dumb Qs as Brihaji. I am in fact in the process of doing the same.

[marthandan]

thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
thank you
brihaji & essdeeji...yes, it can be done. an easier and better option: use a local blacksmith to do what he does best. give him a slightly oversized wooden pattern of the blade in the condition you want it from him (for eg. with or without bevels). this takes out all the initial back breaking work. moreover, vehicle leaf springs are definitely thicker than even kukris and will need to be thinned. leafspring from cars, lcv are thinner. the thinnest that i was able to source were the leaf springs used to cushion the cabins of HCVs'. they are about 8mm thick.
....or you could just get it made by me...

essdeeji...i don't tan the leather.i use veg tanned leather. it is available readily from leather raw material shops. your local cobbler will be able to get it for you.

[pistolero]

Excellent Job!!

Keep up the good work, we look forward to your new projects.

Please check your PM.

Regards,
Pistolero

[airgun_novice]

Superb job Marthandan !

You have inspired certainly a "new" generation (of shooters) to turn their attention to the blades. Thanks to you, Mack The Knife and Moin the Mumbaikars have taken to steel as much as they had taken to lead earlier. I just could not sleep thinking about how I shall proceed with leaf springs - hence logging in at this indecent hour. But then that's the beauty of IFG, eh ?

[Mack The Knife]

Marthandan,

My thoughts for whatever, they are worth:

1) I would not have relieved the micarta scales near the lanyard hole.

2) Fix a lanyard pin, if possible, for the sake of completeness.

3) I would have prefered a little more heel at the butt.

4) Either contour the slabs with a palm swell or taper the slabs from ricasso to butt. My preference, in this case, is for the latter as it will allow a comfortable and closer pinch hold.

[slingshot]

Outstanding craftsmanship sir

[essdee1972]

Marthandan, in Mumbai, the blacksmiths have to submit a weekly / fortnightly report to the guardians of law & order as to who got forged / purchased what. We are rather scared of the "midnight knock on the door", a la Gestapo or KGB!! So, the elbow grease.......

[TC]

Marthandan,

This is absolutely fantastic. Your passion shows ....

Why don't you start putting a personalized signature/ logo on the blades ? Just a suggestion...



TC

[marthandan]

Marthandan,

My thoughts for whatever, they are worth:

1) I would not have relieved the micarta scales near the lanyard hole.

2) Fix a lanyard pin, if possible, for the sake of completeness.

3) I would have prefered a little more heel at the butt.

4) Either contour the slabs with a palm swell or taper the slabs from ricasso to butt. My preference, in this case, is for the latter as it will allow a comfortable and closer pinch hold.

1.definitely agree on the first point. did it on a whim. didn't like the next second.
3. makes sense.
4. that's the next stage.

[brihacharan]

Superb job Marthandan !

You have inspired certainly a "new" generation (of shooters) to turn their attention to the blades. Thanks to you, Mack The Knife and Moin the Mumbaikars have taken to steel as much as they had taken to lead earlier. I just could not sleep thinking about how I shall proceed with leaf springs -
Hence logging in at this indecent hour. But then that's the beauty of IFG, eh ?

Marthandan,
> Height of 'Indecency'
> How we city dwellers yearn to have a 'Backyard' whereby we can have an 'Edge' & make our 'Point'
> BTW - Pardon is sought in asking this question - If lorry / lmv springs are minimum 8mm tick, is it adviceable to go in for an 'Angle Iron' which perhaps would be anywhere between 4mm to 6mm thick?
> Anyways the blade will undergo HT, hence this query.

Briha

[marthandan]

brihaji...if this is the angle iron you are talking about, its mild steel - not suitable for knives. why don't you try using steel files. they might be a better option.

angle.jpg

[brihacharan]

Brihaji...if this is the angle iron you are talking about, its mild steel - not suitable for knives. why don't you try using steel files. they might be a better option.

angle.jpg

> Thanks Marthandan
Briha

[essdee1972]

Gentlemen, the leaf spring / file knives will be prone to rust. How do you deal with that? I normally use the ol' WD40.