A True white elephant. A sure way to make king poor is to give him high-status gifts that are expensive to maintain.

I wish they would have known I was in the market for a kayak.
https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...yak-17pelutrlblzr100npsk/17pelutrlblzr100npsk

 

I made this knife many years ago. It started life as a file that was made in Finland.
The brass parts were cut out of scrap brass bushings and the wood is birch from
the firewood box the rivets that hold the handles on are brake lining rivets for off
highway logging trucks. Its a good piece of steel its held and edge without being
sharpened for around 40 years.

 

That's a lot of defending - and some careful wordsmithing about how you use them - which seems pretty limited. And my most common use of a knife for cutting down cardboard boxes -

That would also be me. Thursday is trash out to tree lawn day and I have a kitchen knife devoted to cutting down cardboard boxes most of which are Amazon. When it gets dull I sharpen it, box after endless box go out with the recycle stuff. Actually when it comes to good kitchen cutlery I figure buy once and cry once. While not quite a knife I still have my Marine Corps NCO sword. Never know when I might need a sword. I also have a few bayonets as parts of my memorabilia.

Ron

 

I also have a few bayonets as parts of my memorabilia.

Ah, a bayonet. I'm sure the USMC gave you some very limited slicing/cutting uses for that so you wouldn't break it or dull it.

 

Ah, a bayonet. I'm sure the USMC gave you some very limited slicing/cutting uses for that so you wouldn't break it or dull it.

Nope but they left me with some lasting memories. One must know the limitations of their tools.

As to bayonets they have an interesting history. During WW1 the primary US Rifle was the US Rifle of 1903 commonly called the 03 Springfield. The rifle of the times was an 16 inch blade (US Bayonet M1905). Old WW1 movies depict those long bayonets. Fast forward to WW2 and the US arsenals had a mountain of those 16 inch long bulky bayonets but they would fit the still in use 03 Springfield rifles and the modified 03A3 versions of the rifle. Those along with the new M1 Garand rifles so in addition to the old bayonets we went with a 12 inch bayonet but with the same hardware mount. They began cutting down the 16 inch to 12 inch at arsenals and reissuing the old stock. I saw an original 16 inch yesterday at the show in maybe fair condition for $225. During the WW1 and WW2 war efforts bayonets were manufactured by several manufacturers and are marked accordingly.

By the time Vietnam came along we were using a 6 inch bayonet totally different. While I am not a collector of bayonets the things have a strong following. I only have a few which compliment my WW US rifles. My Marine Corps NCO sword was actually a gift from my wife a long time ago. I do not have a Vietnam era M16 bayonet which is fine because I really have no use for one. Anyway there is plenty of knife and sword collectors out there who get into the stuff and the history of it. The Marine Corps still uses both NCO and Officer swords for ceremonial purposes and there is a history behind each. Not being a knife and sword type I just find the stuff interesting.

Ron

 

I started carrying dime store Barlows in my preschool days so I learned at a very early age just how bad cheap knives are. As I grew older and we moved to East Tennessee, I had landed in a part of the world where whittling was an art form and knife trading was a common practice. As my funds increased so did the quality of my knives. Next door to our high school was an old general store. They had closed the butcher shop in the back and had nailed up some boards around the butchers' block to make a bin about 6" deep filled with old knives of all sorts. Everything from dime store junk to high quality imports and all much cheaper than the price when new. It was always fun to go there and poke around to see what they had. I bought several old knives there and an old razor honing stone that I wish I still had (it was stolen in college). My best finds there were the old English made IXL Barlows made of extremely high-grade steel (which I lost long ago). I still have several of the Case knives. This was long before all the pocket knives went to stainless which I now carry (Victorinox) but never really liked as well as the high-quality carbon steel ones for sharpness and keeping an edge. I'm the kind of guy that instead of breaking off a section of the boxcutter utility knife's blade I sharpen and re-point it instead until it absolutely needs to be broken off to a new section. There's a Quachita stone on my bench, another on my bedroom dresser, a diamond shapening set in the drawer of the side table next to my chair in the living room, a sharpening steel in the kitchen knife block, and several other stones scattered about in tackle and tool boxes etc.

 

I once owned a bayonet and sheath of the type used in the Franco-Prussian war, (French) but made well before in 1750.
Length around 32" 34" and like most bayonets had a blood channel the length of the blade, on each side.

 

I do not have a Vietnam era M16 bayonet which is fine because I really have no use for one.

I have one and its fiberglass and steel scabbard hooks fit into the surplus "Alice Pack" bag with a clip-on waist belt that I use as my field bag to carry my "necessaries". Never used it for much other than digging up plants in the wild to bring home. Works great for that! I always dressed out my large game with an Uncle Henry folding belt knife.

 

I started carrying dime store Barlows in my preschool days so I learned at a very early age just how bad cheap knives are. As I grew older and we moved to East Tennessee, I had landed in a part of the world where whittling was an art form and knife trading was a common practice. As my funds increased so did the quality of my knives. Next door to our high school was an old general store. They had closed the butcher shop in the back and had nailed up some boards around the butchers' block to make a bin about 6" deep filled with old knives of all sorts. Everything from dime store junk to high quality imports and all much cheaper than the price when new. It was always fun to go there and poke around to see what they had. I bought several old knives there and an old razor honing stone that I wish I still had (it was stolen in college). My best finds there were the old English made IXL Barlows made of extremely high-grade steel (which I lost long ago). I still have several of the Case knives. This was long before all the pocket knives went to stainless which I now carry (Victorinox) but never really liked as well as the high-quality carbon steel ones for sharpness and keeping an edge. I'm the kind of guy that instead of breaking off a section of the boxcutter utility knife's blade I sharpen and re-point it instead until it absolutely needs to be broken off to a new section. There's a Quachita stone on my bench, another on my bedroom dresser, a diamond shapening set in the drawer of the side table next to my chair in the living room, a sharpening steel in the kitchen knife block, and several other stones scattered about in tackle and tool boxes etc.

I have one Barlow pattern knife (I actually have two but my marlinspike folder, a real classic, is MIA). It's this J.E. Made Barlow with carbon fiber scales and an S35VN blade. It's a very nicely made knife, very fine workmanship and excellent materials. It doesn't have a liner because the carbon fiber is stiff enough on its own so it feels like it weighs almost nothing (46.35g).

​

J.E. Made is an interesting company. It's Chinese but a small specialty firm. He has the knives manufactured to spec but does the finishing in house to get the best results. There are a few actual top quality Chinese knife manufarcturers, including WE, Kizer, and in some cases Ganzo.

You can but counterfeits of US premiums too, of course. Some branded some just copies without the branding. Some of the copies are very good and if you aren't an expert you could easily take them as originals (until you send them in for service and get the bad new they are fakes).

I like traditional pattern knifes and one of my very favorites is this Benchmade Proper. It mixes traditional with modern construction and materials. The scales are canvas micarta and the blade is S30V. The construction uses screws not rivers so disassembly for cleaning and maintenance is possible unlike riveted construction where the only reason I would disassemble such a knife would be for repair.

I really like the sheepsfoot blade profile. I find to to the best general purpose shape. Also pictured is a "slip" which protects the knife and other contents of the pocket from scratching each other up.

​

 

Years ago my brother-in-law and I would sign up for summer courses at Montgomery Community College in Troy, NC. We took NRA classes just for fun and it was always nice to get down there. Seems I remember knife making classes and sure enough they offer what looks like a nice line of knife making classes. You are on your own for lodging but they have a local motel in the area offering clean rooms. Not fancy but not bad either. Been over 25 years since we took a class. Knives and making knives just seems interesting and I am enjoying this thread.

Ron

 

FWIW anyone who has an interest in knives should know this company Home Page | SMKW! The Smokey Mountain Knife Works in Sevierville Tennessee. Purported to be the World's Largest Knife Store! I've been a mailorder customer of theirs for a long time now. Hard to beat their prices.

 

Changing the springs out in my daughter's truck. Back when I was making knives I wanted to make one out of a coil spring but never came across any during that time. Now I've got one, and a pile of hacksaw blades, and lots of other stuff I've saved up for "some day" when I build another forge. I'm running out of excuses not to do it.

 

As to bayonets they have an interesting history. During WW1 the primary US Rifle was the US Rifle of 1903 commonly called the 03 Springfield. The rifle of the times was an 16 inch blade (US Bayonet M1905). Old WW1 movies depict those long bayonets.

In those days they were still thinking of using the long bayonet and the rifle as a pike.

 

In those days they were still thinking of using the long bayonet and the rifle as a pike.

Between rifle and bayonet buttstock to bayonet end there was some serious distance. The evolution of things was just plain interesting.

Ron

 

Between rifle and bayonet buttstock to bayonet end there was some serious distance. The evolution of things was just plain interesting.

Ron

Ian has a few videos on bayonets in case you haven’t seen them.

 

Ian has a few videos on bayonets in case you haven’t seen them.

Thanks for sharing that. I had not seen the video and going back to the 30-40 Krag–Jørgensen I enjoyed it. I have seen several of the rifles but never gave any thought to the bayonets they used.

Thanks
Ron

 

Changing the springs out in my daughter's truck. Back when I was making knives I wanted to make one out of a coil spring but never came across any during that time. Now I've got one, and a pile of hacksaw blades, and lots of other stuff I've saved up for "some day" when I build another forge. I'm running out of excuses not to do it.

View attachment 265777

What special knife properties do you expect from a coil spring?

 

What special knife properties do you expect from a coil spring?

At one time they were made from some good carbon steel. Easy to forge and heat treat. Don't know when they changed but most made today are from alloy steels that aren't near as good to forge. And the heat treat is more involved, mostly done in "atmosphere" type furnaces. Atmosphere in them doesn't mean what you think though it's a mixture of gases to keep the oxygen and nitrogen out and add other things to the steel when heated.

 

At one time they were made from some good carbon steel. Easy to forge and heat treat. Don't know when they changed but most made today are from alloy steels that aren't near as good to forge. And the heat treat is more involved, mostly done in "atmosphere" type furnaces. Atmosphere in them doesn't mean what you think though it's a mixture of gases to keep the oxygen and nitrogen out and add other things to the steel when heated.

GM has used an old alloy for years - 1% manganese, 1% silicon and medium carbon. Nothing exotic. Nothing I'd bother forging to make a blade (not that I'd bother to make a blade of anything - I have all the knives I can use in this lifetime. Vanadium and Tungsten and lots of heating cycles and hammering and folding seemed to be the right recipe for the most beloved blades. All he'll get with banging on a coil spring is a poorly shaped leaf spring.

 

Springs, files, and drill bits are all good sources of high carbon steel for knives. I have a Finnish knife made from a piece high carbon steel sandwiched between low carbon. Can’t remember the name of that process. You can see the layers due to the chromium content of the high carbon steel.