I have just finished reading a trilogy by S.M. Stirling. The first book Dies The Fire, chronicles life in the pacific northwest when things just stop working. The 'event' as it's called is a momentary flash of light followed by a world in which electricty, power producing combustion, firearms, even steam power ceases to function as it did before. The world is reduced to a midevil existance. It details the survivors making blades from leaf springs, people running around in kilts, and the end of civilization--all the things I have a passion for, in a single book series!

The secret I've been keeping since I started reading these books, is that they inspired me to make a line of blades in what I call an 'urban primative' style. A better term would probably be 'modern primative'.

I have some designs drawn up on how I would use things like files, lawn mower blades, leaf springs, etc., but I thought maybe this was a better way to flesh out the idea and get things off to a quick start here in this new forum.

The challenge is simple.
Interpret the term 'modern primative' or 'urban primative' Imagine yourself in the situation described above and you have minimal time and resources to make a tool for utility and defense.
You're caught out of town when it all hits the fan and there's not a forge to be found anywhere.
Spend very little time on this project. A few hours at the most.
Go ahead and use your grinder, but make it look like you ground it on the concrete or a rock, etc.
Please heat treat the blade so that is fully functional--carbon steels only.
No epoxy! Fix a secure handle to it by some other means. Be creative.
No sheath for this one.
This is just a quick little KITH to provide a fellow maker with what will amount to a shop knife, back yard machette, whatever.

Once we have a half dozen sign up, we'll kick it off and allow 30 days to finish--others can join on the fly. :eek:

UPDATE! The clock is running! We draw on Feb 12th. Here is the list so far:
Alan Folts completed
Delbert Ealy completed
Andy Garrett completed
Dave Ruhlig completed
Jayson (JediOkie) completed
Gary Blessing (IceTigre) dropped
Dwane Oliver completed
Andy Sharpe (ranger1) completed
Bill Miller (BMiller) completed
Randy Havard completed
Tora Lawson completed
Stephan Fowler completed

I am in.... sounds fun.... I am gonna go total hand tools on this one....

Alan

alanfolts@hotmail.com

Andy,
Since reading The Stand by Steve King as a teenager I have loved Post-Apocalyptic stories. I love to read how the authors imagine their characters deal with monumental changes. Some stand, some curl up and die. I'm glad to hear of another trilogy I can pick up. I just finish a trilogy by Marc Zicree That has a similar theme although this one adds magic into the equation. One of my favorite characters is a secret service agent from New Orleans that carries a sledgehammer as his peacemaker.
O.K. enought with the rant, count me in.
Btw I'm limiting myself to hammer. And this knife won't be made in my shop, It would be too tempting to use what is available there.

Alan and Del,

Well, well, how the stars have come to shine on our little forum here! Thanks so much for jumping in fellas! Your participation lends instant credibility to the project! Great to have you both!

I'm in of course, so we're half way there! Three more and the clock starts ticking!

Del,
You and I could talk for hours about this particular genre of books and movies, I'm sure. There is another trilogy (written earlier) called the Nantucket series, which deals with where all the technology went, if that's the way to describe it. The one I referrenced is called the Emberverse series. and three more books are coming in 07, 08, and 09. I can't wait!
I'm about to run the well dry on this genre, so I've started reading alternative histories (a genre I just discovered) as well. Guns of the South by: Harry Turtledove speculates how the civil war would have gone differently had the Confederacy been able to get there hands on AK-47s. That one is awesome too!

Andy-
Great idea! You can count me in. You know I'm a newb, but something like this sounds right up my alley especially since the fit & finish sounds like it should be pretty rough. Just this past weekend I changed the blade on my edger and thought that in a pinch I could probably turn the old blade into some sort of skinning knife (funny how when you start making knives everything looks like a potential knife or handle material). The only problem I thought of was since I don't have a clue what kind of steel it is I'm not sure how good the HT would be. I guess that part of the scenario though. This sounds like a lot of fun!
-Dave

Cool Dave! Welcome aboard!

I'm betting that edger will make for a great knife steel. Just heat to non-magnetic, quench and file test. If the file doesn't bite, keep going with the temper and finish it!

Interesting idea. I'm looking forward to seeing how it pans out.

Andy, my father read a series "Out of the Ashes" when I was a kid not quite Mad Max but some interesting concepts. It was a bit graphic and explicit for my taste but you might find it interesting. It is set after WWIII and details a former Spec Forces rebuilding the US.

Jim

Count me in as well. You said no epoxie, but what about super glue. Realitively easy to find now and should be for awhile after any post-apocolyptic event. Any size reqs? I was thinking of something a little on the large size for multi tasing.
As far as books go if you can't tell by the knickname, I'm a Star Wars junkie. However those sound like supremely entertaining novels so I might just go check them out since we have an ice storm prodected for this weekend.

Thanks for jumping in Jayson! You and Dave make it five! One more to start the clock!

As far as super glue..., in my opinion, it should NEVER be used in the construction of a knife, but it makes a great finish on handles if used correctly. I'd tseer clear for this one brother. The idea I was pushing was something cruder and more mechanical. Bolts, wraps, tight wire binding, something like that.

Jim, I think I've heard of that series! I might have to pick 'em up. Thanks.

I was always partial to "The Road Warrior" and the like.

Like the idea. I'm in.

G.

Yea! Gary makes it six! I'll update the first post and start the list. The clock starts now. We draw on Feb 12th. Again, don't spend too much time on this! Re-read the original post and keep the theme in mind.

Have fun fellas! More are welcome, but the clock is running!

Hey fellas , this sounds like a kick in the pants. Since I went to Tai's I have a new found love for forging.
I was thinking that under these circumstances a guy could shurely build a fire , find at least a claw hammer and a rock or concrete to beat on , and a file for the edges.
What do you think Andy ?
I got a neat idea , may take more than an hour. Mabey 3 hours. If I can find a piece of steel , I want to use "junk" iron , and do it this way. :spy: :spy:
I may want in on this one , but not till Feb 11th

Dwane

Andrew is it too late to get in?Can You use an open wood fire to heat and temper your blade?I take it you can use things that would be around after all power(electric )were gone.
We be talking survival,need it now type stuff right,I think I'll put myself on a 4hr time limit.Hand tools only and see what comes up.Oh! this sounds like a blast

For you fans of post-apocalyptic fiction who would like to read one of the intial works of this genre in modern science fiction, seek a copy of Geroge R Stewart's 1949 novel Earth Abides. I got hooked on the genre in 1963 when I ordered the book into the bookstore I operated in the lobby of my junior high.

A Canticle for Liebowitz (Walter Miller Jr.) is another must read, and the book The Postman by David Brin makes the movie seem pale. Samuel Delaney's Dhalgren is a strange sci-fi book about breakdown of urban society.

There's another I read last year I'll dig out and post the title.

Sorry for the lack of knife content......

My idea from the super glue was for a string handle. I made a a little PVC play sword for a buddies kid and for the handle I coiled it with regular string like for a kit and sealed it with super glue. It was actually a pretty grippy handle. We also used to use super glue in the Navy to seal the ends of our belts when we cut them to size in boot camp. But now worries I have a few other ideas.

Ok Andrew, count me in. I have a peice of O1 still left over from the combat kith (that I didn't finish by the way) that will work. Of course if I find something laying around more primitive then we'll do that instead. Don't usually use carbon steels so I'll have to hunt for something.

I started a drawing for a frame lock Kama this afternoon. We'll show you that later.

Bill

All right fellas,

Jayson, just don't use the super glue in the construction. If you want to seal up a string wrap or something similar, cool.

Dwane, If you can build a fire that reaches forging temps and wish to do a LITTLE pounding to do some VERY Basic shaping, I guess that's not out of the realm of possibility. After all, the blade has to get to critical to HT it, right? We'll just imagine you used a propane torch or something. Just remember..., keep it SIMPLE!

Dwane, Andy, and Bill are added to the list. Welcome aboard fellas!

As for mine, I'll start with a huge bastard file I think. FUN! The real trick here is how to make an edged tool with WOW power and make it ugly and primative at the same time. hmmm...

Thanks for the tip on the book Mike! Ya know, I never read much as a younger man, but I can't get enough these days. I'll deffinately check those out.

Hows that little knife working for ya buddy?

I think I would like to play on this one. Since we're talking primitive, my grinding skills shouldn't be too much of a problem, and I just so happen to have a couple of old lawnmower blades sitting arround.

Sweet! I'll put you on the list Randy!

Hello guys, My name is Tora Lawson. I work with Andy Garrett and have been studying knife making with his direction. This kind of setting is something I can use to get my feet wet, i'm in!

Yea, I had to drag my buddy into this one. He's wanting to get started, but like me, has a ton on his plate.

BTW, Tora teaches Bushido and has for many years. You can visit his house's website at www.konara-han.com

Fitzo,
Oh crap you got me going,(hehe) I think David Brin is a brilliant writer, I have read several of his novels and loved them. The postman is my favorite of his, however the movie is just one more example of hollywoods inability to do credit to the original work. For some reason this is a common theme to make crappy movies out of excellent books. I think this one could have been huge if they have done it correctly. Another of the latest disappointments was Timeline. Iwon't list all of the crappy ones (Jurassic park UGH), But I will say there are only two I am happy with The Stand made for TV movie and The Lord of the Rings movies. A cantical for L. by W.M. miller is on my list as is The wild horsewoman.

The worst movie ever made from a great book was The Running Man. Timeline runs a close second.

The worst movie ever made from a great book was The Running Man. Timeline runs a close second.
With the exception of Andromeda Strain and maybe Rising Sun, Crichton's books have not faired all that well on the silver screen. They did a fair to middling job with Eaters of the Dead, but most of the others were not so good compared to the books. Nobody in Hollywood has the testicles to make movies out of Airframe or State of Fear because they both slam things near and dear to Hollywood's heart...lol But then again, I was somewhat surpirsed that they made a movie out of Disclosure, so who knows?

I REALLY enjoyed State of Fear. I'm not the type to believe everything I read, but that story and the statistics that come presented in the addendum as fact, are very compelling. A real eye-opener!

With the exception of Andromeda Strain and maybe Rising Sun, Crichton's books have not faired all that well on the silver screen. They did a fair to middling job with Eaters of the Dead, but most of the others were not so good compared to the books.

Unless I'm mistaken 'Eaters of the Dead' was 13th Warrior? That is probably on my top ten movie list. Haven't read all of Eaters of the Dead, but as a stand alone I really thought that movie was great...even with Antonio in it.

Thanks for the tip on the book Mike! Ya know, I never read much as a younger man, but I can't get enough these days. I'll deffinately check those out.

Hows that little knife working for ya buddy?

YW, Andy. I have been a voracious reader my entire life. SciFi/Fantasy has always been my first love. For the last 5-10 years, though, it's been mostly non-fiction. As the local walk-in bookstores closed, my reading selection gradually changed because I could no longer browse. Nowadays, what fiction I read is more "near-future" cyberpunk from authors like William Gibson and Bruce Sterling.

The knife is enjoyable. I like the design. It's my "workspace" knife, sitting in front of me now. It holds it's edge well and it's shape is quite handy for the small tasks I use it for. Shares it's time with a Tai Goo piece, if that tells you anything. I buy very few knives anymore, less than one a year. I'm quite happy this is one of them. Thanks.

I wanna play :-)

all right Stephan, your in! Here you get your KITH with some literary review for you intelectual stimulation.:p It does suit the theme though.:)

Mike, I'm glad it's doing its job. I'm honored to have my meager efforts sharing space with Tia's work.

You navy guys should really read a book called The Last Ship by William Brinkley. It's about a destroyer at sea which survives a full scale nuclear exchange. This is no action thriller like the post WWIII movies and books which came out in the 80s. It's a real look at what the planet would be like and what would happen to the women abord a ship with what may be among the last men alive. The story is loosley similar to an old Armand Asante / Brian Brown movie called On the Beach--hard to find.

One of the most desturbing books I've ever read, but I will tell you that Brinkley has a love for big two-dollar words and complex sentence structure--you get used to it.

Ihope it isn't totally taboo to post this here, but I thought you guys might like to see something I've done recently. I made the one on the left last night and the one on the right this morning. The left one is meteorite and o-1 damascus and the other is lizard pattern damascus. The pics don't show the patterns well. These were made by request and when I sent these pics he snapped them up quick. They are marlinspikes to assist in undoing knots. Thanks.

Those are so cool.Looks like they would do the job.
This Kith is tougher than I thought.Experomented with some ideas tonight.All I have is a piece of steel with some dents in it.

Did you try the campfire idea ? With what kind of wood ?

Dwane

Not yet, have some 2yr old dry oak behind the shop.Got an idea.Going to make a tent out of a piece of tin cover it with dirt and leave an access hole in the front ,leave the back open to feed the fire.Saw a makeshift kiln made that way on discovery.It was how indians fired their pottery.Only they didn't have tin.I think they made a dense pile of sticks covered them with mud and let it dry,then burnt the wood to form an oven.Kind of an igloo looking thing.We be burning tomorrow.

Well I had dreams about what I was going to do for this. So this morning I went by the lawnmower repair shop and asked if he had any old blades he might be throwing away. I walked off with five blades. I didn't really realize they have twists in them, been a long time since I cut grass I guess. Anyway I went home and proceeded to hunt down my hacksaw. The blade I had on there wouldn't even dent the surface. So I decided to cut it with the bandsaw but my blades were shot on that too. I ended up using a dremel cut off wheel, well about 5 wheels.
I did use the grinder but tried to keep it rough looking. Man, this was the hardest thing to do, purposely leaving a scratch here and another one there. I found some tubing from an old propane torch and cut some pieces to line the outside edge of the handle and then used shoelaces to semi wrap it like a Katana. I'll still need to ht but it's ready other than that. 2 1/2 hours.
Is that sorta what you're after? If not I'll work on another idea.

Bill

Dwane just noticed you live in bloomfield,I lived in Durango for about 4 years.I loved it out there

Bill yours sounds alot nicer than what ive got going.I got a piece of sawblade with some dents in it.Tomorrow we make knife.(or something that resembles one.)
Got to get in the right frame of mind"Mad Max is on speed channel right now"must be an oman.

I just noticed Mad Max was on too!

Bill, You are rock solid on the right track! I had plans to USE that twist in a lawnmower blade for future projects!

Dwane and Andy, Don't over think this guys! You don't have to stop bathing, eat the flesh from dead things lying about, and build dirt forges in the yard. If you feel the need to do a LITTLE hammering, just use your forge and interpret the theme with MINIMAL shaping only. AS IF... AS IF you had done it in the wild or on a roadside somewhere. If you want to explore the rustic forge idea, then do it because you WANT to, but not because you have to.


Perhaps it's easier to think of this project in another way... You, as a knifemaker, have been hired as a prop builder for Paramount Pictures, who is making a film about one of the books that we've been talking about. It doesn't matter what tools you use. Just make the finished product look the part down to the smallest detail. Does this clear it up a bit?

Still, the dirt forge does sound fun!

Just went and saw Children of Men tonight--not bad, though I bet the book is better.

OK, I am down with the flu, so I don't know if I will get in on this or not.

For forging, I would assume that you would have a lot of opportunity, RR tracks are everywhere, and an expedient forge could be set up between the ties, using the track as an anvil.

For fire, I would use something like this (from the US army survival manual on Outdoors-Magazine.com)

http://outdoors-magazine.com/IMG/gif/fig7-2.gif

with good air into the it, and a hot bed of coals, you should have no problem. I have had normal campfires hot enough without air flow to do this, so a well designed pit should be easy to pull off.

My personal opinion, I think the forged to shape would be a faster way to get a good blade in a post-electric world.

If I get feeling better, I may jump in on this one, I have been playing with expedient sharp pointy things done with a minimum amount of tools/effort, and I have some good ideas for this go.

--Carl

Ok! campfire didn't happen.so I went for cold shape and file and grind.
Andrew, is this kind of what you had in mind?
http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/7048/sk1rp4.th.jpg (http://img201.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sk1rp4.jpg)
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/134/sk2nm6.th.jpg (http://img183.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sk2nm6.jpg)
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2488/sk3pw1.th.jpg (http://img183.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sk3pw1.jpg)
Andrew,will think of you tomorrow.Its going to be 70deg.I have a date with a motorcycle.Hows that ice storm thing out your way?:focus: :banplease :lol

Wow, that's really nice. Fits the bill for this KITH really well I would say. I didn't get to do squat today! Stupid ice storm. We have trees that I have trimmed so I can mow under them (I'm 6'4" and constently run into things with my head), they have so much ice on them the limbs are touching the ground.

I saw on the weather channel you guys were really getting hammered.Hope its just rain when it gets here.

Yea, the weather sucks around here! Kept me in today too.

That knife is sweet Andy! Just the right look1 How did you do your HT?

Just visiting, but I gotta ask. Andy, why do you have a large breasted skeleton in your shop??? (now that's getting into the spirit of the kith) LMAO

Dave

I used a torch then the oven.I,m not sure of the RC but it sharpens easy and reaches a shaveing edge.This one was a second attempt.The first was a little hard,to the point of being brittle.
The skeleton started as a joke,I rode her on the back of my bike to Daytona Bike week.At that time no boobs.People kept asking "Whos the guy on the back."Thinking it would be better to have a girl on the back I added the boobs.

Andy , thats killer. You just gave me a great idea , because its snowing here too , the fire aint gona happen this weekend. :gossip: That chick in your shop , I'd watch out for her , I think she must be on something . Her eyes are really wild loooking. :banplease What did you do when you were in Durango? Nice place , but way too expensive to live there.

Dwane

I ran a dude ranch.And my wife ran our store w/our partner,downtown,(turqoise and silver).The tourist stuff.

I was looking at houses in NM the other day on line. I was finding double-wides on an acre of less for a quarter million! Nothing under 175K regardless of condition, and all those were out in the NW of the state! I had tinkered with a relocation, but dang!

did we pick names yet?? mine is done but i need to do a sheath.:)

Alan

Yea property values are going through the roof here , I think its because the boom is back on. There are a ton of jobs here though , and nurses are in very high demand , my wife is also a nurse. Wages are going up so we can get and keep more people working. There are still some good deals to be had on property around , I heard of some going for as little as 15,000 an acre , some is up over 30,000. We are putting a new modular on a piece of land I bought 3 yrs ago , hopefully be moving in a couple of months.

Alan, That was fast! We'll do the draw in about three weeks. Pics!

I got mine cut and shaped. I used a file for the most part. The lawnmower blades didn't have enough straight o do what I wanted so I ended up with an edger blade. Much easier to work with. I hope to post pics later. Still trying to figure out a HT meathod for such a thick blade. Any ideas? I don't think I can get the whole edge hot enough with a MAPGAS torch. We'll see.

OK, I went out and took a quick pic to post. Like I said, this started life as an edger blade, The finger groove area was where the hole on the blade was for mounting to the edger. I know it's not real movie inspiring but I was making something that I would probably make for myself in such a situation. The point on the end is for a skull crusher. I plan to do a cord wrap handle also. I hope you guys like it.:rockon:
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e9/actionshooter38/knives053.jpg

Very cool! Thanks!

Randy thats sweet looking.This is fun.It's just so easy to overthink it.

I know! It's a bit tough to "dumb it down" if you guys will forgive the phrase. We strive for clean finishes and fefined detail, and then some jerk throws this out there! :smokin

Heck, I had to rough mine up a bit... I draw filed the whole thing out of a drawn back mill file.... Then clay heat treated and srubbed with a chunk of broken grinding wheel...

A cunck of burl i found in the framework of an old couch, a car antena, and some copper grounding wire.... and a couple of curcuit boards from some old equipment place....

Voila...:) Pics will come when we get closer i and get a new camera.:)

Now for the sheath... still figuring out materials for that one...

Its not the prettiest thing but thats not the point of this whole thing is it??

Alan

Andy G.
I finally settled down enough in all of my excitement to concentrate and yes, I have stopped drawing the "blade to be" over and over!. I will be gathering material this weekend. All this apocalyptic talk is giving me ideas :fencing:

Alan,

For the record, no sheath is required or suggested. That is pure bonus stuff for you over achievers;) . Whatever knife I get will wind up jabbed into my workbench next to my old coffee mug full of pens, pencils, screwdrivers, etc.--fast at hand for those, "Hey, I need to cut this" jobs.

Tora,

As your first knife, this will be cause for a great deal of anxiety and second-guessing yourself. You should read the stickys in this forum for a good dose of 'peace of mind'.

As a first knife, this is perfect! I was all worried about what my first knife would look like, and whether or not I'd be able to hold it up to family and friends and say, "Hey, look at this. I'm a knifemaker now!" I wish I'd have started on one like this, where I could fous on the basic functions, and a good heat treat. When people give your rough 'end-of-civilization' knife that raised eyebrow look, you can say explain the KITH and that it is supposed to look like that. No pressure! You don't know how lucky you are!

I was going to say I don't feel a great deal of pressure due to the stipulations of the ordeal. I was thinking the other day, this is the ideal situation to get in and start working with. beautifully ugly, is something I know about! It is somewhat comforting to know that this is about "roughing it" in design. However, in this situation because you are a knifemaker, if you were thown into that situation (Post change), you would still have better footing for developing a good blade under those conditions, or at least realize its limitations. correct me if I am wrong please

Rest assured, you can have an ugly knife which is still bears a solid functional design. Especially if that knife is a general purpose utility/defense tool like what we are trying to create here.

No doubt, an experienced knifemaker would have an advantage in this situation. His (or her) first advantage would be in identifying good materials to choose from. Do you know where to find good carbon steel in a pinch like this? Why would you want to steer clear of stainless? Can you tell the difference? Why this? What that? I could go on and on, but I don't want this to be a tutorial on emergency knifemaking (hey..., Emergency Knifemaking..., mabey that could be the title of my first book someday :flame: )

Don't worry too much, If you've done your reading, and understand why we do things like distal taper, weight distribution for balance, and most importantly, the proper thermal cycling (heat treat), then your knife, crude as it surely will be, will be right at home along side the efforts of the ol' hands. After all, they're all gonna be pretty crude for this one!

I've said it before; sayin' it again.

You are one heck of a great motivational/ inspiring speaker Andrew!

Are you requiring a full HT? I have a nice utility blade that I made myself for yard work last summer, from a good cheap pre hardened steel. I just re-temper it. I quite enjoy the "something from nothing", "as if its the only way you could get it" ideals. Its the survivalist in me. figured I'd just do a copy of it for this....


G.
G.

I don't much about being a motivational speaker Gary. I had a drill sergeant once who defined himself as a motivational speaker..., he was right. We were well motivated to do what he said! I just say what I say, and hopefully it makes sense. ...but thanks buddy.

As for the HT, The short answer is yes. Let's not shortcut this area or trust some factory somewhere with the soal of our knives. I know you have the means brother.

Rough on the outside... Gary Blessing quality where it counts most! We'll settle for nothing less!

Ok guys. Here's what I came up with so far......... It's a skinner/utility knife.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/222744494.jpg
This is what I sarted with - obviously I don't change my edger blades near as often as Randy since it looks like mine is about half the length as his.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/222744500.jpg
Here it is after the rough profile. It still needs to be HT'd. I figured for the handle I would just split an old oak branch and wrap it with a shoe lace. What do you guys think?
-Dave

That's great Dave! Right in line with the spirit of this one! That St. Augustine down there must be hell on edger blades! lol

Tora and I were at work talking about this KITH and he made an off-hand comment about how each participant could include a short paragragh in his final submission post (fiction of course) telling us how he found himself in the situation described in the orginal post and under what circumstances he created his knife. The more I think about it, the more fun it sounds. So, if you have a knack for whoppers and wanna get creative..., feel free to entertain! I will be!

Very nice. If I can make a suggestion, you might want to thin the tang so it can be placed into a split handle. I keep seeing it also being used as a spear tip, a great all around user there!

Jim

sweet, great job dave

[QUOTE=Andrew Garrett]That's great Dave! Right in line with the spirit of this one! That St. Augustine down there must be hell on edger blades! lolQUOTE]

:lol LMAO

Thanks for the feedback guys. It will be interesting to see how this one turns out.

Andy, i like the idea of a paragraph with the final post. It's not too hard for me to imagine since I've had the pleasure of being in a few heavily war torn countries and every couple of years a hurricane tears up part of FL and leaves me w/o power for a few days.

Jim, thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to try a few handle configs before I HT the blade.

-Dave

You guys just need to be a Scrounger First calss like I am. I was lucky enough to have a neighbor who likes to be prepared and had an extra blade hanging in the shed practically brand new.
I like the idea of the story behind the knife. Some of these can probably get real interesting.

Sorry Guys, I gotta drop from this one. Been kinda messed up for a bit, and not getting any work done for the last few weeks, and it don't look like it will be any better for a while.

Down to thew last straw on a couple messed up projects, I'm taking a break for a bit.

I'll realy be interested in seeing what ya'll get made for this one when I get back!

G.

I was hopping to get some shop time this weekend but apparently we are getting more snow/sleet starting tomorrow. I guess that if I was to really get into the spirit of the KITH I could pretend it was like a nuclear winter or some such....hmmm.....

Tigre,Hope all is OK.Sometimes you just need a break get away from it for a while and go back strong.

No sweat Gary. I'll leave your name in for a bit in case you find a few hours and get a wild hair, but I'll drop you before the draw if I don't here from you by then.

Been there. Done that. It all comes around buddy.

Tora and I are gonna knock ours out this weekend... hopefully.

We all lost a good friend in Ron (Roc) Ellis, and I lost one of the guys around here that I considered one of my knifemaking mentors.

The irony is that yesterday, I became a knifemaking mentor. Funny how life works...

Tora came over and we started in on our KITH knives. We talked about our designs for a while, made some changes where needed, and went to town on the grinder. 60 grit was the belt of the day for that rough look. It'll get even worse on the finish! We stumbled through some flat-grinding (not my bag) and we each heat treated our own knives. Tora did all the work himself, even that picky edge quench on extra high carbon 1095. As a teacher of bushido, with a long history wielding sharp and pointy things, he showed a true respect and understanding of how a blade is 'born' in fire, and that up to that point, it's just a piece of steel that looks like a knife. The file test was proof positive that he'd made his first knife!

He did a good job, worked safely, listened, and I'm pretty sure he learned a little something too. Good job brother!

Here they are:
Both are Nicholson files. Tora wanted some arc to his spine, so he chose the biggest monster I had annealed!

Tora's is the classic tanto.
5 3/8" blade, 10 3/8" OA, just under 1/4" thick

Mine is the fighter/carver/utility and I chose to do as little stock removal as I could.
7 1/4" blade, 12" OA, 3/16" thick

I pictured them with files exactly like the ones they were ground from. We'll finish up next weekend.
http://wsm.ezsitedesigner.com/share/imageeditor/39/397873/0122084118641_imageeditor_Tora_and_Andy_KITH_knive s.JPG

OK,Im getting the concept better.We can still make something relitively decent,I feel better now.DOOVER!!!!!

Yes, of course! An ugly finish with wrapped or wired on handles doesn't mean it can't have a decent profile.

Starting with a file is so easy it's almost cheating! :rockon:

Great,I just sent 18 blades out for HT.So I have the week-end to do something.Thanks alot for the HT info on carbon steel.Slowly ventureing in that direction.

My respects to those who have come before us, Ron "Roc" Eliis.

Yes, with my new "sensei's" help I was able to complete my first knife. Quite a feeling! I look foward to bringing many new souls to bare! Yes, I did manage to learn a thing or two.. you were quite patient with my bone headedness!:punchself I did not even manage to set us on fire........yet!:flame:

Look forward to learning more...

I did not even manage to set us on fire........yet!:flame:

I did that last night, who knew flannel was so flamable?

With all this talk about flamable flannel (say that fast 3 times) I think someone should try a flannel fired forge.
-Dave

It didn't really burn so much as just smolder. Took me a little bit to figure out I was burning as well...it was a little cold last night at 9:00

It didn't really burn so much as just smolder. Took me a little bit to figure out I was burning as well...it was a little cold last night at 9:00

But apparently not for very long. . .:flame: <--look! flannel!!!

Okay, is locktite out of the question? If so, what would you use to make sure two bolts didn't come off? I was thinking of leaving a little extra after everything is torqued down and trying to pien it over.

I like the pien idea better than Locktite. That should hold just fine. I'd go with light rapid taps to build heat on something that thick and then increase the force until it spreads and rolls over the top.

Thats what I figured I would do, running behind on everything thanks to mother nature. Whats the draw date? I'm going to try and get mine cut and rough ground this evening.

We draw on Feb. 12th.

We made some progress today. I just can't decide on a handle--leather wrap, cord wrap, friction tape, some combination of all...

Maybe that tape they use on ball bats...

Andy,
Yes, I keep bouncing back and forth in the padded room I call a mind!:banghead
I am leaning towards pseudo-tsukamaki but, wrapping what......not exactly sure! I want to use this opprotunity as an excuse to practise my handle wrapping since my fat fingers could use the excercise but, using TAPE instead of ITO.....I must be out of my skull!

Tora

Well the good Lord blessed me with some serious shop time tonight.
I got my KITH knife cut out rough ground ready for heat treat
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/jediokie/Blade002.jpg
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/jediokie/Blade001.jpg
and handle slabs pre fit.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/jediokie/Blade003.jpg

Now I've got to lap the scales until they are flat and try and think of a non mechanical way to counter sink the bolts a bit, and then do my string handle. Should be done this weekend I hope. And the best part....no fires!:flame:

That's cool Jayson!

Why haven't I seen that blade shape anywhere? It seems so simple that it would be common, but it's not. A shape like that would have great and versatile utility uses as well as basic defense. Plus, it fits the KITH perfectly because it would be easy to achieve by primative means.

Well done sir! Keep that handle simple now!

Thank you for the kind words Andy, don't worry I'll over think the handle in my head so I will be to tired to actually put in of those fantastical ideas into practice.

My wife calls it the "Ugly Knife", so I figured I was on the right track. The handle material is left over 2x4 from building my work bench with two 1/4 bolts holding it on.

Got my piece done up last night

Steel: 1065
Thickness: .25
Blade: 2.5 Inches
O/A: 7 Inches
Grind: Convex
Finish: Forge scale
Handle: ParaCord Wraped with Turk's Head knot
Sheath: Will be Leather, Pouch Style

This knife took me 1 hour and 38 minutes, including heat treat, and handle wrapping. I think it turned out nicely, all things considered.

http://www.budokiweaponry.com/knives/simplekith/simplekith001.jpg
http://www.budokiweaponry.com/knives/simplekith/simplekith002.jpg
http://www.budokiweaponry.com/knives/simplekith/simplekith003.jpg

Awesome!

That is EXACTLY what this KITH is about! Awesome is right!

Remember fellas, sheaths are ot required unless ya really wanna.

well, seeing as how at the moment a major barrier of mine is my sheath making
I'm gonna make one. for the practice if nothing else

Nice work guys,This is so cool.Was going to do mine over but think I'll stick with my original design.It's growing on me.

I thought I would stick to the theme and made a quickie sheath for mine. I used a piece of cardboard and lots of ductape, it should last a little while. Besides it was kind of neat to put it together in under 15 min.

I thought I would stick to the theme and made a quickie sheath for mine. I used a piece of cardboard and lots of ductape, it should last a little while. Besides it was kind of neat to put it together in under 15 min.


A cardboard sheath! I love it! I'l try to get some pics up later, but mine is almost done.
-Dave

I was thinking of a magnet and wood sheath or a very crude version of a Tai Goo sheath, but not sure how I would mortise the wood without a 'power' tool.

Ok guys, here it is. I still need to do some fine tuning and peening on the bolt.

Here's how it started. An extremely worn edger blade.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/222744494.jpg

This is it cut out and roughly profiled. My thought here was to make a little skinner (you still gotta eat when the lights go out) / utility knife. The hole in the blade will be used to grip the little bugger better.
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/222744500.jpg

Here is is mostly completed. The handle is a piece of cherry laurel branch that's held together with a 1/4 inch bolt & nut. I'm considering a shoelace wrap over the branch - what do you guys think?
http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/227298295.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/227298300.jpg

That's a groovy little design Dave! Great look for this KITH! I even see a hamon of sorts I think.

Well done!

That is sweet Dave. Looks a little like those small skinner kits you can get but better.

Odd enough this knife gave me its name as I was working on it.
So here it is
THE JUNKYARD DOG

That's very cool Delbert! That would definately be handy to have. It looks like a great all around cutter.
-Dave

very nice

Its 15" long with a leather wrapped handle.
I tested it by chopping up some cardboard tubes in my shop.
Thanks Guys.
Ps It took me an hour and 5 min.
Del

Nice one Delbert! You and I went the same direction on overall blade shape. The baseball stitching is a nice touch.

The finish is super raw! ...love it!

Way to stick to the theme brother!

I knew it would be interesting to see all the different ways people interpreted this one.

I have some pics of Tora's that I'll get posted when I finish mine. It looks great!

Here's Tora's.

1095 file steel. I'll let him chime in with an explaination. It's his knife--I just took the picture.
http://garrettknives.com/images/600_toras_1.JPG

So there I was..., stranded on the roadside when it all hit the fan. I saw the tool box of an abandoned pickup left open by the looters. I guess they didn't see the value in a Nicholson file.
A friendly fellow in a nearby house had a fire going and was willing to trade for a warm place to work.
I woke up and pulled the file out of the ash box where it was anealing overnight. A little 'variety grinding' with a bock and some coarse sand paper from the garage, a quick HT in the fireplace--quenching in cooking oil, and a nylon cord from an old backpack secured with friction tape, and 'viola' my primary tool for all the challenges which lie ahead is in my hand.

In reality, I used my grinder and an old 36G belt. ;) Hope the fiction was riveting.:lol
http://garrettknives.com/images/Rough_KITH_2.JPG
http://garrettknives.com/images/Rough_KITH_3.JPG
http://garrettknives.com/images/Rough_KITH_4.JPG


The file was a little bent and twisted. So is the blade. I though it would fit the KITH.
I hope the new owner enjoys it!

I started a gallery for this KITH. You can find it in the sticky's. I'll add more as completed knives are posted here.

Just post pictures here as you normally would and I'll manage the gallery. If you wish to comment on a knife, please do it here. The gallery is intended to offer a place where browsers can go take a quick look at the custom project offerings.

Getting the red X of death on those pictures Mr. Garrett.

hmmm... let me look into this. I did what I always do...

Since you are starting a gallery, here's mine. As Paul Harvey says,"And now for the rest of the Story.".
It's been a long time now since the bottom fell out on civilization. Gangs have chased all the decent folk out of the bigger metro areas. Those of us who were able to make it out have been reduced to scavenging for esential just to stay alive. Just about anything remotely resembling a weapon has been taken by these large roving gangs of hooligans. The terrors they provide have rendered many a sleepless night for most of us.
In the distance I spy a solitary farmhouse, obviously it has been ravaged by fire, but the barn looks mostly intact. I start a casual search looking for anything useful. It appears to have been picked pretty clean. I find a fair sized piece of steel about eight inches long with a hole in the middle. I don't know what the steel is but I might be able to make a decent knife out of it. Looking further I'm able to scrounge a few more useful items that were left behind; a broken file, a dull hacsaw blade and a partial roll of duct tape.
Now for the fun part, I use the hacksaw blade wrapped with a little duct tape to rough out a knife shape in the steel. Boy that sure was tiring. I wish I had the rest of the hacksaw to go with the blade. Next a little juditious filing. What I wouldn't give for belt sander and some electricity about now. After what seams like an eternity, but in reality was only a couple hours, I had a pretty close facsimily of a knife. Now I just need to heat treat it.
I scrounge up some wood from the hose and build a pit fire. I get the blade as hot as I can, a fairly bright orange along the narrower edge then quench in some oillike substance I found in the barn. Not sure what it was, but it seemed to do the trick. I sharpened it up on a flat rock in the yard and added some cord from an old shoe.
There wasn't enough leather to make a sheath, so I folded a piece of cardboard around the blade and finished it off with a little duct tape.
It ain't pretty, but it should do any cutting or God forbid stabbing that needs to be done until I can get something better.
Got to be moving along now, we hope to find alarger group of decent folk who are reported to be forted up together up in the hill somewher north of here. I hope we make it. Good luck to the rest of you.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e9/actionshooter38/apocalypse4.jpg

Really nice grind lines for a rock.

Love the stories, wish there was a picture to go with Andrews and Toras :photo:
:banplease

Great story Randy! That was fun!

I think I have the picture snafu fixed..., sorry 'bout that one!

There's roughly a week left fellas! (Resisting the urge to write "Git'er done" here because that guy irritates the #@*% out of me!)

Dang Andy, that looks nice. Well worth the wait. Great job to Tora too, didn't expect the dragon flies. Randy that is an awesome little sticker.

I got my fire bricks and what not to heat treat so I should be done realitively quickly. Don't know how you all made it in under 2 hours I've got like four in mine prior to heat treat. Probably another six in the story and it still isn't iorned out.

Randy, I forgot to comment on how cool your knife looks! The cord wrap looks solid. I did not enjoy that experience--Don't look for many of those coming out of my shop :banghead .

I really like the writing on the blade. That's a nice touch for this KITH. I wish I'd thought of it. Nice overall lines too! Great job!

Jayson,

6 hours on the story!?
Good god man! :eek:

What can I say, I'm a perfectionist. I'm also having a hard time getting it short enough.

Date,2418
The world is in termoil,Looters and bands of roaming nomads are ravaging the country.Since the world ban on firearms in the late 22nd century no firearms exist.Edged weapons are all that were allowed.(only as tools,Hunting and fishing have also been banned,as all animals are on the endangered list,now man may be added also).I was a knife maker,as were many in my close knit circle.Our secrets carefully guarded.We lived a good life,Then 8 days ago I think not sure some days only last a few hours) the asteroid tyrous passed closely to earth.All electrical power was lost.The weather is changing fast,tides are moveing the shape of the contenents.Going into survival mode I found an old saw blade in the remains of the local museum,along with some basic hand tools.I fashioned a blade that would be great as a protective tool,I used the heat from the hydrogen seperator hot air disperser on my Harley to heat treat the steel.It will be a fine tool till I can find a safe area to operate from.
1st journal entry 2/5/2418
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/2488/sk3pw1.th.jpg (http://img183.imageshack.us/my.php?image=sk3pw1.jpg)

Awesome story Andy!! Grinning ear to ear here!

I had been on my way home from work, heading to my daughter's birthday party when it happened.No one knew why or how this new dark age had
come upon us but, we did know that things were going to get worse...and they did. The dying times, they called it. Did mankind really revert back to its savage nature or did this change in the reality of the world's stage just capitalize on the fact that, at our core, and without our comforts, we are all barbarians!
I knew I would need a reliable and yet, concealable weapon with me, if I was to escape the hysteria of the fallen city. Even a caveman can turn stick and stone into tools but, refinement makes the tool an effective weapon.I was separated from the benefits of my teacher's workshop, but with his words ringing into my ears, hitting me, like a pool cue in the back of the head, I stumbled through the process of fashioning a blade that would carry me into this dark age. What little knowledge
I had gained from my teacher, was invaluable to me.The night it all went down. I raced home to find an empty house. My home had been completely burned to the ground. I began to search the city for my daughter. I raided a junkyard finding suitable metal to make my blade. After burning down the place on accident, I acquired my HT. My teacher would be quite proud of the flames I created! I had wrapped the handle with the duct tape that I had previously taken from the office there. Needing a little inspiration and focus of purpose, I had taken the dragonflies that dangled from the silver earrings I had purchased for her as a birthday gift and broke them off and applied them to the handle. One year later I was still roaming, searching for my daughter. I wound up in a fight with some lunatic and received a nasty wound. I lay here wounded and will probably not make it. I write this note as my last testament. Please take this blade, my gift to you in this new world.......

Tora,
that would be a very touching story if I wasn't rolling on the floor laughing! :lol

I guess only I would catch the humorous subtleties, so I won't ruin the drama for everyone else. ...snicker... ...choke... ...giggle...

Great writing though! Very imaginative!

Very nice Andy, I loved the hydrogen seperated heat treat.

Tora, I like the story and I like the knife. Are those dragon flies really from earings?

Great looking knives so far guys and the stories are sure enough out of this world.. Keep up the great work.

Just got to finish the wrap on my handle and its done. The heat treat is a little suspect but its the first time I ever heat treated. I tested it tonight by cutting an inch into a 2x4 and it still sliced paper pretty well. I figure it is pretty much in line with the KITH. Why do I have that REM song stuck in my head every time I look at this thread?
"It's the end of the world as we know it..."

I was thinking of Blue Oyster Cult. Don't fear the reaper...

I was returning from a business trip to Riverton Wyoming when it happened , the sky lit up , like a thousand welders going at once. Some sort of meteor or alien craft passing across the earth. Nothing worked , no electricity , planes were falling from the sky at Denver International Airport , where I was at. I had been waiting for a connecting flight to Durango. The whole place was in a panic , I headed outdoors. Seeing that there were not even any cars functioning , then a riot broke out. The police officers were trying to fire their weapons at the looters , but they weren’t working either. It was then I knew I had a chance in a big city alone. As I always travel very light , all I had was what I had on me. I saw a large man wearing a long “business” type coat , I jacked him from behind and took it. I headed towards the airplane hangars. I needed a weapon , a knife. Being a hobbyist knife maker , I knew I needed some good steel. The place was deserted when I arrived , I happen to stumble into the machine shop , just lucky I guess. I searched for a while , not finding any thing I liked. Then I saw it , in the corner , an industrial band saw. As I approached it I grabbed a heavy piece of steel and just broke the blade from the machine. Now I had my steel , I needed some files. I’m in a machine shop , should be some around somewhere. Only a skilled craftsman , and hard working guy would lock his toolbox in the event of a catastrophe. After a couple of hours of beating the hell out of this toolbox did it come open. OK , files and hammer in hand, now I need a fire. I ask myself “ why did you quit smoking “ a match , a lighter , CRAP. Finding the break room and personal lockers , I find a lighter and an old boot that may come in handy. I used some crating that once held aircraft parts to build a fire. It took a lot longer than my old propane forge , but it was getting up to temp. I pounded right on the concrete floor , forging a socket handle on the end of the saw blade. I put the blade in a vice and began filing, both sides done ,I put the new blade in the fire and went looking for some sort of oil for a quench , found it. NICE , kind of hard on the hand so I grabbed the old boot and hacked a piece of leather from the upper , wrapped it around the handle and laced it on with the laces. I threw it across the room at an airplane sitting innocently in the corner , it pierced the fuselage easily, sticking with a thud. I pulled it free and began flailing on a piece of the old crates , chopping nicely. Wow , still fairly sharp , I think this will work nicely. I go back to the break room to find some chow , tomorrow I’ll begin the 600 mile journey home.

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c359/Doliver858/modern.jpg

This was a fun project , I had as much fun writing the story as I did making the knife.

Dwane

Dwane that is a great looking blade. I loved the story also...:flame:

Awesome story Dwane! The knife is pretty dang sweet too!

Very, very nicely done sir!

This project has been a blast so far!

Jayson,
No, actually, they are not earrings just thought I would add some menuki (handle decor) to it and dragonflies were all I had available from the wal-mart art section! It was either that or......care bears:) I would have never been able to recover my warrior self weilding a knife with pink care bears on it! :gossip:

I am not sure which is better the knives or the stories.This is fun

I was thinking of Blue Oyster Cult. Don't fear the reaper...


You've been watching The Stand again, haven't you?

Jayson,
No, actually, they are not earrings just thought I would add some menuki (handle decor) to it and dragonflies were all I had available from the wal-mart art section! It was either that or......care bears:) I would have never been able to recover my warrior self weilding a knife with pink care bears on it! :gossip:


I can see it now--The Care Bear KITH. . .:lol

Very nice, Dwayne! That looks awesome. If you carry that nobody will mess with you on that 600 mile trip. Nice story, too.

Sweet nife Dwayne. Even in an ugly knife KITH you can't make an ugly knife.

Dwane-
Awesome looking blade! Exactly what you would want for a long trip home. I guess it's time for me to work on my story.
-Dave

http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p81/jediokie/Final.jpg
Man I have that stupid song stung in my head again. I remember the end of the world. They blamed it on some echo-terroist group, they blamed it on the government, they blamed it on global warming. I don't really know what happened, I just know the lights all went out and all hell broke loose. A decade later and we're just as bad as we were on day one.
My knife? Made it myself a long time ago. Want to hear about it? Too bad this is my camp fire. Came across some old run down building and holled up for the night. When I woke up the next day I noticed there was a ton of steel but most of it was rusted to hell and back. I managed to find a small piece that still had 1080 marked on it and knew I was in luck. Scrounging around I found a lot of helpfull stuff including the gold mine, an old hand grinding wheel. So I got busy, it ain't pretty but it works good. I got some slightly scorched wood out of what used to be a shack.
Yep had this thing for a while now. Even found some old sand paper at what used to be a parts store in some ghost town and brightend her up a little bit. Found some string and what used to be a bottle of super glue. Used what I could to make the handle a little less hard on the hands when chopping. Got about three drops of glue out of the bottle but it'll hold.
Getting ready to try the pits. They say if you survive you can make a decent living. Heard one guy say the pit heads even get cigarettes. Probably old and stale...

Just wanted to add that this is the first knife other than kit knives that I have ever made.

Great story Jayson, but I'm getting the dreaded red X of doom at my work computer.

I like the context, like it's just a conversation, cool!

Great knife Jayson , I really like the shape of it.

Dwane

I've updated the original post to indicate who has completed their project. Only Bill Miller and Alan Folts are MIA.

What say you fellas? Four days to go. If you can confirm your status for me, we may be able to draw early!

Well, Tora and I may not see each other if they keep jacking with our work schedules, which seems to be standard practice as of late, so we did the drawing tonight.

If Alan and/or Bill have to drop we'll just pull them out andclose up the gap in the list.

Here it is fellas. You send your knife to the guy whose name appears under yours on the list. The guy on the bottom sends his to the guy on top.

Tora L.
Dave R.
Alan F.
Delbert E.
Stephan F.
Randy H.
Jayson B.
Dwane O.
Andy G.
Andy S.
Bill M.

PM sent Dwane

PM sent to Randy Harvard

Hey Andrew I finally get my hands on one of your blades>

Bill send me your address and I'll get it in the mail.This will be fun.

Jayson send me your address And I'll get your blade out to you. I sure had a great time with this.

PM sent Randy, can't wait.

WOOHOOOO , I get the first handmade knife from Jayson B. . Na na na naaaaa. Right on PM sent Jayson.

Andy I have your address , will send out the first of next week.

Dwane

I'm still iin Andy G., had it finished the first week. PM sent to Andy S (Ranger) with my address.

I now need Tora's address. Email or PM me Tora and we'll get it to ya asap. Not that its anything to write home about... It's still hard not to fix this or see that and still let it go as is...

Bill

If you can't get pics up Bill, I'll photograph it when it gets into Tora's hands and post in the project gallery.

Thanks Ansdrew, that'll be great. I don't have a camera yet so I look around for someone to do that stuff for me. You're awesome!

Bill

Well, I just got an email from Alan. His is done, so that's it! Eleven knives complete and ready to ship in under 30 days. Granted, they aren't the prettiest things... but cool just the same! :lol

Ship 'em fellas! I think the standard insurance of $100 will cover the one I'm shipping--no need to buy extra.:smokin

Great stories, cool knives! This was fun!

Andrew, can you call Tora and get him to send me his address? I still haven't heard from him. Thanks,

Bill

Message delivered Bill.

Man you guys are fast. I didn’t even get a chance to post my story or final pics. So here goes….

So here I am one week after the big bang. I’m still alive and doing well which is more than I can say for most. I guess all of those hurricanes we’ve had the last few years has really prepared me. I was at home when it all happened and living in a fairly populated area I knew I didn’t have much time to get out. After 911 my wife and I had jokingly talked about this day and agreed to a rendezvous point about 2 hours by car (sure wish I still had one of them) north of our house. We figured we could make a camp out in the woods and live off the land for quite a while.

I grabbed what food I could carry but I knew it wouldn’t last long. There were plenty of animals that I could trap where I was going, but I knew I would need something to skin them with. I rummaged around my shed – there was plenty of good knife making steel but I didn’t have enough time to shape a piece of bar stock. Then I remembered – I just changed my edger blade. The general shape is pretty close to what I would need. I grabbed it, a piece of a fallen branch from my cherry laurel tree, and a lace from one of my old boots. I had the makings of a nice skinner in front of me. I also grabbed a block of wood I had sitting around – I figured if I was going to be carrying this knife around with me I’d better figure out a way to do it safely………no more hospitals.

Well, I just got to the rendezvous point. I sure hope my wife makes it ………


http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/230005933.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/230005964.jpg

http://pic20.picturetrail.com/VOL1616/6734214/12954893/230005958.jpg

Man this KITH was fun!! By the way this was my first knife from scratch too.

Alan- Send me your address and I'll get it in the mail.

That is awesome! You made a great looking knife.

Very nice sheath Dave! Great story too!

How does the knife stay in there, magnet?

Got my knife tonight in the mail. It is sweet! I've been playing with it all night. The wife saw the duct tape sheath and said we need help but I think it is cool. Great job Randy, I am proud to own it!

Thanks for the comments guys.

Andy,
The knife is held in the sheath by friction. The cut in the block of wood is slightly thinner than the blade. It will probably loosen up over time if its used a lot, but a quick dunk in water should tighten it back up. I know it's not the best sheath design but it seemed to fit the spirit of the KITH - took me about 3 minutes to make.....and I thought it looked kinda cool.

By the way thanks for sponsoring this KITH - it was a ton of fun!

My pleasure Dave. I had a blast!

BTW Andy, I just mailed yours out this morning. That's the price of being a third shifter.

While at the post office, I picked up the one Dwane sent me! Sweeeeeet! It came to me with the blade sticking out of the box and "SHARP!" written all over the box in red marker. I guess some unsuspecting mailman got cut on Dwane's razor sharp edge.

That'll teach 'em to throw our mail around, ehh Dwane?

I love it! I feel like Rambo! Thanks brother!

Thanks Andy , I'm glad you liked it. It's not THAT sharp. That steel is really hard to grind/cut. This was great fun. I'm still waiting for my package to arrive.

Dwane

Thanks Andy , I'm glad you liked it. It's not THAT sharp. That steel is really hard to grind/cut. This was great fun. I'm still waiting for my package to arrive.

Dwane
Seriously? I sent it UPS on Friday. I figured if the post office could get Randy's to me on Monday surely UPS would have had yours there yesterday as well.
edited to add: Just tracked it should be there today, says it is out for delivery.

Hey Jayson, glad you like the knife. It was a lot of fun making it. Enjoy.

Jayson , I got it. Kickin dude . Its got a wicked point on it , and I like the shape. Good job Jayson.

Dwane

Sorry guys, I ducked out for a moment. Bill, you should have my address now. If there is an issue with it, let me know.....

Tora

Andrew,Just received my blade.Very nice.I really like it.Good balance.Oh Yea,was the word bastard left in the handle just for me.People usually don't refer to me that way until we've actually met.I thought it added a nice touch.Cool.
Bill will have yours in the mail tomorrow.Got a little behind on my shipping.

lmao!

Dwane, try and grip it underhand like you see the movie fighters do. When Andy posted that it might look like something found in a post-apocolyptic movie I was thinking of making a fighter and the movies always seem to think that knife fighters always hold their knife underhanded. Anyway that's what the handle was origianlly built for.

Tora recieved his knife from Bill. I'll take a picture or two for the gallery this week.

Nice work Bill! (*hint: Lawnmower Bowie!)

Thanks Stephan, I got mine in the mail today. Great job, I really like the cord wrap. Now I just have to find something to cut with it.

Nifty, glad you like it

Ranger,

Got your knife last night! When I took it out of the package my wife started laughing, but a good laugh. She liked it! So, I guess you passed the test:101

Seriously, it looks very unique, you can cut the hairs off the bugs you get from the tree branch you cut off with it! Good job, hope to see more of your stuff in the future!

Bill

I was in th mad max train of thought.Glad you liked it,it was fun to make.

Hey guys - anyone heard from Alan? I still don't have his address. I know my knife is nothing special but the price is right.
-Dave

Got it. Thanks Alan - it will go out tomorrow.
-Dave

Tora recieved his knife from Bill. I'll take a picture or two for the gallery this week.

Nice work Bill! (*hint: Lawnmower Bowie!)
Wheres them pics?

Some issues, but I'll work on them pics.

What's the story on them pics? If you want you can email them to me and I will post them if you are having problems.

Ok. The story on the pics is... I just don't know.

Tora and I no longer work together. Since he left the company, I don't speak to him much. It'll be up to him to post the pic of the knife he recieved. I'm sure the hunt for new work is taking up most of his time.

Sorry fellas.

yup I read those series, heck I even swapped some emails with Mr sterling (hes a very approachable fella you can find his email and SAMPLE CHAPTERS WEEEEEEE on his site smstirling.com ) this sounded like a neat project :D my only beef with the work was his main charicters ie pam, ken, will hutton, luan, took a HUGE back seat in the subsequent books after dies, Irony being if Pam hadnt come along theyd of never learned how to fight with a backsword, gotta love ARMA heh. looking forward to the new trilogy on this series.

I check with B&N every month for release dates.