[PROJECT] Blades By Baz

Thanks mate.

Baz.

 

Fuck a duck, that's gorgeous :O

 

What a compliment!

 

I've been making knives for a few years now and have lately become increasingly bored with many of the same things over and over again.

Looking to step up not just one, but a few notches, I decided to look for bladesmiths and their knives to emulate. Kyle Royer, MS visited us at a knife show a couple of years ago and I was inspired by his exquisite work. After watching a few of his youtube videos, I thought I'd at least have a go.

Using spring steel, some Banksia wood and a stainless steel bolt from my scrap pile, I set to a daunting, but exciting 12 inch take-down Bowie knife.

 

I think I have said this in this thread like 10 times already, but damn that is beautiful!

If I didn't have my first 3 week old child at home I would be buying one of your knives today!

 

Thanks bloke. Congrats dad!

Baz.

 

If I made a 3D printed knife (so I can figure out what shape I want) would you be able to make a copy of it?

 

Exquisite.

 

Saw this today and found it interesting Baz. I hope you do too

 

That was very interesting mate, confirming some things I work with all the time, with some new nuggets of info in there too! Ta mate!

Baz.

 

I've been pumped for this all week!

I've been forging blades for a while now, more so recently. Today I practiced the art of forging integral blades, - that is the blade and guard are all one piece. First I practiced on mild steel, then onto high carbon steel. The process of shortening and thickening a round bar of W1 into a usable square block, Isolating the guard prong, then the blade, tang etc is a long and defined one. Every piece of metal, curve and point has to be squeezed out with technique and order. I loved every minute of it.













Here's one I did last week. Forged, but the guard is a separate piece. It's already on it's way to a happy new owner.

 

Always so impressed by your creativity and skill set Baz.
I've spent 20-odd years picking up tips on the job and I can bang together basic bolt-through fabrications and do basic repairs.
But I can't weld, my level of precision would make a machinist weep and the stuff I build is all pretty fugly.
This is proper art mate, I'd love to learn how to work metal like this. Lucky we have Youtube eh, I can always start there.

 

Thanks very much mate!

Youtube has a lot of people doing it wrong, but they are having a go, experimenting and it's great for ideas and motivation. Come and do a course mate. I'm an instructor at Tharwa Valley Forge, as well as doing my own stuff at home. Good place to start on the right foundations.

Baz.

 

Newest knife finished this morning.

Hunter available soon. Leather sheath yet to be made. Hand forged, 1075 high carbon steel blade. Radius plunges. 416 stainless steel guard and pin. Dyed and stabilised maple handle, heirloom fit. Blade length 130mm. Overall 250mm. Message me if interested.

Baz.

 

Love the stamp, love that linear grain in the steel, love the finish on the handle and all the little touches.

Beautiful work baz.
Wish I could afford to buy one... please post more.

Edit: enthralled by the idea of doing a course, hopefully will be in a better financial position to consider coming for a visit soonish.
Not sure if you remember it, but you once offered to give me a good tour of ASIGN-2 if I was ever down your way... I'd still like to take you up on that at some stage mate...

 

Thanks mate. Yep, still here. Telescope might be bit dusty, but still here.

Baz.

 

Practice practice practice. My quality has lifted a fair bit this year, thus I've been advised by my peers that my work has jumped up a couple of brackets of knifemaker professionalism. That was nice to hear. Now I have to keep pushing myself.

Here's a Damascus Japanese kitchen knife I made for work. Random pattern with Walnut and Buloke handle.





The next is a hunter I made at home. I'm really enjoying the result of going the extra mile with the heirloom fit, where handle meets guard. It involves making a sacrificial handle first, to shape the guard, then ripping it off and putting the good wood on. The wood is a random block I found in my wood collection that had a gorgeous fiddleback grain in it. You should see it turn in the light. It's so deep and holographic. Along with that I've been working on my leather skills to refine and simplify my work. Changed my stitching style too.







Lastly, I have been saving this one for a while. Change of steel this time, using W2, a shallow hardening steel that is capable of differential heat treating to produce an active hamon. This also keeps the spine soft and flexible, while the rest of the blade to the edge, hardens to retain sharpness. The clay work was interesting, as was the etching and the whole process really. I think I'll do more of these and develop the skill. The wood on this one was selected for it's two tone down the length, as it was my idea to continue the hamon line right through from the blade to the handle. The wood is stabilised fiddleback Blackwood.

 

Forging a 2021 DUNE Fremen Crysknife

Yeah, I know, it should be made form the tooth of a worm. Anyone know any sandworm tooth dealers?

After the success of forging the Crysknife from the 1984 movie,



I decided to have a crack at the new one. I'll upload progress pics as I can.

I'm a bladesmith at a Canberra bladesmithing and blacksmithing school, teaching classes in both, plus metal sculpture. At home, I have my own workshop and forge.

I'm using 5160 spring steel which hates being forged. It's as tough as bloody hell. You have to get it HOT HOT HOT to move it and pound it hard with a hammer to make it do what you want. At work I have the luxury of power hammers and hydraulic presses, but at home, it's all arms and hammers.

Carving details and textures into the steel is a whole lot of fun!

More to follow.

 

Nice, I went looking for crysknife videos, a dude made one that looked pretty good, he was considering knapping it but made a steel one and painted if with white cerkote.

I was thinking of having a crack at the swordy thing that Aquaman has, but I don't have the time so decided it looked too boring.

 

All you redditors should be putting this on the front page of imgur again eh.

Hot steel in the tongs, right in front of the Viper.