No better gift than hand forged blades :). Anyways, onto the serious business.
From Randy:
Since the contest is about the one knife you can have after the event, I'll be making this one with only things already here, as I would have to do in the event of disaster. I walked out to the forge, opened the door and an old Nicholson file was the first iron I saw. As I was cranking on the forge I thought about that after all the preparations I sincerely hope we never have to actually use all these skills for anything other than fun, so I named the prize knife.....HOPE.....Apocalypse # 5.
You don't need much. Welcome to the Redbud Forge. It's a big place with a little stuff in it. A forge made from a washtub, a 1905 handcranked blower, a hundred year old broken anvil, a post anvil made from a truck axle, a 1899 post vice and an old horse trailer from a former lifetime to throw all my steel and stuff in. And a desire to make tools and weapons in the ways before electricity....or after.
My neighbors. They don't mind the banging and make good sandwiches.. Notice they have a roof and I don't.... priorities.
Forge cranked up with an old Nicholson file heating up.
Handle starting to come around. I want to leave as many of the file features as I can so there is no doubt what it's made of. The file end curley Q will end up as a glass breaker.
After some heatin' and beatin' and hot filing starting to look like a knife like object.
Editor's Note: How often do you get to see a knife as it is made, from heating in the forge onward? Very cool. If you're interested in entering the contest, check out the rules. We've got a bunch of great knife photos waiting in the queue--so stay tuned!
