A little bit of a creative collaboration between me and neo-tribal blacksmith/sharp thing maker, Randy Church. I've wanted a Church & Son chopper of my own since I came across his work, and especially after the generous sponsorship of our TEOTWAWKI blade contest, so this one has been a while in the making.
I gave Brother Randy a few ideas for potential blades, and we settled on a trench-style knife with knuckle guard. Mean, stabby and viking-ish. Emails and pictures of various historical examples were exchanged--at some point, the project was christened Skullcracker. Randy underwent shoulder surgery and recuperation, and, after healing up, took this beast of a knife on as one of his first post-surgery projects. Not exactly an easy transition back into things--the knuckle guard was apparently hellacious to forge.
The sharp bit is an old planner blade hammer forged and salt water quenched--8" of blade, partially sharpened swedge. Knuckle guard is from a mower blade. Handle is a bit of wormy maple, struck by lighting and endowed by the Gods with magical powers (ok--but lightning part is true). Overall, 13" of meanness.
Skullcracker is on its way here right now...I'm chomping at the bit...and you'll see more in the near future.
A great pleasure & honor to work with Randy on this project. Really thrilled with how it turned out.
More of Randy's great pics after the jump. Visit his website here.
