fighting file

[clint]

hey all just finished this file bowie for a friend who shoots black powder reenactments he wanted a file knife he's gonna make the sheath out of rawhide its made out of a horse rasp file W-2 i think . i might still put a pin in the handle but didn't want to grined "or Clean the "OLD" of the handle he wanted it to look old so asked me not to mess with the antler to much .
this knife is 16" overall and has a 11" blade .if i knew what to put on the blade to look older i would .

[gmusic]

Nice job Clint!

I think I would put a brass pin in the handle and just peen it down. No need to grind.

She's a handfull!!

[Redrummd]

I really do like the look. A peined pin would look fine too if he will be using it.

[clint]

Nice job Clint!

I think I would put a brass pin in the handle and just peen it down. No need to grind.

She's a handfull!!

Good idea I'll do that it will make it look old time doing it that way thanks !!!!
she's long but very light for her size the balance is real good I'd fight with it !!!! but hell i'd fight with anything HA HA HA LOL

[orvet]

To make it look older, you might try some Birchwood-Carey Perma Blue.
I would try dabbing some on & washing it off quickly on different patches.
Perhaps buff part of it off.

I guy could have real fun with a project like that.
That is a nice looking knife!

Dale

[Owd Wullie]

That's a nice looking knife, and I SURE like that Colt conversion pistola too.

I made a big ol' bowie out of a rasp once upon a time. Actually all I ended up making was a mess. I could not get that thing to get hard enough to take and keep an edge. I was making it for a buck skinner buddy of mine and he was really heated up about getting his new "old" knife. After I was too far into into the project to salvage it, I decide to set my buddy up. I knew that blade was never gonna amount to a hill of poo, so I made another big blade from L-6 and it was right for the flight. I half way finished up the rasp knife enough so that casual examination would make it seem OK.

Called my old pard, Jim, and told him to come get his knife and bring lots of whiskey. He showed a few days with a jug of Platte Valley corn whiskey and a big grin on his face. I pulled the cork on the jug and threw it a far as I could. I took a big pull and gave him the jug and he did likewise. We squatted in the shade of a mesquite tree and shot the breeze and enjoyed the whiskey for a spell until he just couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to see his new knife.

I wobbled over to the shop and pulled it out and said lets give it a test! I grabbed a grade 5, 5/8" bolt and laid it on the anvil. I grabbed his knife out his hand before he had too much of a chance to admire it and proceeded to take a 2 lb hammer and attempted to cut that bolt. It was a sight. It looked awesome.

The bolt was unscathed. The knife had 5/8" divot out of the middle of the blade. The look on his face was priceless when I said, "Hell, no big deal, think of all the silly answers you can give when folks ask why your knife looks like that." I then chucked it in the vice and said "LET'S GIVE 'ER THE BEND TEST!!" A look of total chaos was on his face. I proceeded to bend it 90° and back and then told him it was going to interesting building a sheath for a knife with a big Z shaped kink in the middle of it. He was speechless. I took another pull of the jug and proceeded to throw the empty jug off out into the boonies and reached under the pile where I had his real knife hidden and gave him that one. I took the bent up rasp and air mailed it too.

We spent the rest of the evening cookin over steaks and stuff over a mesquite fire and enjoying our dinner whilst being serenaded by the coyote choir practice at sundown. Jim has gone over to the other side, as they say, and I sure miss him.

To this day, I don't know what I did wrong with that thing, but I've never attempted another one.

[AllenMcB]

We spent the rest of the evening cookin over steaks and stuff over a mesquite fire and enjoying our dinner whilst being serenaded by the coyote choir practice at sundown. Jim has gone over to the other side, as they say, and I sure miss him.

This reminds me of Lynn E. Cook, Jr, the finest machinist I've ever known. We spent many hours having something cold in a can, enjoying gumbo or red beans and rice, and doing all the mental gymnastics required for the next project.

Named son #2 after him. He's been gone 12 years, and I can still taste the chickory coffee he used to pour out of that green thermos.

Thanks for the mental jog.

[philco]

Owd Wullie, when I welcomed you to the site, I commented about your warped sense of humor. You have now fully confirmed my original asessment. That was the funniest thing I've heard in I don't know when. Thank you for sharing that story. That was a hoot!

Phil