WaddWatsonEllis Belduque WIP

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Josh,

In all my 'research' (for lack of a better word), very very few things were produced in Californio ... they remained dependent on the rich trade from South America, Spain and the Orient.

So if a knifemaker in Toledo Spain or the Cartagena could come up with it, it is quite possible that it coulda/mighta ended up here in 'Alta California'

I also read that, much like Spain in the time of Cervantes and later in Mexico, blood was everything. A person able to trace even one of his ancestors back to Spain was considered too good to work a normal job, but was requred to have the best of everything. Hence a Californio might be wondering where his next meal was coming from, but his saddle and bridle would be inlaid with silver and all of his trappings would/must be only the best ...

It almost seems like a plot of a 20th century Russian play....

So I am comfortable that such a knife would reach San Francisco, only an overnight passage on a steamer away from Sacramento ...

[GunClick Rick]

Trials and Tribulations should be the name of that knife when it is finished


 

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Rick,

True indeed.

Although Josh has to be commemded for  1.) taking on new challenges rather than resting on his great skills, and 2.) Doing it all on a public venue.

It makes me think of New Yankee Workshop ... Norm and his crew never seem to show a mistake, and I am sure there are many prototypes before the final one is completed on the TV Show ... it would be so much easier for Josh to show just his successes without the failures ...

But to me, I feel like I am getting to sit aside him and watch the knife take shape, with all the good and frustrations that brings ...

[Josh Dabney]

Sorry for the lack of updates Pards,

I did get a new torch which makes a world of difference when it comes to soldering, LOL.   

Also our good pal John Cohea gave  me a call and offered a couple suggestions and confirmed one of my fears, that the sheet I got for the project is really just too thin for this application.      When I ordered the materials I was on the fence of which thickness to get and unfortunately I went the wrong way.  This isn't a huge problem other than I've got to order another sheet of silver and wait for it's arrival and the supplier is closed on the weekend.  I'll get it ordered tomorrow and be back in the works in no time.

Another tip John gave was to use silver brazing rod to do the side seams.  This is a great tip because the brazing rod will melt at around 1100 degrees and the silver solder melts at 430 degrees.  Using the high temp rod on the side seams will prevent the sides from comming apart when soldering the top on so I'm gonna try and track down some brazing rod also.  It should be available from the local welders supply and easy to obtain but I'll find out for sure tomorrow.

Learning on the fly can be tough at times but I find sevaral things.    1.  Lessons learned by the school of hard knocks are not soon forgotten.   2.  Many folks limit their own abilities by remaining fence sitters who say,  Oh I'll learn to do that one day.

Shouldn't take but a day or 2 to get the new silver sheet so stick with us pards 

-Josh

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Josh,

Sounds like a great plan to get the silver, and congradulations on the new torch ...

I am reminded of myself re the 'fence sitters' .... from taking a spanish class to learning to play the mandolin, my 'bucket list' is so large that I will probably never empty it ... but I should start making a list at least ...

Well, church is calling, so I had best be off.

Best wishes!

[The Elderly Kid]

This is something like that apprenticeship experience I wrote of earlier. Here, Josh is doing almost everything for the first time. Next time someone comes to him with a project like this, the customer will get his knife much faster, with Josh getting most steps right on the forst try, or at least the second. After that, the process will be almost routine for him, and he'll be known as the go-to guy for belduques and all similar knives. How big a market that might be I can't say.

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Elderly Kid,

I pretty much agree ... but I think it just shows a creativity and a desire to work out of the box that will always lead to a customer recieving far more than he expects.

Besides, this project is very similar to the Searles Bowie that I left a pic of earlier, and the scabbard (it seems to much to simply call it a sheath) has much of the same charactaristics of the Rifleman's knife.

So, be it a Rifleman's knife, a Bowie, or just about anything formal in a knife, I think this shows that he can do it ... and will do it if that is what the customer wants ....

[Josh Dabney]

Heya Pards just a short update to tell yall I got my hands on some of the high temp silver brazing rod and flux from a local welders supply and ordered the thicker sheet today so we'll be back to workin on our sheath in a snap 

-Josh

[Messerist]

Well hurry up dagnabit!  I'm reduced to watching re-runs of Gilligan's Island here!

[WaddWatsonEllis]

Pretty much the same thing here .... I look forward to a new post every morning, and now am reduced to, shudder, AM cleaning!

Best wishes, though, Josh; you certainly deserve some time off ...

[Forty Rod]

 

Great men are seldom allowed any rest.
 

[kflach]

Wow. My email updates for this thread stopped and I wondered what was happening. Today I got to read 6 pages.

This is fascinating, and I'm so grateful that WWE is willing to pay for our knife-making tutorial...

...and that Josh is willing to take the time to post it!!!! <grin>

[WaddWatsonEllis]

"This is fascinating, and I'm so grateful that WWE is willing to pay for our knife-making tutorial..."

*L* If there is any speicial time for aYogi Berra-ism, this has got to be it!

So, 'Include me out' of this one ... it is very kind of you, but the tutorial and everything else is all Josh ... as the father of the bride was heard to say, "Hell, I'm  just paying for all of this!"  LOL

As I have said before, when all the gray in my beard is snowy white, I will show this knife to some whippersnapper who will reverently whisper, "Wow, an early Josh Dabney!" ...

[kflach]

Awwwww, don't be so modest. You've at least paid for the materials!

<grin>

[Josh Dabney]

Glad yall are enjoying the thread 

Like Forty said,  NO rest for the wicked     LOL.

I usually try to keep a side project going that's not on any deadlines or rush at all so I can tinker with that when a few minutes of free time presents itself.

This time I put the finishing touches on a small kitchen utility knife and holder thats about a good days work and has been comming along 5 minutes at a time for the last couple months. 

The other thing I decided to work on while waiting for the new silver sheet to arrive was my very first forged blade that I forged out at a hammer-in   in january.  It's forged from W1 and I decided to shoot for a Hamon with the heat treating of the blade. 

It's about a 5" blade, hidden tang, guard and spacer made from architectual bronze and will be blackened once finished, wood is african blackwood.




Of course this one is back on the shelf now that we're back under way with our Belduque sheath 
 

[Josh Dabney]

Now back to the Peas and Carrots Pards 

Here we are with our spankin new .040 German Silver sheet on the bandsaw ready to cut 2 pieces for the front and back of the throat.


After talking to John the other day I thought maybe I'd better go back and re-read the tuorial by Bruce Evans on making a silver sheath as it had been quite awhile since the last time I read it.  One thing I forgot all about was that the silver can easily be annealed by heating up to red and quenching in water so this is gonna make the sheet much easier to form and not so springy.  I just used my MAPP gas torch to do half of each piece at a time.  Of course this warped my pieces a bit and uglied them up but nothing some light hammering didn't take care of.

[Josh Dabney]

Now here we are with our first piece cut, annealed, and edges de-burred, and clamped in the vise along side the sheath (The knife IS in the sheath to prevent crushing the wood from over-tightening)


This shows how I used a wood board to bend the sheet over its whole length at the same time.  Of course I did hammer on the wood to get the sheet to bend to the shape of the sheath body.


Makin some progress now 



Repeated this process for the second side.

[Josh Dabney]

Now that we've got both sides made an fitted together it's time to try out the high temp (1400 degree melting point) silver brazing rod.  Here we are clamped up with paste flux on both sides of the joint


I used the MAPP gas for this because I needed to reach such a high temp and it worked pretty well starting at the top and getting about an inch of the joint up to temp then chasing the flame towards the bottom with the rod.


I did test fit the throat onto the sheath body and make some minor adjustments to the seam on side #2 before this pic but here's the second side in the vise and brazed


Cleaning things up a bit on a slack belt.  I'm not worried about getting a perfect finish here just making CERTAIN I've got 2 good joints and nothing that won't finish out when the time comes

[Josh Dabney]

Getting started on a new top.  I've got the slot cut and cleaned up with files


Now we're checking both ways to be sure we get the top on square to th sides of the body.



Boy this low temp silver solder (430 degree melting point)  is MUCH easier to control with the adjustable flame on the propane torch  



Now we finish up for the day with the top cut out with the bandsaw and roughly shaped up with a 36 grit belt
 

Boy, after the tribulations it seemed like this here throat durn near made itself, LOL

-Josh

[Messerist]

Super work!  Your posts on the construction of WWE's knife are a source of constant amazement.  Good luck on your forged blade.  I've been forging knives for over 15 years and it never gets dull...pardon the pun.  Can't wait for your next installment.  Thanks again for sharing .

[WaddWatsonEllis]

OMYGOSH!  This transcends knifemakeing and enters into fine art/jewelry making ... it looks like something a King might have had on his waist in Midievil Days ...

I am beginning to think that I might need an armed guard with when I docent with this on ...

[Josh Dabney]

Thanks fer the comments Pards !

WWE,   

Once the Belduque gets it's final sharpening I think you'll be all set for self defense while performing yer duties as a Docent 

-Josh

[WaddWatsonEllis]

 Looks like I will be taking a knife fighting class ... never been in a fight in my life *S*

[Forty Rod]

I could drive up for a weekend and slap you around a bit.      

[kflach]

Now that's a true Pard!

<grin>