From the ForgeBlacksmithing session! Here's some awesome knives my brother made at our forge. This one he made with a leather sheath.
The handle on this is not yet finished. He took leather and wrapped it around the wooden handle, then took a strip of twisted copper wire and wrapped it around the leather to hold it in place.
These ones don't have handles yet, but you can see the tang (the portion of the knife that fits in the handle).
Blacksmithing also has some neat phrases which are quite common in everyday speech. For example: "Get a grip" or "get a handle on it" or "handle it". Sure, ok, but get a grip on what? The way we use it we mean get a grip on the situation, i.e. get the situation under control. In blacksmithing if you don't get a grip or a good handle on the hammer or the tongs, they'll fly out of your hand and you won't have any control over them. "Don't fly off the handle." If a hammer head or an axe head is not securely fastened and tight it will abruptly fly off the handle with such speed and energy that it could injure anyone standing nearby. Now the phrase is used to warn people not to abruptly or violently lose their temper. "Strike the iron while it's hot." Heat is essential in order for a blacksmith to be able to do his job. With no heat you go nowhere. Therefore, you have to take advantage while conditions are favorable (i.e. before the iron cools). Blacksmithing is so cool. |