Swamp Creek Forge

Swamp Creek Forge Forging metal, to reforge my mettle. Custom knives - commissions welcome.

Speaking of high quality Japanese steel… knocked up a cleaver that was stolen (borrowed with no intention of return?) wi...
02/05/2024

Speaking of high quality Japanese steel… knocked up a cleaver that was stolen (borrowed with no intention of return?) within 24 hours.
Guess we’re off to make another one. 🤷‍♂️ Good for the headspace.

The other week we learnt how to write Kiritsuki Bocho in Japanese… today, we finished making one. Blade from Japanese Is...
14/04/2024

The other week we learnt how to write Kiritsuki Bocho in Japanese… today, we finished making one.
Blade from Japanese Isuzu 5160 steel
Handle and saya (sheath) from Camphor Laurel, Jacaranda and western red cedar.
Hand forged and ground in Kiritsuki style with octagonal handle.
Already has a home to go to. 😞
Reckon I’ll be knocking one of these up for the boss for in the kitchen. Maybe a cleaver first though. 🤷‍♂️ who knows.
That last photo tho 😂

Today, we learned to write Kiritsuki Knife in Japanese, tomorrow, we finish it! And for all the non-believers, check out...
24/03/2024

Today, we learned to write Kiritsuki Knife in Japanese, tomorrow, we finish it!
And for all the non-believers, check out Google translate. Yeah I did!
Now to heat treat, and work this bloody handle out… have I mentioned I hate hidden tangs… but the guy wants what the guy wants. 🤷‍♂️
😬🔫

Ok, as promised. Something pretty cool. Been playing with this over the past couple of weeks, and got it “mostly” finish...
22/03/2024

Ok, as promised. Something pretty cool. Been playing with this over the past couple of weeks, and got it “mostly” finished. Still a few things I want to play with, but I’m so pumped it has come out this good. I mean, making knives is fun and all, but this is just awesome!
For the deets:
Blade and tang forged from 1084 high-carbon steel
Guard and pommel from mild steel
Handle and blade wrapped in top-grain kangaroo leather
Held together with a brass pin peened into the guard and blade.
It’s essentially a 1/3 scale Scottish Highlander Claymore.
Fun fact, the word Claymore is the bastardised English version of “Great Sword” in Gaelic.

Nice little coarse ground utility pocket knife. Handle made from Spotted Gum, blade from 1084 high-carbon steel, sheath ...
21/03/2024

Nice little coarse ground utility pocket knife. Handle made from Spotted Gum, blade from 1084 high-carbon steel, sheath from Kydex. Completely legal to carry in public in NSW as it has a blade length of just 98mm. Legal requirement in NSW is < 100mm. This little fella was for a mate who sorted me out some nice timber to use for handle scales… I’ll be posting something pretty cool later on this arvo, so keep your eyes peeled!

OH&S is for everyone. Though, some are less impressed than others. 😂🤣
21/03/2024

OH&S is for everyone. Though, some are less impressed than others. 😂🤣

When you need a chisel for a specific job, but you don’t actually own any… you make one. 😂 I mean, I had the old handle…...
17/03/2024

When you need a chisel for a specific job, but you don’t actually own any… you make one. 😂 I mean, I had the old handle… but the blade/shank was easy enough to make out of a bit of 5160 steel. Nice and sharp too. Any guesses as to what the handle I’m carving out is for??

“Keep beating the snot out of it until it mostly resembles a knife…” check! Still a long way to go, doubly so for my ham...
06/03/2024

“Keep beating the snot out of it until it mostly resembles a knife…” check!
Still a long way to go, doubly so for my hammer work.
Will check back in when it cools down a bit and I get a bit better shape on it.

So I did this a while ago, but figured it was worth sharing - Recipe for Poor Man's Damascus:- Take one (decent quality)...
05/03/2024

So I did this a while ago, but figured it was worth sharing - Recipe for Poor Man's Damascus:

- Take one (decent quality) push-bike chain
- Heat it to 2/3rds the temperature of the sun for 2 hours
- Beat the absolute living snot out of it for a week until it sort of resembles a blade shape if you squint just right
- spend way too long making it actually blade shape on a belt grinder
- attach a handle 3 times, hate every one of them, then take a photo of it without a handle.
- share on social media.

In all seriousness, it was a pretty cool little project to make the brain work and begin to understand forge welding and how it all works. Unfortunately, the blade delaminated slightly about 15mm from the plunge, so it will never be used as a knife due to the possibility of it fracturing further and causing injury. It does make a great shelf queen though and a constant reminder that the best way to learn something is to have a crack at it and see how it comes out.

And she's done! A modern survival spec take on the Nepalese Kukri. Built to the following specs:Blade:5160 High-carbon s...
04/03/2024

And she's done! A modern survival spec take on the Nepalese Kukri. Built to the following specs:

Blade:
5160 High-carbon silicon steel (good hardness and impact resistance - it'll chop down trees, crack up kindling, then chop up dinner too!)
Overall length - 17-inches.
Hand-forged from 5160 flat bar stock
Gentle grind over blade but left most forging marks
25° edge bevel for strength
Blade finished in cold bluing with NanoGuard milspec gun oil coating
Removable canvas Micarta handle with Gulso screws in brass
Ferrocerium rod strike arc (Ferro/flint rod) - between blade edge and handle
Lanyard loop with 65° handle end with 4mm wide spine for strength.

Sheath:
Desert Tan Kydex in 1.5mm
1/4" eyelets in black
1/2" belt clip that can be moved with Chicago screws to either side
12x80mm Ferro rod on a desert tan lanyard.

This one wasn't commissioned to be made, I just felt like creating a Kukri to my style and specs... Not sure whether to offer it up for sale, or hang on to it for camping/hunting trips.... Decisions, decisions!

Forging done… now to start on the initial grind! See if we can get this beauty ground up nice. Here’s a question - raw f...
18/02/2024

Forging done… now to start on the initial grind! See if we can get this beauty ground up nice. Here’s a question - raw forged or all shiny and flat? I like raw forged for two reasons; first, you can see and tell every hammer blow and every movement of the steel, and secondly, it makes it real. Not some perfectly finished, mass produced, piece of crap coming out of a lot of places lately. Your thoughts?

Cleaning up a lump of 5160 steel, or making soup… 🤷‍♂️Plans for tomorrow: beat the snot out of it until it resembles a f...
09/02/2024

Cleaning up a lump of 5160 steel, or making soup… 🤷‍♂️
Plans for tomorrow: beat the snot out of it until it resembles a fairly awesome historical blade I’ve always wanted to make. Keep an eye out, promise it will be cool.

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Abermain, NSW

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