Scalping knife

[pichou]

New knife! I am so glad spring is here!

This one is a copy of the blade found at Ft. Folle Avoine, Burnett County, Wisconsin. It is a Cross-L scalping knife from c. 1802-3. Half tang. Handle is padauk, based on other surviving examples.

Mr. Rich did the blade, I did the finishing on a traditional emory wheel. I also made the handle which is oval, and I even made the brick dust for the cutler's cement used to fill the kerf.

Reference:
Oerichbauer, Edgar S. "Archaeological excavations at the site of a North West and XY Company wintering post (47-bt-26), p. A progress report." Wisconsin Archaeologist 63.3 (sept. 1982): 153-236.


P.S. Sorry, Carl, NFS. :blah:

 

[tg]

Nice knife what is the blade length 5 1/2-6 1/2inches?

 

[pichou]

Blade is just under 7". This knife also matches the large size Pine City/Sayer's Post Cross-L knives (same dates), except the tang is a little longer on this one.

 

[Black Hand]

....and I even made the brick dust for the cutler's cement used to fill the kerf.

What recipe do you use?

By the way, Nice Knife!

 

[pichou]

What recipe do you use?

Aren't you supposed to give the secret handshake before I tell you that? :rotf:

Take ye of the finest rosin, for parts by weight, of the wax of bees, one part, and of the dust of red brick, one part...

:haha:

 

[shooyer_250]

Pichou...isn't that also called a roach belly knife?...

 

[chipper]

Paduk wood is evil. I have a chunk that I'm afraid to do anything with. I made a knife with that stuff and both my eyes swelled shut. I've heard some folks get a sliver and they go into allergic shock. Use it with care.
Regards

 

[Twice boom]

Pichou.. The cutlers cement is that something in house cutlers would use or was it used by the back woods smith.
The knife.The best word I have in my vocabulary to describe something of Beauty is "Exquisite".. :thumbsup:
Twice.

 

[omarick1948]

Paduk wood is evil. I have a chunk that I'm afraid to do anything with. I made a knife with that stuff and both my eyes swelled shut. I've heard some folks get a sliver and they go into allergic shock. Use it with care.
Regards

That's because you didn't do the secret hand shake or wear the medallion and chant the oath before using it!!!! ..... :rotf:

 

[pichou]

Roachbelly or Rochbury knives are full tang, with a nearly symetrical tip and choil. They are rare in the Great Lakes.

Padauk is in the pea family, like acacia and peanuts. Lots of allergens there.

Cutler's cement... need the secret handshake! :haha:

Use for rattail tangs too.

 

[shooyer_250]

i gotcha P...thanks...did i mention nice looking knife,,,again....by the way, i'll need a cape with that Donnatella mask when they get in... :v

 

[LaBonte]

Pichou.. The cutlers cement is that something in house cutlers would use or was it used by the back woods smith.
Twice.

Cutler's cement aka cutler's rosin in several variations has been used since time immemorial and was used in the 18th/19th Centuries by all kinds of folks.

The mix I use is:
5 parts rosin (I collect and cook down my own from local pinyon trees)
1 part beeswax
1 part filler - this can be anything such as the afore mentioned brick dust but I've seen charcoal, sawdust, and bone dust used on originals.

Pichou - you and Rich did a very fine job - what base stell ar ya'll using?

 

[tg]

Keep us up to date on the sheath I assume you will be making for it.

 

[LRB]

Very nice Pichou, most excellent! :thumbsup:

 

Great job, both of you.

Sean

 

[Black Hand]

Pichou.. The cutlers cement is that something in house cutlers would use or was it used by the back woods smith.
Twice.

Cutler's cement aka cutler's rosin in several variations has been used since time immemorial and was used in the 18th/19th Centuries by all kinds of folks.

The mix I use is:
5 parts rosin (I collect and cook down my own from local pinyon trees)
1 part beeswax
1 part filler - this can be anything such as the afore mentioned brick dust but I've seen charcoal, sawdust, and bone dust used on originals.

Pichou - you and Rich did a very fine job - what base stell ar ya'll using?

(Insert secret handshake here) That is the same recipe I have used except I use finely ground charcoal for the filler and fir/pine pitch. Works great for wingbone turkey calls....

 

[pichou]

I think the blade is 1095.

No sheath for this one. It is for a display.

Fillers... red brick dust comes out brown, a good color for wood handles.

Here are Mr. Rich's notes:

Cutlers' Cement for fixing knife-blades in their hafts, is made of equal parts of brick-dust and melted rosin, or of 4 parts rosin with 1 each of beeswax and brick-dust. For covering bottle corks, a mixture of pitch, brick-dust, and rosin is used. A cheap cement, sometimes used to fix iron rails in stone-work, is melted sulphur (brimstone), or sulphur and brick-dust.






Try this - it's what I use and it works great. Not sure about the disassembly though?

5 parts pitch
1 part beeswax (tallow can replace this-available from your butcher)
1 part filler (wood dust, ash, metal dust, etc)

Melt them all together and mix well. I then pour it off into old yogurt containers and let cool. Remelt for use. Best/safest way I've found to melt it is in an old crockpot - when melted it's pretty flammable so an open flame is not a good idea. It sets quickly so you have to move right along.


Cutlers' Cements for Fixing Knife Blades into Handles.””
I.””Rosin 4 pounds
Beeswax 1 pound
Plaster of I'aris or
brickdust 1 pound
II.””Pitch j pounds
Wood ashes 1 pound
Tallow 1 pound
III. ”” Kosin. 14; sulphur flowers, 3; iron filings, 5. Melt together, fill the handle while hot, and insert the instrument.
IV.””Plaster of Paris is ordinarily used for fastening loose handles. It is made into a moderately thick paste with water run into the hole in the head of the pestle, the handle inserted and held in place till the cement hardens. Some add sand to the paste, and claim to get better results.
V. ””Hoil together 1 part of caustic soda, 3 parts of rosin, and 5 parts of water till homogeneous and add 4 parts of plaster of Paris. The paste sets in half an hour and is but little affected by water.
VI. ”” Kqual quantities of guita percha and shellac are melted together und well stirred. This is best done in an iron capsule placed on a sandbath and heated over a gas furnace or on the top of a »tove. The combination possesses both hardness and toughness. Qualities that make it particularly decirablc in mending mortars and pestles. In using, the articles to be cemented should be warmed to about the melting point of the mixture and retained in proper position until cool, when they are ready for use. VII,””Rosin 800 1 Part.
Sulphur 150 J. t.y
Iron filings KiO ) w«"«ht-
Pour the mixture, hot, into the openin of the heated handle and »hove m 11 knife likewise heated.
VIII. ”” Melt suflicient black rosin, an incorporate thoroughly with it one-tiftl. i1 weight of very fine silver sand. Ma», the pestle hot, pour in a little of the mil ture, then force the handle well hom< and set aside for a day before usinj.

BTW, IF you don't know the secret handshake, don't read the notes unless you want your eyebrows to turn green. :rotf: :rotf:

 

[Troy Allen Christianson]

Now you tell me! Do I need the secret handshake to find out how to turn my eyebrows back to their normal color? :redface:

 

[pichou]

OK the blade is 1085.

Eyebrows return to normal in three... two... one... :haha: