Hello friends, I'm going to post some photos of a bowie that at the time was proposed as a commemorative prototype knife of a Spanish knives forum. It is made by flat/convex stock removal with 6mm Böhler N678 stainless steel with full hardening and a double sectorized tempering on the spine and tang to guarantee resistance against abuse. The blade length is 230mm, hand satin and the total length is approx. 350mm, it has a two-piece straight guard in stainless steel worked with round file, a premium quality red deer stag handle and a back cap also in stainless steel threaded to the tang. The sheath has a false baldric and both are made of tannin-tanned, oiled and hand-sewn leather. The sectorized tempering as seen in the photos is carried out by placing the blade, previously hardened and tempered accordingly, in a container with wet sand with which the edge is completely protected and with a blowtorch the spine and tang are heated to a temperature much higher than that of tempering to achieve a second temper much more severe than the first to soften these areas, thus leaving the edge sector with the hardness corresponding to the correct tempering and the back and tang softer with which they minimize the chances of blade fracture from "heavy" use. In some of the photos of the knife, you can see a very faint shadow along the blade that corresponds to the change in structure in the steel of the two edge/back sectors as a result of the second tempering. The pictures:
Very nice Marcial. Excellent presentation with the stag antler and the sheath. I have never seen a wet sand technique to protect the cutting edge when blue-backing. I like the sand as it acts as a vise and holds the blade, freeing up both of your hands. Dan
I'm glad you enjoyed the post. I usually use this method when something like this is required. Thanks a lot.
