Factio n by Kar l Dah l is along similar lines, if not a smaller scale.

Purchased and reviewed. What a long strange trip it’s been. I appreciate the updates.

Is there a link I missed to the GD posting?  I will happily do what I can to help.

I’m really pondering the existence of Librarians considering all the Virginia business of late. Makes a man wonder.

I don’t think one has been made yet.

I suggested a post with all the picture artifacts to drive traffic to the Big River, but nothing as of yet.

GENERAL NOTE: apologies delay--still moving/sorting/--oh and actually digging through artifacts/etc.
some of which I have not seen/handled in....30 years?  Dayum.

GENERAL NOTE: will be posting on General Forum within 24/48.  Will post here with link.

GENERAL NOTE: Artifact posts/relevant to Gehriverse etc. YES!!!!  The signature identifier will be STJ/s
meta blade--an authenticator, as it were--used with utmost discretion to authenticate other artifacts.
See pic at end this post:

--BigDam--Ranger Museum was a/the? model for Gehr workshop .re U.S.--but have seen even
more astounding in Europe/etc.  Really amazing stashes.  Legal/not legal doesn't mean shit for
a bunch of "European" cultures/classes/rich people.  Pretty fucked up but it is what it is.

--BigD those pics are insane.  Some stuff I don't remember.  Haven't been since....2009?
Just....wow.  That center D-guard bowie....that might be "priceless"/cubed.

--STJ hell yes--I bet within six months one of us will get back and take more pics.

--BigD the white stock/serpent motif--yeah that is relevant.  I remember it.  Distinctly.

--biere--"the healthiness" oh yes indeed.

--Coontrapper--please go...please...please....and take pics!!!!  See if you can get pic of snake motif on
white/Ivory(?) stocked weapons.  I remember a "snake"/serpent.  Could be wrong.

--STJ I think that D-guard semi-bowie looks like one of the super early "Spanish" era New Orleans
first "hybrids"--a very famous New Orleans Jeweler--can't recall name--made an identical blade
absent that guard--those guards not so much "melee/smashing/crushing" as "parrying/dueling"--
and also clearly decorative as you know.  Ok one sec fff--The Searles Bowie--that is it.  Pretty sure
you have seen/will recognize.  Many many articles.  Freaking gorgeous.

--INternal/C will check/add/fix typos tonight and thank you.

--BigDam--yes I think some of your pics/items are missing/stored.  I do not remember that much "historical" stuff==
but could well be wrong.  Cannot remember what I saw in person and in pics.

--Last/crusader--just looked at f actionn and that is pretty damned...interesting.  Is the family good
guys or bad guys?  I am not interested in reading about more bent/twisted/scummy "good guys" with
brand name/skills.  If the family is doing the "right thing" then that writer deserves support.
The tech stuff in sample is accurate.

--Vaquero good to see you.  Do you ride?  Yes long strange trip.  A link/links will be up ASAP.

--Librarians--I see them everywhere.  Let's make some more.  Make sense?

--Last/C you are dead on with pic/artifact/etc. posts.  First...book link/direct support.  Later--artifacts/artifact links.
If I am lucky/good I might kill an Idaho wolf before season/s close with a .375w, more likely a Garand.  We shall see.
Still in unpacking mode.

ARTIFACTS:

Four .375 Weatherby's plus dies plus The Knife in a new location--have another .375 in storage gotta dig it out--

Attached File

The book-protagonist was on the good guys' side.

Nice looking rifles, .375 CZs-no inlaid coin?

--last/crusader--no coins yet--those rifles have had bolts straightened/barrels cut to 22.5 and crowned/threaded and been rechambered to .375 Weatherby and still have oh.... about another 500.00 worth of bedding/filing/nitriding and New England Custom Guns front sights/and etc. per rifle.  Also some minor stock work and might clean up the checkering.  Hopefully done in another ... two months?  Some of the work/very minor I can do myself.  The rest/best will be done by a smith.   They should be/will be(?) a "work in progress" post in general at some point. The coin thing is giving me fits, but like anything just takes time/money.

Tight.

Are the gloves something you've done or an idea? The boots were legit, not sure where one even finds elephant boots anymore.

Clock cycles are being spent on this...

Seems like quality dies/proper design would be the hardest part.

Your hammer press could probably over stamp an anvil.

GD thread

Thanks PFunkk.

I posted in GD and used that post for a basis for my Amazon review that I also just posted.  I haven't finished the re-read yet but I'm at about 80% so I think that I can give an honest review.

The old Texas Ranger Meme:  "Q:  Why do you carry a .45?    A:  Because they don't make a .46..." describes the logic behind my five-star rating.

Wow very cool.  I saw the preview in the GD thread and really enjoyed it.  I went and downloaded the 2 books on Amazon.   I cant wait to read them.  I will start digging in this afternoon.  I am always amazed at the talent ARFCOM offers.

--onetime much thanks and please post on General forum as appropriate. And tell your friends!

I'm just finishing the re-read of the book. I've been procrastinating, not wanting it to end I guess...

@stimpsonjcat did you just make a cameo? Very cool!!!

From the last chapter:

Oh I am there...and VERY proud to be there...but not that one.

I am...well...I am the knife...at least for now.  And perhaps a librarian later, but settling for 'pocket maker' for now.

3983 and also 9059

"The first was a bone-handled glass-slick Bowie forged from a farrier's rasp."

And as far as that goes...well...that's pure truth.

That knife sits on a Gehr desk RIGHT NOW.  It is the most impressive knife I have made...so far.

So...fear.

Can I do it again?

A very real thing...made because of a story meant to...make real things.

Do the real things want to be made?

I have time for a few more of its like before I am done.  Coins?

I know DC wants the second knife described there to exist...if we can agree on what that want represents...it will happen.  There are...stimpulations.

And/or coins...I get distracted...the Musso Bowie was a distraction.

Distractions can be...informative.

I don't think you can make another identical knife.

Even if you managed to make another that looks just like it, it wouldn't have the same effect. At least to you.

I think sometimes we get something in our head that finds a way to come out of our hands, and that particular piece is different than any that follow it.

I must have misled/mistyped.

I have no intention of ever making the same knife again.

It was made to match a book I loved...we'd need another book, right?

But the men on the hill should be served.

Yeah, I figured that was a reference to the knife you made too.  I didn't catch that you're in GA until looking at your profile in your response.  I thought you made the casting call...

Either way very cool.  Both the knife itself and the fact that it influenced the story itself!

The knife was in the story before I made it.  The hammer/knife fight description was what set off the making of it.  The other description got changed later, but the knife was in DC's mind and the story before I came along.

GENERAL NOTE:  Reasonable that everyone is pre-occupied  with exogenous events.  "...a dash of plague."  And so
it is.  Assuming that everyone here is taking this somewhat/to very very/seriously.  Good.  General Note: this story
was originally--Seven FFFing Years Ago--designed to incorporate pretty much any "disaster"--because the "effect"
of a disaster can always be measured in economic/social/political terms, and those terms are always defined by
human nature, and human nature is the real focus of this story.  And etc.--

GENERAL NOTE: odd, positive--story seems to be getting minor meaningful traction absent active promotion--
AND THAT CAN ONLY BE BECAUSE OF YOU/EVERYONE HERE.  So.  Thank.  You.

--Gehr Waffen as a design house is always looking for talent, the original Musso=type knife, HISTORICAL, would
have been made by a B. Perry/North Carolina/pre civil war--it would be entirely reasonable/ (even IDEAL) IF THE
ORIGINAL B. PERRY name continued to this day, so let's say, B. Perry the IV or even...Vth, would still be improving/modifying
collaborative Gehr Waffen artifacts.  Pretty sure that's what happened, anyway.  Pretty much bet on it.  Actually.

--greyguy, the Kalispell smith/tool maker is modeled on the B. Perry relationship, analogous, etc., for other books
centered on Idaho/Utah/Arizona, if/when/as I get my shit together.

--STJ--"I am the knife" --max fun--and anything else for sure.  Coins/other knives all in their time.  Designer/s
are not/tend not to be "manufacturers"--the handmade "shop" samples set the code for everything else--anyone
want to see the first hand-made Garands?????  I would fffing stroke out.  The KNIFE/Musso--best case distraction,
may there be many (realistically...a few....) more.

--BigDam agreed impossible to make that knife/even a very similar knife, again.  Just way way individuated/handmade/unique.
When things settle down I will need to order a proper hand-made embossed leather/brass/silver sheath.....

--STJ--the general vibe/future books would be the G.W. General Utility--but as stated before that is such a general/Randall/bowie
type knife it is/will be commonly multi=interpreted.  The original drawing still represents--will be made--will be carried used,
but probably not any time soon.  A year, or two.

--greguy--neat symbiosis--STJ picked up on knife vibe/future possibilities/executed way way way past/into the dream.

--STJ, yes, exactly.

THE KNIFE...or....

The King of Knives:
Attached File

GENERAL NOTE: might be inferred that this/all is some not-so-subtle form of humble/pseudo/bragging/etc.
Pretty much all/the only/anything that I own is...stuff like this.
The tools/etc. some of which appear here....
---I haven't owned a vehicle that cost more than 5000.00 in my entire life....
That is all.

So I gave up monitoring the thread and moved on ... coming back when I notice the opus was available.

Got it for free from kindle unlimited and consumed it in two days.

Returned to Amazon after reading it and purchased it.

Actions tend to speak louder than words.

Bravo!

That pic makes me happy.  I'd love some high-resolution pics if you ever get the chance.  I was too excited to send it and didn't take enough pics.

The current project got some loving this weekend.  A couple of hours of grinding.  I kept waaaay too much material on this blade, so it is taking a while to remove what shouldn't be there.



The pattern is starting to wash out also...a consequence of too much grinding.



Oh, and these got made.  The left one made my heart skip a beat when I pulled it out of the etch.  I spent an hour deciding how to cut that...worth every agonizing second.

Very cool work.

Both crosses turned out nice, and that coffin handle looks sweet!

The 'order' was for a Bagwell "Hell's Belle", I stared at that design and decided I didn't want to make a knife that cheap.

Rediculous looking guard that doesn't allow the full blade to be used...or...sharpened.

Spanish notch isn't in the right spot.

Hidden tang and looks to be maybe 2" into the handle.  Zero chance I make something that weak.

"mods" then are:
-belly out a bit more
-full tang
-drop starts further out, but I will run the bevel back to hide it
-the guard...don't get me started on the guard.  Ever since the guard on the Musso I am a snob.  It took me months to sort out how to make this one strong and sexy.
-steel lined lanyard hole
-stabilized cocabola scales
-my own damascus

The pattern in the left hand Cross would definitely make your hair stand up on end if it was a surprise.  Kind of meant to be!  Very / Maximum Cool!

Someone clever once said "God does not play dice."

It's enough to make me want to *try* to make a cross with the inflection on the outermost parts of the arms and the very bottom of the feet.

Yes?

Where the nails would have been.

It's hubris...made worse because He lets me make these things without calling my paltry bets.

It's not even about the 'starting value'.

I bought a 1992 240SX for $11,750.00  Lord I wish I had that car back!  I spent 8 hours at the dealership and enjoyed every moment of the sparring.  I drove that car, and loved it, until my daughter was born in 2005.  I sold it for $3,000.00 to a guy who drove from Miami to north Georgia with his mechanic.

The wife asked "Do you think he brought the mechanic to try to negotiate?"
No dear, he brought the mechanic because he doesn't believe in unicorns.
He paid $3k.

His name was Hector.  The first time he called me I was on the firing line at a machine-gun shoot.
"What's that noise?"
Dangerous things, Hector, do you want to buy the car?

On one clutch.

Do the math on what that cost me per month.  I have to admit I spent a lot on brake pads and comp TA ZR tires.  The decel was known to make people sick.

Right...so...makers have this ability to 'suspend death' for the things they own.  Our stuff simply 'lasts'...and this is not an accident.

It's why I don't worry about you taking care of the knife.

Making tools is intimidating to me for this reason.  It's both awesome and terrifying that it's possible that someone generations and unknown distances away from me could be using something that I've made in my garage.  I want to make it right.

I have knives from my great grandmother hanging on a magnet in my kitchen, my wife cooks breakfast in one of her cast iron skillets too.  Family was just going to toss them...

Indeed, God does not play dice.  He does however often say "Be STILL and know that I AM God".  Sometimes quietly and others (like this) pretty forcefully and hard / impossible to miss!

Just downloaded a copy.  Can’t wait to read from the beginning again!

any ETA for hard copies?

Bought it, paid full price, worth every penny.
Thanks for an enjoyable read.

Waiting for the sequel.

Finally managed to get a chance to do some reading.  Great book brother, thank you.

TSS continues to walk the halls of my memory.  Late at night; in the middle of the day while listening to a news terrorist be, well, a news terrorist.  I think about TSS particularly then.

[Aside: Think about what a terrorist seeks; then think about what an average MSM news guy does, particularly for the past 4 weeks.  Any qualitative difference?]

Interesting times.  I am blessed to live where I live, have the things God has granted me, feel the confidence God has allowed me to find. (I.E., most of us, here.)  I shudder to think of being in New York City right now.  Lots of good people in NYC.  And lots of sheep, pressed into the corner of the pen, bleating, waiting for the sniffles.  All governed by jackasses.

But back to the book.  I keep weighing TSS and Injured Reserves, trying to decide "Which one is his Best".  Read both many times now.  Can't decide. Damn brilliant, both.

DC, given our present state, your timing on the completion of TSS is kinda comical.  Like a 6' rattler on the front porch is comical.  Gives you pause, makes you think deep, calculate percentages.  The sheep in NYC don't think deep, only wonder when they can visit Starbucks again.  Pity.  Still, my prayers to them all.

Hope you're bedded in well, in your new abode, DC.  Hope the brain is churning that DC churn.  Hope Books 3 and 4 are 95% outlined (ok, maybe 60%), and a few seed sentences are planted here and there, and sprouting.

In any case, Peace and Courage, all.

Me too. Been waiting to read this all together for literal years.





Exactly. Our current episode is a great example of the same shit that is going to happen when stuff goes seriously and mostly unrevokeably pear shaped. Mass media, government, etc.

You have to be prepared on your own, to look after your own, cause nobody is going to do it for you.

Guard is too big.



Went to order some 1/4" carbide end mills for the smaller guard I need to make and Amazon's top reading suggestion for me was Injured Reserves.

Nice!!!

Question:  What is the purpose of the small hole drilled through the blade just breaking the edge, right above the ricasso (correct terminology?)?  I noticed that on the one that you made for DC as well.

It is decorative, it is called a 'Spanish Notch'.

Cool, thanks.  Again, great work!

That's awesome Stimpy!

On the phone with DC...who tells me I got it wrong.

The faithful can pm me and I will send you some.

Wasn't it supposed to be "controlling legal authority"?

You're not helping.

I'm sorry

It's fine.

Making them made me text DC, and that made him call me.  Which will doubtless lead us down unexpected paths...again.

We talked about the beer-flu, knives...of course, FALs, and stories.

GENERAL NOTE: checking in.  Hoping/assuming everyone is "as well as can/could/might be" within reason.
Comments on comments below...

GENERAL NOTE: the book/s (Post-Apoc Story, Injured Reserves) appear to have a (very small) but
entirely independent life outside/beyond this audience: about 1.5 sales/borrows a day--which is
actually remarkable, as I have done/made zero promotion/visibility etc. for the last two weeks.

GENERAL NOTE: I am going to start a "quarantine guns/meaningful artifact porn pics doom distraction
post on General--so if appropriate, assemble the obscure, awesome, and never-to-be sold and post
them in General....

GENERAL NOTE: all of which is trivial/even meaningless when human lives businesses futures etc.
are being destroyed.  But....

GENERAL NOTE: as a confirmed cynic/"doomer"--the present circumstance is simply one of many
entirely predictable "shocks"--long foretold, absolutely certain as to effects (extreme) and only
uncertain as to timing.  And it will not be the last.

GENERAL NOTE: short of your/my/family/friends "immediate or proximate //DEATH//" all catastrophes
are economic valuations.  Very few here will die....very few (if any at all) will starve, but I am quite
sure the long term effect on the pricing mechanism //valuations// of EVERYTHING is/will be "EXTREME."
And many here will suffer.  And know many more that suffer...a lot more.  I will leave these discussions
to other forums/general/etc., but will say that this is not "THE" slate-wiper--but will be a very severe
tune-up for the future.

--Currently!!!!  Good to see you again.  And yes actions do speak louder.  Very very difficult "action" it was.
And much thanks on borrow/purchase.  And hope to see you again!

--STj bravo cubed on new projects, we will discuss and etc./s and on pic resolution....hmmmm.  Will address.
And on anything damascus....more is better!

--DFarm STJ must be encouraged ad nauseum ad profligato.

--STj always wondered about sharpening those Bagwell/s inside the guard.  But I don't know shit about
knife to knife fighting/"fencing" and I doubt anyone alive actually does.  Maybe some escrima dudes.

--GreenGiant someday STJ will make us a sword and cut stuff with it.  And it will be pretty.  And who is to
say there was never a pattern welded Roman gladius??????  Um....that's a hint.  Sir Smith Of The Smithy.

--STJ not hubris.  More crosses, please.

--STJ I once owned a 1969 Mercedes SEL 6.3 litre.  A Car and Driver car of the year, way back when?
Bought used, mechanically sound, no collector value because interior re-upholstered/replaced and some dents.
Most expensive vehicle I have ever owned--5000.00 in 1982 dollars.  And the
finest mechanical object I will/have ever owned.  When I was back in the states I would rest-up in
SoCal and drive it up and down the coast late late nights into the morning.  Had to sell, could not
afford the up-keep/storage.  I dream/hope/assume that it is still well-loved/maintained....and driven
hard.  I got it up to 130 once, just once, and still had about 300 rpm/s to the red line.  A stunning beast.

--DFarm not just making...even owning fine tools.  A decent Smith Highway Patrolman can still be found
for 500.00.  Taken care of, it will last....forever?  So who will own them next.  They should last until the
earth falls into the sun...

--GreenGiant--whatever God plays I figure I am....not a large part of "The Plan."  Maybe a bird feather.
Or a leaf.

--Field/MP good to see you and please post a review if appropriate.  I check ranking/reviews every day.
No new reviews in weeks.

--d13--been pretty distracted.  Which is lame.  I still have to incorporate the/more typos in e-book.
Then I will deal with print version.  Big River print system is still somewhat inscrutable to me.
I will sort it out.  Cannot imagine will be more than....three months?  But I have zero credibility
even with myself on timing this thing.  I thought I would be starting next book around now--but
exogenous events have effected me as well as everyone else.

--texas shark, good to see a new 'face.'--Please post a review!  And there will be a next, someday,
or I will be dead, and that is not 'likely' any time soon.

--Designated!!!!  Good to see you.  (Designated/Marksman--the man who gave life to Injured Reserves
lo these many years ago....)  Just....dayum.

--IC good to see you and check you know what for fff's sake.  On timing: my best call was the certainty
that Gehr Waffen was on the prowl, many years ago....see a certain functionary, now retired, who
"assisted" "our side" a few years ago.  NOTE: he/they did NOT assist a random/evolving situation/personality.
They went and "found" them/it.  And made sure certain information would not be concealed.  Nuff said at this time.
Pop Gehr: "To Contest A Great Power, Hide Within It"  

GENERAL NOTE: REPEATED: No Proper Names Please EVER.

--IC--on terrorists--exactly.  FFFFFF them hard and salty.  Oh...and ask any epidemiologist on the "math"
of The Wuhan occurring intact/complete with no previous multi-year "track" of "signatures"--just FFFF.
The Wuhan is a gain-of-function experiment.

--The/Rock--much thanks and please post a review.  On taking care of self .re .gov--exactly.  This is a last
great test.  And warning.  Next time will not be so pretty...as if this is.

--STJ yes the guard max large.  I have no doubt will be corrected.

--greyguy--STJ has gotz the answerz.  All of dem.

--STJ--that will go on the coins....somewhere.  Maybe in braille.

--STJ yeah kinda sorta wrong.  Makes no difference at this juncture.  Actually makes them kind of....
collectible?  Like a die strike offset on a coin?  Hmmmmm.....

--DFarm--you got it--funny shit.

--STj --hah!

--STJ--many paths, all to glory.

GENERAL NOTE:  the first object I will post in the "Quarantine Gun (And Fine Artifact) Porn Pics Post" will be....this--
so get ready to post your own:

Attached File

Yes...the Bagwells.  I try not to throw stones at other makers, I mean, they ARE makers.  Man in the ring...marked with dust and grime and all that...best that ever came out of a Roosevelt.

But yeah, the clip is OK, the flat-grind is nice, the coffin handle is nice (even as a hidden...which I hate)...but that guard!  I am going to remake the same S-guard with integral bolsters I made for your knife and see if the buyer likes it.  I think it is possible this will be a common feature on my larger knives, as it solves so many problems and looks great.

More crosses are coming.  I almost lit the forge today, the weather was perfect for it, but I have a distraction where I had to cut down a very large dogwood I have been trying to keep alive for years.  Literally the shade on my porch for 15 years.  My hope was to figure out something to make out of it when I finally dropped it.  But out of a 2ft diameter trunk, maybe 25% is still usable.  I should have dropped it last year.  Or the year before...we always wait too long to put the dog down.

So today I spent a few hours trying to sort out how to make what is left into dimensional lumber for the project.  Yes, I know dogwood is crap for stable wood.  I don't care, it's an emotional project and if it fails I may be a bit emotional about it.

For today I am left with a dis-assembled chainsaw and very little forward progress.  But if I am going to be successful on this I need to get the wood cut to near-useful dimensions and stacked.  

Regarding swords.  Oh, what a long conversation this is for me.  If you think knives fascinate me...we are multiple lengths from what I want to make.  I took my first blacksmith lesson (thanks Mom...and thank you, Charlie Dingle) what?...18 years ago?  I wanted to make a sword the night I came home.  I remember the look on my wife's face when I came in the door "Oh no, what is this going to cost?"  And here I am, all these years later, closer in so many ways and still so far from a big blade.

I struggle with wanting to build a salt-bath vs painting a meter long sword in my current forge, I'm not sure there is room, and dunking it.  It's sheer terror.

It is my intent to make exactly (2) swords.  They are brothers, in a way, and made for brothers, in a way.