--STJ how many inches blade tip to guard?  Looks well over a foot.  Excellent.

--ricasso/choil, yes much length/room for sharpening/trapping/fingers/choking up.  This length
blade you lose nothing in cutting/edge length.

--I think I maybe kind of sort of understand your issues with guard.  Used to own several pretty
fine Jap tanto/waki--the "seppa"/spacers/washers and "habaki"/blade collar thingamajegger were
custom fit/pressed/hammered/indented/filed to fit, presumably (certainly) horrendously time consuming.
Can a guard be heated and "banged"/hammered to fit, assuming the bearing surfaces all dimensions are
suitable?  Would that be considered cheating?

The issue is that there is nothing on the spine side to prevent it moving forward.  The bolster prevents rearward movement.  Normally on a hidden tang the blade ricasso would land on the guard on both sides.  With the straight spine, this can't be done.  The solution is affixing the bolsters to the guard.

I like hand-filling things, so not really tedious to me.

The Japanese stuff is all based on slip fits and a taper pin IIRC.  They kinda remind me of ARs in that if the one part fails the whole thing disassembles.  That can be true for hidden tang knives also, usually is, but full tang knives ought to be able to keep on going with parts falling off.

Not sure how I missed this, but...clever, and yes.  Perhaps the design will still surprise.

I'm sure it will. I enjoy seeing how this stuff is done, and how different people come up with their own techniques to get a certain result.  Many ways to skin a cat.

--STJ, only 12 inches, understood, very very graceful.

--understood on choil, guard, bolster, slip fit/filing//taper.

--Carry on!!!!

--DFarm, exactly, alchemy of the mind/design.


///Dedication page///singe page///set-off///

DEDICATION

"A nation can survive its fools, and even the ambitious. But it cannot
survive treason from within. An enemy at the gates is less formidable, for he
is known and carries his banner openly. But the traitor moves amongst those
within the gate freely, his sly whispers rustling through all the alleys, heard
in the very halls of government itself. For the traitor appears not a traitor; he
speaks in accents familiar to his victims, and he wears their face and their
arguments, he appeals to the baseness that lies deep in the hearts of all men.
He rots the soul of a nation, he works secretly and unknown in the night to
undermine the pillars of the city, he infects the body politic so that it can
no longer resist. A murderer is less to fear.” --- Marcus Tullius Cicero 

The very concept of objective truth is fading out of the world. Lies will pass into
history.
---George Orwell

Is not liberty the destruction of all despotism - including, of course, legal
despotism?
---Bastiat

Chaos liberates not only the evil, but the good.---Billy Spears

///title page///set-off//single page///


THE SOLDIER’S SON

Book 1

By DCBourone 

///first chapter page//set-off//single page///

CHAPTER 1: THE DAY THE WORLD CHANGED FOREVER… 
~ZeroHour:  The Massacre At The Cantina Tejas
~Words Of His Father
~The Apocalypse Has Already Happened
~A Murderer Recalls a Very Peculiar Killing
~And As They Murdered, So They Are Murdered

///first page//italicize///


Somewhere in West Texas...///italics///

Billy Gehr was a boy on a mission.
A boy?
Or a man.
He wasn't sure...
  

I couldn't think of another analogy. Sorry, Lol.

DCB, love all of the quotes.  All very fitting.

oh goddamn

Did something stoopid today though.  A very clever person will figure out at least the repercussions of my error, if not the error, by looking at the pic and older pics.

Not to be  dick . . . but, shouldn't "Or a Man." have a question mark?

It's really part of the same sentence - which is, ultimately, a question. Right?

Seems a little small for a bottle opener...

I like the Cicero quote, you have posted this here before right?  It is sad that it is so appropriate for today but a free society will always be more susceptible to being undermined from within by agents of its enemies...

Been awhile since I was in here. Just got caught up. I got some major one in a lifetime/potentially life changing things coming up over the next 8-12 months. Hopefully we'll have a book before I have pictures of potential accomplishment to share.

New bolsters?  It may be the angle of this pic vs the last one, but it looks like you may have given yourself more of a ledge on the handle side of the ricasso for the guard to sit against?

You deserve credit.

I think you should come distribute beers when DC shows up to assemble his FAL kits.

Re-drilling bolsters is never fun.  It's better in this case as I plan to weld the bolsters to the guard.

GEN
--DFarm, denk kyu, and a very likely option: Kindle/e-reader format so far does not favor individual "pages" for
chapter headings, index, and relevant individual chapter quotes.  But Dead Tree book allows/favors individual
pages setting up/prompting/and quotes for individual chapters.  I might be able to do a lot more in a real paper
book than I can in e-reader format.  Working on that now.

--Designated, very good to see.  Gdamn indeed.  Always loved mechanical watches.  Just built one....

--STJ I see below your 'error' has been described--I think I see it, not sure.  I was thinking guard looked "narrower"
at hilt than I had originally imagined, and perhaps "shorter"--a long blade with this profile, very much a fighter/parrying
sticker would not suffer with a lot of guard.  Still, stunning.  Can't wait for more progress.

--Former11B, not a dick, you bring up a pretty serious "issue" with this story as written: basically, I break a dump
truck load of rules about punctuation, sentence design, paragraph design.  Reading as a cognitive process very
complicated: reading for information vs. reading for/with "sound"--in other words, as spoken/heard out loud,
but internally.  If you read "Boy?" "Or man?" as a series of questions, following rules of grammar, you are correct.
If you read it as Boy (question) and then "Or man." (and/or/thereby 'the only other alternative'--and therefore,
a statement of fact) the period fits.  A few have noted that there are many many grammatical "questions" that
finish with periods--that is because they are stated by the speaker as "facts"--and are questions in the rhetorical
sense only.

--gungyr, love that bottle opener.  Very cool, STJ.

--greyguy, the quote, yes, very sad, we are so deep into this thing it blows my mind.  I am very pleased to meet
everyone here, but I am....pretty fucking irritated....that history is so perfectly matching the worst precedents,
without a single deviation.  I don't post on the other boards/survival boards/general much/or at all.  I might
someday.  There will be regional solutions, but they will not be popular: example: very cold weather does not
favor general mayhem and asshattery.  I mean very fucking cold.  Conflict: the asshats who are familiar/comfortable/
equipped for severe cold will be the most dangerous people in the world.  There will be/are all kinds of "defensive"
solutions, tools, geographies.  But being able to "signal"/deflect/control/channel friction away from/towards other
obstacles will be vastly more important than, let's say, calibers.  That is social engineering, not marksmanship/etc.
Blah blah blah.  But yep we are going to have some
long/to very long/to severely tragic "dislocations" -- twenty years at the outside.

GENERAL NOTE: off greyguy post: obviously in this story there is an appropriate amount of general mayhem.
But I assume it is abundantly clear at this point that Gehr Waffen is first and foremost a student/students of
social engineering, deception, seduction, information acquisition/selection/design.

--CTrapper good to see and look forward to your progress and pics.

--DFarm, afraid I am not familiar enough with nomenclature to parse your observation.

--STJ, same same on knife/bolster issue.  Now, on the beer.  I had a pretty extensive bucket list in my twenties, many accomplished,
some not.  A FAL build party is on that list now.  Kind of bittersweet: twenty years ago I assumed a shortened FAL/s would
never be exceeded as mid-range utility blasters, now longer true...I still have "a few" crates of Port 7.62, should have bought
a thousand (like everyone here...)I might have to crack
a seal and bring a sleeve or two...fingers crossed.

CHAPTER 2:

~~~Armageddon~~~~

~ZeroHour: The Massacre At The Cantina Tejas
~Personal Demons
~The Butcher's Bill
~This Is Armageddon, Signed, Sealed, and Delivered

Bigger guard...OK.

Interesting that the FAL came up in discussion here today.  I took my better half out shooting yesterday.  Last minute addition to the group was the FAL build that caught my eye as I was closing the safe.  I haven't fired one of my FALs in a year or so.  This particular one in probably double that. (This one is full size, I normally shoot my 16" rifle)

--STJ stepping lightly, tone not perfect on webz, am a little antsy about "suggestions" .re your blade.  It is already
deep deep deep into Louisiana/Mississippi/Texas borderland Spanish influence bad-ass functional sticker/slasher/trapper.
I see many many knives.  This will be a kind of benchmark.  Make exactly the knife you were thinking about.  It is evolving on
its own.  Big guard, small guard, I don't know.  But that is a 'long' sticker of a blade.  Also arrow and quick.  So.  Carried under
a coat/vest/slicker?  Small guard.  A scorpion sting.  (Big Scorpion, yes.) Carried openly?  Larger guard.  A visual warning, and a melee weapon.
And so on.

--DFarm/ on FAL'S, there have been a few posts ( over...yeah...four years....OMG....)  I think maybe FAL/S break the rule of "too many parts/too complex/something gonna break/don't get too dirty"--shitload of eensy weensy little parts--but they seem to run real good under duress/dirty/wet
and all those tiny little parts seem so well made they never break/fail.  And the ergos are brilliant...for me, anyway.  Very point/shoot.  The Israeli
desert/sand/dirt FAL fail seems to be a combo worst possible condtions/dust/micro-dust/conscript training.  In Africa the FAL'S have/had the same
reputation for 'will not fail' as PKM/s.  But now just too expensive/heavy/no rails/blah blah.  Functional art.  Very very functional. 

If I had to get picky and complain about something on the FAL, it would be the finish.  On both of mine (one a factory dsa and the other a kit build that didn't get refinished), if i take them out in the rain, I have to wipe them down when I'm done or they start getting flash rust on the bolt and in the chamber area. Not a big deal, I just have to remember, unlike the more modern rifles in the safe.

Checking in and eagerly awaiting.....

Got all the bolsters rough ground to shape.

Can we get a shot from the spine?  

Is there a function for the little hole on the heel of the blade, or is it just for ornamentation?

That thing is looking sweet!  I was actually looking at the older pictures of it earlier today.  lol

this is now a knife thread...

Spine pic...will do.  In hind-sight I regret tapering the tang...it is complicating things, and honestly it could use a bit more weight in the rear.

The half-moon on the back of the blade is a common ornamentation on this style of Bowie.  It was a specific request and fun to do.

If you mean the center hole at the rear bolster, that is for a lanyard.

I'm pretty happy with the geometry so far, but there are some minor details I am still pondering how to solve/minimize.

The good news is we are going to have large scales to draw on...I hope I do them justice.

No.

This was a knife thread as soon as DC said he wanted one made from a file AND the younger Billy threw a well-described Bowie into a puddle and drew a claw-hammer.

My goal...my arrogance..is to make the knife that gets used for that scene when this goes to film.

Or to help with making the gate.

I'll settle for either.  Or both.

I just want at least one paystub from Gehr Waffenfrabrik & S

Can you hide pins under the scales to add weight back?  I seem to recall seeing a knife (from tops, I believe) that had big brass screws under the scales that you could add or remove to change the balance of the knife.  I'd imagine a couple of chunks of 3/8" brass rod tucked behind the scales just in front of the rear bolster would have an impact on the balance.  I know you had mentioned not wanting pins, but that may be one way to get the balance back.

It's a chopper...I am not unhappy with the balance.  It just turned out to be counter-productive to taper the tang in this case.

I imagine tapering the scales to match the tang could be a chore.  

You had mentioned that it could use some weight on the back end, it was just a thought.

Guard forged to shape and front bolsters welded on.

...jiggles the line to make the bait wiggle...

Sorry guys, DC must be somewhere else in the pond, this bait usually works.

DC,

This has reached the point of ridiculousness.

We've waited years.

The book is ready.

The perfect time will not come.

Now is the time, no better time will come.

Please release the book.

-PF

Edit: added please, because manners.

got it...

I think your knife will be completed in time for the film...

ROTFLMAO

ya think?

GENERAL NOTE: returned, more tonight, STJ beautiful blade S-guard AWESOME--

GENERAL NOTE:

--.RE Pfunkk note: UNDERSTOOD.  Nobody wants to spend any time in this kitchen.  Not a normal book.
Happy to explain at some point.  If anyone is interested, who already has read Injured, consider breaking
down Injured by individual lines.  These stories are "palimpsets."

--RE Pfunkk note: I am not always present.  I am good enough at this to see 'what must be done'.
I AM NOT GOOD ENOUGH TO DO IT QUICKLY.   Or while I am otherwise occupied.

--RE. PFunkk note: my tech wizard is in Poland for a while.  This story/book DOES NOT FORMAT by any
standard for E-readers.  I need her assistance.

--PF we will discuss these issues some day.  You will be satisfied.

More soon.  Looking at text now.

Looking pretty sweet!

--StimpsonJ....just wow.  Bolster/guard a zillion times more complex than I was imagining: welded?  Soldered?

--DFarm, good to see you.

GENERAL NOTE: everybody else: in age of facebook/twitter/blogs/me me me--I can only say, I missed that class.
If this is very long/slow/delayed, yes, reasons.  Family, time, external.  Those reasons would be understood here. 
They don't belong here.

GENERAL NOTE: for technical/TOS reasons, very soon THE TEXT HERE WILL BE "DIFFERENT"/ALTERED.
Make sense?

TIG...gotta play with the toys!

Sorry to say it may be a bit before I do any more work on it.

GENERAL NOTE: tech wizard has returned from business trip.  That is good/helpful.

GENERAL NOTE: .re Pfunkk comment "point of ridiculousness" concerning four plus years to finish
this FFFFFing story/book/tract/encyclopedia.  I would like to introduce the concept of "scale"/relativity.
Yes, a very very long time.  Many have stayed, and quite a few have 'gone'--hopefully I can find them
again.  But on 'my scale'--it is inconceivable that this 165,000 page tract exists at all.  Insane.  Bizarre.
I am not a writer.  So.  At some point this will be 'published'--and that status will be the 'new normal.'
And then I will have to do it, or something like it? Again.  Insane.

STimpsonJ looking forward to your knife.  I say in all immodesty, there should be a movie.  But there will
not be a movie: concept, scale, density....and politics.

Mornin' DCB,  Good to see you kicking about.  It gives hope to those of us who are waiting (semi-)patiently for the Glorious Announcement of Release of TSS.  I understand that I, myself, could not create the story that you have/are creating and so I will wait for the masterpiece.  Howsomeever, why would you send your Tech Mistress to Poland?  She could have been eaten by Trolls or simply gotten so far inside a Polish beer vat that she would have refused to come out!   Musn't allow such possible tragedies to occur or we will never get our grubby mitts on this Tome!

All is forgiven,
Carry on with Cover Buffing, Comma Polishing, etc
We will still be here when it is done baring the World going even more Pear Shaped than in the Story between now and then.

165000 pages you say?

Impressive.

Good to see you.
Tell tech wizard hello for us.

--165,000 pages.  Pages.  Pages?????  Yes....that would indeed be a monumental achievement.

--GreenGiant, no way to express how much appreciated that patience of any/all here.  Now, TechMistress: a very independent
creature.  Motivated and motivating.  One of that super-class which, entirely absent malice, will invent all those devices, algorithms,
and artificial minds that will put the rest of us...out of work.  We discuss this regularly.  A picture might be forthcoming someday, if
her privacy can be managed.  Poland: clusters of other tech wizards there--same same old USSR--fantastic schools in math/engineering.

--Designated/M--yes, 165,000 pages!!!!!!  Really!!!!!  I swear!!!!!!

--PFfunk, will do.  Don't forget The Matchlock Gun!

Good to see everyone kicking about.

DC - refresh my memory - did you build your 1911 that is “used” in the story?  Or build it?

--mnmiv--yes good to see thread alive.

GENERAL NOTE: .re mnmiv comment 1911--yes, built exactly that 1911, old colt slide, scrubbed right side panel, Essex frame.
Have had very good luck with original Colt oem/.mil barrels, triggers, sears, extractors, commercial safeties.  I would most accurately say "assembled"--
not a gunsmith, no lathing etc....might get pretty aggressive with files and vises, however.  Have 'a few' Norincos, from way back when they
were considered junk guns, they are not, as now commonly known.  Stay away from caliber/platform debates on this/other forums.
But a 1911 has several advantages, absent weight/capacity, not generally discussed.  For instance, the multiple safeties: grip, thumb, hammer.
I KNOW HOW THEY WORK.  Very likely, in a grappling/dark/social thugfest/I fucked up, my opponent does not. 
Fighting for weapon control?  1. Jamb hammer.
2.  Engage thumb safety. 3. Twist/dislocate out of grip (grip safety). 4. Index slide out of battery.  Only number 4 works with a striker fired weapon (glock, etc.)--Also one of very few pistols where the safety locks the slide.  Empty weapon now a striking/punch.  This is all  theory, of course.
I like walking on the beach, kittens, sunsets, sunsets with kittens, kittens with beaches, drinking wine and listening to music with my friends who
have kittens...

GENERAL NOTE: I am pretty familiar with pretty much any tool/s I will put in these books, short of B-1 bombers.  At some point I will have
a blog/website/reference for additional information.  As much as  possible I will be placing pics of Gehr Waffen artifacts.  Gehr 1911/s, coins,
FAL/S, and etc....
I own quite a few,
and will be making many more.  Most of what I care to own can be carried in one hand...
Book 3 is a Gehr recruit/Librarian who ends up in Africa.  He inherits a chopped cz 550 .375 Weatherby built
by a guide who anticipated the future, and built a last/ must last forever because there might not be any more--
"Forever Gun"--fully salt-bath melonited, etc.  Nice tool....

Nice to see you back DC. Hope to read the whole book soon.

--good to see you Zoe17.  You will.

   << This is me right now after reading the bold portions above.  Will continue to wait patiently as has been 4 years, what is another short while.  I have been enjoying this thread since page 1, now on page 49!  Keep your TechMistress close and the Comma Polisher humming!