Re Profiled Gransfors Bruk.

Last summer, my good friend and associate Chris Grant came to stay with Sarah and I in our little home on Dartmoor.

As you may know, Chris is a Bladesmith, an old hand, who produces my MaChris line of carving and bushcraft knives.

As I have probably mentioned before, Chris has a super web site showcasing his knife making skills.

You can find it here at 

Makemethischris

Chris Grant near Start point, Devon.

As ever, we spent a lot of time chatting about knives, steel and Axes.

Chris has a knowledge of steel that will make ones mind boggle.

I mentioned to Chris that my Gransfors Bruk carving axe had a few design issues.

He had a look at the axe and decided to take it home to Scotland for a visit to his workshop.

L:standard-R:re profiled

The main issue for me lies beneath the beard of the axe.
A cunningly designed pinch point for my, ok, rather big fingers.

L:standard R:re profiled

Above, on the left is a standard G.B carver and on the right is the re-profiled carver.

You can just make out the easing of the tight pinch point in the beard.

Polished underside of the re ground beard.

 As well as easing the pinch point, Chris re-profiled the cutting edge, drawing the bevel out further toward the eye.

This re-profiling has given the axe a much better bite.
When sharpened one can feel an improvement in it's cutting ability.

It's now faster and more accurate, it slices further through the cut and is all together a much improved axe.

I have used the G.B extensively now for cutting spoon blanks and roughing out a wooden model of a cooking knife Chris and I are working on.
This is pretty well how all our knives start.

We will have a chat over the phone and when the time is right a model is made.
I then send it up to Chris and he performs his majik.
Tweaking a bit here and there until we are both satisfied we are heading in the right direction.
Once a top quality steel has been chosen that is suitable for the job in hand Chris will make a working prototype which is sent back to me for evaluation.
Now the flu I mentioned in my last post has gone, I can get back to working on our designs.
I'm having some folks stay here for a spot of camping and carving over the easter break, I'll put some of our knives in their hands for some useful feedback.



In the meantime I have been playing with kolrossing designs for my spoons.
You'll find a tutorial in my previous post.

I like how this one turned out, it's a bit shabby here and there, but I learned a lot for the next one.

Enjoy.... J

Kolrossing pattern for your hand carved spoon.

 I've shied away from the Sami patterns that are quite common on Scandinavian/Nordic type spoons.

However, today I  succumbed -  due in part I think to a curiosity about setting up the repeating pattern.

I've seen a lot of this type of design, I took a look around the web today and could find no information as to how to set the whole thing up.

The reason for the lack of information is undoubtedly down to looking in the wrong place.

Doh !

So, here is my own tutorial on how one might go about setting the pattern up.

It's snowing out, the flu or whatever it is is making a comeback, so I've lit the fire and I'm working in the warm today.

Apart from a wooden spoon, you'll need a super sharp knife, pencil, rule, fine Abrenet (optional) and some dry, finely ground coffee.

Not a bad tool list...

I selected a spoon that I've carved for a friend who is embarking on a cycle tour across Europe, commencing in the spring.

All I need to do now is carve one for his lovely wife.

Can't have arguments on the adventure eh ?

Have a practice first on a clear sheet of paper then

with your rule and pencil, make feint cross hatchings on the spoon.

Then, with a heavier line, mark out the patten.

I have highlighted the basic repeat in blue.

I hope this makes sense.

Once finished, check the work to make sure there are no errors.

Once you are happy with your design, carefully cut along the heavier pencil lines.

Just one slice, not too deep.

Once you are happy with your work so far and have been over the complete design, use the tip of your knife to make the Maltese cross shape.

Simply poke in and remove.

Or sharpen a fine nail to make a dot.

Finally, rub some coffee grounds into the design with clean dry fingers.

Wet or oily fingers will cause the fine cuts to close up.

Clean the spoon with a clean cloth.

Lightly sand with super fine Abrenet

 to remove any raised fibres.

And oil.

I'm going to ask Sarah to proof read this whilst I nip into the kitchen and make a 

HOT TODDY.

Lemon. 

Cinamon.

Honey.

Cognac.

Enjoy.... J.

Bushcraft folding saws.

I wanted to make a small kuksa for the new year -

something like my large Ale hens, but smaller, more compact.

I knew where some Birch was lying, it has been down for about a year and rather than cutting fresh I decided to try out the older seasoned timber.

I packed a small bag with water and a saw and headed woodward.

I've been using a saw supplied by Matthew Platt who owns Workshop Heaven.

A purveyor of fine tools.

The saw I have been using recently is a 

Shogun 265mm Universal Folding Kataba

A really good folding pull saw.

It's a big old bugger that'll cut pretty much anything that needs dividing into two.

Its 16tpi blade will cope with rip cuts, cross cuts, slant cuts, green and seasoned wood.

The dimensions are, 640 mm unfolded and 350 mm folded.

It weighs 400 g.

The Shogun 265 will cost £37.49.

Replacement blade is £12.00.

So, once I'd cut my timber I carried it home and set to carving a new year Kuksa.

I did most of the work in my old draughty barn and bought her in and worked at the table when the weather turned.

I wanted to try out a little Kolrosing on this kuksa.

So went about finding a repeating pattern that was suitable.

I drew the pattern free hand with a pencil, then used a knife to cut lightly into the design.

Once done I rubbed some fine dry coffee grounds into the cuts to highlight them.

Whilst this was going on Matthew had sent a more compact saw down to my home here on Dartmoor.

It's a really good compact pull saw.

A Gyokucho 811.

The dimensions are 415 mm unfolded and 237 mm folded.

It weighs in at a cheeky 186 g.

Here's what Workshop Heaven have to sat about it.

The Gyokucho Arame is a high performance folding japanese pruning saw. Its razor sharp progressive teeth slice through the wood quickly and exceptionally cleanly, without crushing or bruising the adjacent timber which would otherwise render the tree more vulnerable to infection.

It also cuts dry wood like a dream, so if you are looking for a nicely proportioned folding saw for the toolbox, car boot, or something to pop in your backpack for camping and bushcraft, this is a perfect, if slightly extravagant, choice!

The blades of Gyokucho saws are treated using a process called electroless nickel plating, this has three functions. Firstly, it protects the blade against corrosion, secondly it provides a nice shiny mirror surface, and thirdly its low friction properties inhibit resins and sap from building up on the blade - anything that does manage to get stuck to them can easily be washed off with warm soapy water.The teeth are differentially impulse hardened, one by one, bringing the outer surfaces to RC68 or more whilst still leaving the metal that forms the 'root' of the tooth tough.

▪ Blade length 200mm

▪ Overall length 415mm

▪ Blade thickness 0.8mm

▪ Pitch 2.6 to 3.5mm / 10 to 7.25tpi

▪ Max depth of cut = unlimited

▪ Eva grip handle

▪ Replacement blade = Part No S811

Gyokucho 811. £29.50

Replacement blade £16.20

I took this saw out today in the Dartmoor rain to cut some more of the Birch.

It's a quick saw and very easily replaces my Silky Pocketboy, the replacement blades are also cheaper.

I think it would show the Laplander the way home also.

Its cheeper to buy than the Pocketboy the price is more comparable with the Bacho Laplander.

The Gyokucho weighs 186 g compared to the Silky 170 which weighs 212 g.

I won't go into a comparison with the Silky, but I can tell you right now which one will accompany me into the woods in the future.

The Gyokucho 881.

I thought I'd share this little gem with you, I hope you find the information useful.

Back to the Kuksa.....

I think she came out rather well.

You can find some higher res photos on my other blog.

www.spooncarvingfirststeps.tumblr.com

Here's wishing you all a fine 2015 and thank you once more for following my blog.

Jon Mac.

Greenwood Direct Whetstone.

Here we have a nice pocket portable stone suitable for your backpacking camping trips.

It was sent to me by Tim Walton at 

Greenwood Direct Ltd

I've been using it for a while now and feel ready to write about it.

It's a double sided stone, one side is a soft Arkansas of a grit reported to be around 600 grit.

The other side is a Belgian Blue stone of around 4000 grit.

Both the Belgian blue and Arkansas are natural stones.

Not man made.

So the grits will vary a little from one stone to another.

The stone I have been using is quite fine, I would say the Arkansas side is somewhat finer than advertised.

I have been using the stone on both my Axe and carving knives.

The results are really very good, with a razor sharp edge in no time at all.

Lots of folk use light oil on an Arkansas stone.

I would recomend using a little water on both sides to keep the pores open and reduce the friction between blade and stone.

It doesn't need soaking like some of the Japanese water stones.

It's a tough little stone with a measurement of

100x40x20mm

It weighs in at 188g.

And comes supplied with a nice blue denim bag.

All in all this would make a fine addition to your camp kit for when you want to put a keen edge on your dull Axe or knife.

You can make enquiries about this little gem by contacting Tim at

GreenWood Direct.

www.greenwood-direct.co.uk
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I almost forgot... The price...
£27.34

J.