Just a little something...

[Dienamic]

...I worked up.  Had the blank cut from a sheet of O1.  I did the major stock removal prior to heat treat on the mill.  Hand worked the tip.  I then progressed from files to stones to emory.  The heat treat went well. O1 of course gets VERY hard in a oil quench from 1550°.  65rc right after HT.  I did a 2-3 hour draw at @600° that brought it down to 55rc.  Works for me!  The handle is a temp made from wrapping a couple of slabs of motorcycle tire.  I am ordering the G10 this weekend.  This is of course a blatant copy of the Busse Gladius.  I have around $50 in that and the hawk I had cut out.  I just couldnt justify $1000+ for the Busse and being a designer in a pretty big shop I have the recources and leeway to do my own for much less $.  I won't put a price tag on my labor (I know why they cost $1000 now...).  Anyhoo, submitted for your approval:

[url=http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/James_Tedder/media/2013-04-28_10-16-31_171_zps71ab07dd.jpg.html][/URL]

 

 

Here is the hawk which is another blatant copy of the Hardcore Hardware hawk.  It is ready for heat treat.  It is going to wear G10 also:

[url=http://s1229.photobucket.com/user/James_Tedder/media/2013-05-05_10-29-44_607_zps3bc5d4fb.jpg.html][/URL]

 

[Guest Broomhead]

Damn! Very nice! How much would you charge for a hawk blank?

[Dienamic]

I'm not a seller to be sure, these were personal use builds for the zombie kit. There's quite a bit of work done on these.  We had the blanks cut from a large sheet at an outsource shop.  Several of us went in on the build.  A single hawk would probably be very expensive... 

[Guest Broomhead]

Gotcha, my mistake. I thought you had cut them yourself. Very nice work!

[Dienamic]

No worries. Thanks for the comments. I am very pleased with how they turned out. Heat treated the hawk after work. 60rc and no warp. It is in the draw right now. Shooting for 55rc on it. Trying to decide if I want to cerakote them. I love the satin look but o1 is a rust hog so a coating is almost a must. The hawk is going to be flat black with tan G10. Not sure on the gladius.

[Guest Broomhead]

Do a hot vinegar soak on the gladius. The patina will help with rust inhibition and give it that old, old world look. Ferric Chloride will blacken it, along with inhibiting rust without having to do a coating. You could also use cold blueing like Perma-Blue, that will blacken it with enough coats. You could also do the gun blue/bleach treatment that will give it a pitted appearance.

 

Something I want to try is parkerizing, but I'm leery of boiling acids.

Edited May 9, 2013 by Broomhead

[Spots]

You might also try a mustard patina. Looks like good work, wish I had access to a rc tester to check my blades

Sent from the backwoods of Nowhere