Pear Mountain Kotanto
This knife was forged from a piece of very special old steel and has been paired with part of a seventy year old pear tree and an existing leather sheath. The custom leather sheath was part of an estate sale and was hand crafted on Vancouver Island. Satoyama are the managed forest areas that border…
Charred Teak Bowie
An interesting project to craft a knife for an existing sheath. The like-new sheath was part of an estate sale and was custom crafted by former military Rock Leatherworks in Quebec, Canada. With some careful planning and accurate forging it can once again serve a useful purpose. The tang is constructed in a similar manner…
Sapele Satoyama Survival
An interesting challenge to forge a knife to fit an existing sheath. The leather sheath was part of an estate sale and was hand crafted by a custom knifemaker. With some careful planning and accurate forging it can once again serve a useful purpose. This knife should probably be considered the first official satoyama bowie,…
First Lighting of the Forge & Antique Habaki Utsushi (写)
First lighting of the newly rebuilt charcoal forge in the island kajiba followed by stamping the tang and then hand forging and filing a classical tanto style habaki, silver soldered in the charcoal forge and closely based on an antique Edo period habaki. An utsushi (写) is a closely based study of another work for…
Yoroidoshi in Shirasaya
This blade began as a segment of reclaimed horse-drawn carriage spring and was hand forged in a charcoal fire, smoothed with files and a sen scraper, hardened using traditional water quench yaki-ire, and polished by hand with natural Japanese water stones. Crafted and finished entirely with hand tools and traditional techniques, the slender blade profile…
Pacific Yew Forest Kotanto
This custom kotanto finds a balance between the humble satoyama style and a classical tanto with a striking combination of forged copper, natural orange hardwood, and black urushi lacquer. The blade began as a reclaimed harrow tooth and was hand forged in a charcoal fire, differentially hardened using traditional water quench yaki-ire, and sharpened by…
Forest Kotanto
A clay tempered blade hand forged in a charcoal fire, water quenched with clay, sharpened with waterstones, and finished simply and humbly in the age-old style of farming and foresting tools traditionally used in managing satoyama lands. Satoyama are the managed forest areas that border the cultivated fields and the mountain wilds in Japan. Historically…
Touzai Tanto
Touzai (東西) can be literally translated “East West” and carries the idea of spanning across distance or covering and including everywhere. There is also a saying, “kokontouzai” (古今東西) which means for all time and all places, literally “old, now, East, West”. This project began with the concept of ideas from different times and places coming…
Case Study: Making the Sunahama Kotanto
scroll down or jump to the sections below: Blade Sunobe Hizukuri Ara-shiage Hardening Clay Mixture Tsuchioki Yaki-ire Polishing Kaji Togi Shitaji Togi Habaki Forging Filing Bending Soldering Handle Seppa Nakago-ana Sokui Core Tsuka Tsukamaki Mekugi Scabbard Inside Outside Assembly Forging a Kotanto Blade A charcoal fire is used to heat the steel for shaping with…
Makiri Style Kotanto
The makiri is one of the traditional knife patterns of the Ainu, an indigenous people of Japan. Makiri are generally mid-sized utility knives and are hung from a belt by a lanyard. They are mounted with wooden handles and scabbards and may be decorated with carvings or incisions, often added by the owner. The most…
Arbutus Camp Knife
This hefty camp knife is crafted in a traditional manner, hand forged from a Model T leaf spring, clay tempered, and finished with hand filing. The integral guard with finger grip allows the hand to shift forwards for more delicate work, or remain back for more aggressive cutting tasks. The convex edge can handle tough…
Letter Opener Collab
Scrap steel barstock shaped into a unique blade and accented with an embossed copper handle.
Party on the Drive
Crossed Heart Forge demo set up at Tigh-Na-Mara for the Resort Drive event. We were invited to participate in the first ever P-Art-y on the Drive event in Parksville on the ninth of September. Our booth featured a live demonstration of cold forged copper penannular shawl pins, rings, and bracelets and also displayed the hand…