Joron093 FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Keeper of The Forges

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    from Ketchikan, AK

  • Joined September 23, 2010
  • Bladesmith, Viking, Videographer

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Joron093 FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Keeper of The Forges

Not Specified
from Ketchikan, AK

  • Activity

    • Amalgamation

      2 days ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      I know that a couple of journals ago I said I'd be working on a bag, well that's just another project resigned to the back burner at this time. I know how disappointed you all must be about not getting a new journal about a leather bag and, well, that's just too bad, get over it.


      Instead, here's a new knife (oh wow. *Another* knife). 



      For this knife I didn't have a predetermined concept of what I wanted the end results to be when I first started forging this blade. So I just kinda pulled it together from other miscellaneous parts I had laying around.


      U14g24e.jpg


      The brass guard was from my grandfather's shop  and my aunt gave it to me after he passed away, along with a few other things, thinking I could put it to use.


      daJLUVN.jpg


      The handle is leather, brass sheet, and wood. Don't know what kind of wood, found it in a box with some other pieces that I got from someone moving out of town. But it was a dark brown color and thought it'd go nicely with the brass.


      r1X2HxX.jpg


      Once all the parts were together I started carving the wood segments to the desired shape. Only cut myself once during that process.


      jL2hvfn.jpg


      Originally I intended to use brass for the end but didn't have the right stock or setup to make it work. So after a couple failed attempts I just decided to go with some mild steel.


      RtEBlGR.jpg


      Now that the dagger was fully assembled I could move on to making the scabbard. Which happened to be a pallet board we were going to burn for fuel.  Carved out a relief for the blade, lined it with felt and glued the two halves together.


      XeeK7cQ.jpg


      Then some more cutting, some more carving, and then some leather wrapping. Went and added a little bit of detailing too. Had an old chape, from a kukri sheath, lying around, so I put that on and made a matching topmount.


      vrduySf.jpg

      n2598k9.jpg


      And it's done, there you go!


      Take care!

    • Shower Thoughts

      3 weeks ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      Wasn't actually taking a shower when thinking about this...


      I'm drawing parallels between depression and infatuation (or maybe love? Eh, depends on one's definition, lets stick with the former).  Depression is like being trapped at the bottom of the ocean, slowly running out of air, with seemingly no means of escape. Infatuation is like falling through the sky, not really sure of how you got there, and not certain of when or how hard you'll land. 


      Both feelings are intense and can be painful: the crushing weight of darkness, and the uncertainty of a sudden crash.  


      Depression is undoubtably the worst of the two, little hope can be gleamed while drowning. At least with infatuation one could pretend to be flying as they fall.


      Well there's some nonsensical ramblings for you all, just in case you felt like your day needed some clutter.


      Take care.

    • Bracers

      2 months ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      Ooooh... How do I start this one off? 


      I made another thing, technically two things, a pair, if you will. These don't actually serve any practical purpose, like the apron, they were just fun to make.  


      Started off by deciding on a pattern, I picked one I used for a previous build and cut out the blanks. That was the easy part. Creating the central design took me the better part of a day before I had something that pleased me.


      S7fpvVw.jpg


      When it comes to creating original designs that are intended to capture the essence of a culture, the various Nordic art styles throw me for a loop. I'm used to the Northwest coast native art where they have basic guidelines and shapes that are used in almost all their art.  The Nordic styles either have very intricate and complex guidelines or none at all that I can tell. Being my own worst critic, I'm never sure if what I've cooked up captures the look I want. 


      I spent the next day and a half bashing my head against the wall in an effort to dream up a boarder design. Eventually I settled on a simple braided knot thing. 


      TfIuVFM.jpg


      I did the tooling, punched some lace holes, and scored the edges for stitching later. 


      Choosing what colors to dye this.

      Didn't do anything really dazzling as the color goes, stuck with only two, dark and light brown. Ideally I would have used an antique gel to make the designs pop more, basically weathering, but I don't have any of that (yet). To try and replicate the antique finish I applied the dark brown dye to all the little nooks and edges and then quickly wiped it away. There was not a whole lot of improvementamd I risked completely fucking it up.


      sRbgS7V.jpg


      Next step was sewing on a liner to the underside (which may have been a mistake) and setting the grommets for the lace holes.  


      fnaiTwV.jpg


      That's pretty it for this, I'll do another pair of bracers at some point later on. Next though I think I'll be making a new bag.


      Take care!

    • Two New Journals...

      2 months ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      ... In as many weeks.



      I had some materials stored away, taking up space, and collecting dust. So figured might as well do something with them. Needed to be something practical and useful though, I have a difficult time justifying to myself doing anything that doesn't serve a purpose. 


      I settled on making a new apron for myself (an apron, wow, aren't you exciting /s). There are several already in the shop, one currently being used as a cover for the quench tank, another that doesn't quite fit all that great, and Jake's. Making my own is more of a selfish act of wanting something that fits comfortably and that I won't be lending out to others. Those of you that work with your own tools know the anxiety of lending them to others or using ones that are shared by a community, it sucks.


      Moving on. 


      I picked some old leather, dont have a piece large enough to do the body in one piece and had to stitch together multiple parts.  That was pretty straight forward, I wish making clothing was as easy.


      4IifjRE.jpg


      The leather work was the simple part, forging the buckles was a bitch though. There are far more manageable ways I could have gone about this, such as buy the buckles, or choosing a simpler design but what's life without a challenge that breaks you? Preferable.


      Anyway, this is the reault of my second trial, more or less what I was going for. I came up with this design on my own. Not to say I inveted or did this before anyone else, just that I wasn't influenced by a preexisting concept.


      One down...


      OVlHAxU.jpg


      Two more to go.


      6lO0zxw.jpg


      With the buckles done I need to have some belts and straps to go with them. Nothing complicated about that process, just making sure to get the correct measurements...


      nOELP79.jpg


      ... And assembling it all into a suitable configuration. Two buckles at the top and one at the waist. Fits nice and can be adjusted to a considerable degree.


      QvkTD2B.jpg


      (Fuckin' embodiement of sunshine and rainbows right there). 


      That does it for this one. Planning out another project so shouldn't be too long before I post again.


      Take care! 


    • Yes, this account is still active

      2 months ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      Haven't bothered to post a journal for a while. Not because I've been too busy or not busy enough, just didn't feel as though I had enough of anything that was worth sharing on here. 


      I built up a backlog of things though so might as well share that.


      The new show Master and Apprentice, hosted by Marcus and Adam, ran its first season finale. Great show, they go over a variety of techniques for prop building. One of the episodes was designing and building a custom lightsaber, I caught the creative bug from that one and made my own lightsaber hilt.


      0NIfbfb.jpg


      3g3w0yQ.jpg


      If you have an interest in prop building, are looking for some creative inspiration, or just want to watch some cool crafting give the show look.


      In the metal working realm of things it has been business as usual. I made a folding knife for my grandpa as a Christmas present. 


      xRERkp7.jpg


      wxIv6PU.jpg


      Been some years since the last one of those I forged but I was happy with how it turned out for the most part.


      I felt the need to add some flair to my questionable sense of style, so I made some new beard beads out of copper wire to wear. 


      zqYBcjQ.jpg


      iTXjOwK.jpg


      And that's it for this journal.


      Take care!

    • It's 3 in the AM

      4 months ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      I've been abandoned by sleep to a night of restless consciousness.  Alone with my thoughts...


      This is worse than a nightmare.


      Balls to this.

    • Feedback

      6 months ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      For feedback regarding the test video.  If you have some constructive criticism or suggestions, post them here, I'd like to read them.

    • Long Time, No Journal

      7 months ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      Made another knife, actually two I guess, so you'll get an extra tidbit because I forgot about the first one up until I just started writing this.


      The first one I finished a few weeks ago for my Grandma, she does lots of fantastic cooking for us and I noticed that her knives were a little on the dull side and overall very worn out.  So I wiped up a suitable carving knife to deal with those stubborn, roasts, steaks, veggies, ninjas,  and fruits.  Purple is her favorite color too so I used a piece of purple heart wood for the handle, it's been used a few times now and she's quite happy with it, says that the knife cuts through meat like it's soft butter.  


      6ay4cBY.jpg


      WfhSoUD.jpg

      The second knife was an attempt at something new, a makiri, a traditional knife of the Ainu people.  There's something that I find to be very aesthetically pleasing about the design of this knife and I wanted to make my own take on it. 
      The blade started as an old file, forging the blade was the simplest step in this project.

      8ZJZgek.jpg

      Once the blade was completely done the next phase was to get the handle made.  The wood for the handle (and sheath) is ash(?).  The tang is burned into the handle to fit and then some decorative carving for flair.

      8BkPvkD.jpg

      Once everything is carved I burn and oil them, secure the blade to the handle, braid the cord to the sheath, and attach the antler toggles.

      qZKS4Rj.jpg

      Even though it's an unusual style it's quite a comfortable feeling handle and a practical design for a work knife.

      6Pz9xTC.jpg

      This was a fun build, different from the regular grind and something I look forward to trying again and improving upon. 


      Link to my Twitter feed if you want to see more photos of the whole process. 


      Take care.

    • IronBridge asked Joron093 a question

      Questions

      Do you make use of power hammers in your work? Or is it mainly hand hammer work?

      Answered: Aug 7, 2017

      No power hammer is involved. All the forging is done by hand, the shaping, the profiling.  There is typically very little grinding done to the blades when finishing them.

    • Keep Your Pants On

      8 months ago

      Joron093 Keeper of The Forges

      News

      Today I pulled together and finished one of the many projects that have been left to rest on the back burner.  


      I forged this buckle at least 4 years ago (used to be an old piece of tie wire) and it's been sitting around since, with me pulling it out every now and then to look at it, before putting it back down.  Finally decided to make it part of a whole and put the thing to use.


      5vWSJBR.jpg


      Striped some 7 ounce leather off of a hide for the strap, approximately 50in.  Yeah it's long but there is a reason for the extra length, I just embed some polishing compound into the belt and I've got a strop for sharpening knives.  Now whether this exact function was the primary or only use for the extension, people didn't have excess for no reason when everything was limited back in the day.


      URciiyb.jpg



      Functionality is important and so is looking decent, not necessarily wearing a gold watch and a silk suit decent but clean and tidy.  So while at this point the belt is usable I decided to spiff it up a little.  I made a decorative "washer" out of deer antler, for securing the buckle.  

      ZOg8Cdm.jpg


      The belt end was carved from moose antler and secured with copper rivets (same with the washer).  

      IrB76zQ.jpg


      So I made myself a belt from scratch, that I'm using for daily wear, that looks good (or not, people have opinions) and I can use with my kit. 


      JbUhZsn.jpg



      I want to do some more intricate carving, though right now I'm limited on the tools I have.  Guess I need to make some proper tools for the next job.

      Take care!

  • About Me

  • Comments (10)

    • Lamkia

      Lamkia

      2 years ago

      Hello~
      Now that it was actually pointed out in the OCC, do you and Jaron have similar names out of pure coincidence or was it deliberate? I thought about it in passing before, but thought I would finally ask at the risk of sounding like an OCC newb.

      • Joron093

        Joron093 FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Keeper of The Forges

        2 years ago

        Deliberate, I guess. He's my brother.

      • Lamkia

        Lamkia

        2 years ago

        Well then, that would make sense. Thanks!

        By the way, the items you have in your journals look really amazing. Those are some really nifty skills you've got~

      • Joron093

        Joron093 FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Keeper of The Forges

        2 years ago

        Thank you!

    • Fly

      Fly FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Keeper of Blades

      2 years ago

      The site is playing tricks on me...

    • RoseMaryM

      RoseMaryM FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold PYREverse Artist

      3 years ago

      I just wanted to say, the things you craft (like, the swords and the viking kit etc) are really damn awesome! Also those drawings/sketches in your gallery are super rad!
      I hope you have a good Valentines day!

      • Joron093

        Joron093 FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Keeper of The Forges

        3 years ago

        Thank you! I hope yours was a day filled with joy!

    • Jaron097

      Jaron097

      3 years ago

      +iIIII-II iiiIII iiiIII iiIIII-II iiiIIII iiiIIII-IIII iIIi iiIII iiII iIIII-III iI iiiIIII-IIII iIIII-I iIIII-IIII iIIII iIIII-I iiiIIII-IIII
      -- iiiIIII-IIII iII iiiIIII

    • TinaBobina

      TinaBobina FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Wubba Lubba Dub Dub

      3 years ago

      Gotta give the friend request portion of your profile a thumbs up.....even though people don't ever seem to read those things.

      • Joron093

        Joron093 FIRST Member Star(s) Indication of membership status - One star is a FIRST member, two stars is Double Gold Keeper of The Forges

        3 years ago

        No kidding, you'd think people would at least check out the profile of the person that they're trying to friend. Thanks for the comment too, I never check this section often because, well, I don't get comments.

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  • Questions answered by Joron093

    Do you make use of power hammers in your work? Or is it mainly hand hammer work?

    | Asked by: IronBridge 8 months ago

    No power hammer is involved. All the forging is done by hand, the shaping, the profiling.  There is typically very little grinding done to the blades when finishing them.

    Your forgework is ddooopppeee. How long have you been doing it? Is there a specific thing you're really proud of?

    | Asked by: LtTank 2 years ago

    Thank you! I've been smithing for about six years now. Currently the one thing I favor the most out of what I've made is my first knife, it's not the prettiest or the most well made knife, but I've held on to it and have used it ever since. This knife marked the beginning of a new chapter in my life and is not something I would give up easily.