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M40's Basement Bladesmithing from Concept to Reality... Shown at left, early "Bulldozer" design. |
"Gold is for the mistress - silver for the maid - copper for
the craftsman cunning at his trade.”
“Good!” said the Baron, sitting in his hall, “But iron - cold iron - is master
of them all.”
Rudyard Kipling
excerpt from the poem, "Cold
Iron"
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VISIT M40's WILDERNESS SURVIVAL STORE The best wilderness survival gear on the market! Backyard campers and Rambo wannabe's... go buy a Bear Grylls kit. When you get serious about your wilderness activities... come see my gear. Hikers, mountain bikers, cross country skiers, ATV'ers, off-roaders, and others whose activities carry them far and wide... discriminating outdoorsmen opt for quality gear. |
BLADE PAGES
Field Blade Reviews - (This is a large section with many pages, and is growing all the time) - What is a good "field blade" and why? How do you choose a blade that will perform without breaking the bank? Also, some expensive blades that don't stack up.
NEW! - My Personal Blade Collection - The Commercial Blades in my Personal Collection.
Custom Leather Sheaths by Bay State Leather - Check out these great sheaths I had custom made!
VIDEO - Grinding a Blade - A short video clip showing the grinding process from beginning to end.
Latest Design - The Bulldozer - Several prototypes, and a final design.
Introducing the Bowkri - A project I'm working on... sort of a cross between the venerable bowie, and the time-tested Khukri. An M40 Original Design.
Bowkri 2 - Here's some new twists on the Bowkri project.
Custom High Rider Kydex Sheath - Here's a unique concealed carry sheath made for a Reeve Project II.
What Happened to Camillus? - See my open letter to the new owners!
Working With Steel - This page is a good primer to help get you started.
Working With Steel, Part 2 - Here's some invaluable hardening and tempering info for the beginner.
What's the Best Blade Steel? - Coherent essay, or the ravings of a madman... you decide.
M40's TEN CENT Survival Knife! - See how it's easily made in just a few minutes.
Khukri Style Blade Evaluations - There's a lot of great khuk's out there, but some are clearly better.
Khukri Modification - This was the first blade I did, and it is just a rebuild/modification of an existing knife. These pages get a LOT of traffic. I guess I'm not the only fan of the Khukri!
The BAMF - I'm sure you can figure out what this stands for.
The BUFF - In the Air Force, the B-52's are called "BUFF's", which stands for "Big, Ugly, Fat F*ckers". This design hasn't been made... yet. In fact it evolved.
A Sawback - Sort of a Lile knockoff. Done for fun.
M40's LATEST BLADES - See some of my basement projects that are still under construction.
SHOP TALK - I've had a LOT of emails asking what kind of tools I've used for this or that, what I use for sources (steel, handle material, etc), and about techniques. I've attempted to put some answers down here.
FURTHER READING...
How I Modified the Khukri Sheath
How to remove the Khukri Handle
Return to M40's Ghurka Modification Page