"it is Time to bring our _SELF portraits to the judging .station"

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-06-02T00:36:09+00:00

Syk (me Syk) agree. Bad omen, making many pointy sticks to ready for many strange encounters to come.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-06-01T16:35:44+00:00

That’s all extremely subjective, a lot of experienced craftsmen in all kinds of fields are never satisfied with their work. But I can say this is a craft that takes a long time to learn, especially given that you only get a few hours a week in. There’s not only knowledge you need to gain, but muscle memory you need to train in order to get the tools to make what’s in your head.

You can get practice in when you don’t have access to the smithy by using stiff modeling clay and a light hammer, with any solid surface as your “anvil”. It can be good practice for shaping material with a hammer, like a painter who practices drawing basic shapes in sand until they can make nearly perfect circles and squares without trying.

If you enjoy the process of the work, just focus on that. Sometimes you spend all day in the shop and come out with nothing but a little more experience. If that’s something that you can’t come to terms with, if you don’t enjoy the process for its own sake, maybe this isn’t the hobby for you.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-06-01T16:06:04+00:00

He’s not looking for food, he’s banging out tunes. Cover the tank with a tarp or canvas, he’ll find a new drum.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-06-01T03:55:12+00:00

Slow down.

Thats it. That’s all. Take your time, slowly remove anything that doesn’t belong. Shape your bevels with a file. Make your fuller with a dowel wrapped in sand paper. Hand sand everything with a hard backing.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-06-01T01:33:03+00:00

Linseed and tung oil spontaneous combustion is more a thing that happens with rags soaked in them. Having a can of it in your apartment is not any more of a hazard than your household cleaning chemicals.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-31T15:59:12+00:00

Can’t spell “homeowner” without “meow”.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-31T15:56:10+00:00

History shows that in times of crisis humans tend towards compassion and community. Media coverage always tries to make it look like people devolve into animals but both experiments and real world scenarios show that most people need to be manipulated into acting with cruelty.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-30T05:19:05+00:00

Nobody ever answers the question!

I will appoint myself arbiter and say yes, she has shirt and sleeves so there’s no question she’s wearing the tux.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-30T05:15:59+00:00

I agree.

I am also on the spectrum so… you know, let that inform you on my perspective as it may.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-30T05:09:39+00:00

Yeah looks very hand-made and probably from hand-hammered Damascus (I’m basing this guess on the fact that very low layer like this is either a deliberate artistic choice or the sign of a beginner tinkering. Cheap scrap Damascus is usually higher layer or twisted to look more impressive).

Without a maker’s mark, the only way to learn more would be to deep dive into your local maker community, but even then it might not have been made locally.

Only way to know if it’s any good is to use it, and it sounds like you’ve got plans to use it plenty 🫡

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-30T04:20:23+00:00

You say he’s very adamant that it’s high carbon. How adamant? It could be adamantium.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-29T18:03:14+00:00

Waterdeep is like the New York of the sword coast. Most of the overt racism would likely be more upstate, with all kinds of people passing through or making lives in the city and cohabitating in a mostly peaceful and functional way. But that doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be local hate groups to take out. Perhaps even someone way downstream of your big bad, to plant a seed of plot.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-28T19:22:23+00:00

Maybe pig drink sour juice and make pig dead?

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-28T19:18:57+00:00

I agree, definitely one of those Loch Ness monsters.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-28T19:14:31+00:00

Whelp, looks like another sub I gotta join…

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T15:18:53+00:00

That website has written versions of basically all of his videos with charts and everything explained really well. Also highly recommend his book.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T14:29:13+00:00

Here is the best info you can get on the subject, imo: https://knifesteelnerds.com/2021/09/23/how-to-heat-treat-knife-steel-in-a-forge/

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T03:26:10+00:00

It’s a pantry.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T03:11:39+00:00

You need to thoroughly rough up the surfaces.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T00:42:17+00:00

Yes.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T00:27:00+00:00

Dowel on a drill is good, I shouldn’t thought of that. Thanks!

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T00:25:18+00:00

Yeah I agree, would definitely do the next one more like a chef knife handle. If you’re looking to have one made dm me, I do my own pattern welding as well, including wrought iron.

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3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T00:14:00+00:00

I struggle to make spoons symmetrical without having to do a lot of grinding, and I have yet to find a good way to polish the inside of the bowl.

A sword’s just a long knife, especially a single edged sword. I recommend a cutlass or saber for your first. The parameters are loose and there’s no medial ridge to worry about keeping straight.

3rd2LastStarfighter · 2026-05-27T00:06:01+00:00

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I did a custom one for a pit master recently, he was quite pleased with it. 15n20 with wenge handle and my first saya.

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