Friday 12 March 2021

Intro

I am writing this post as I waste away my time in a cafe waiting for my wife to get off work. As I took a seat in a cafe, I finally decided to write this post that has been procrastinated in light of more practical creativity, leather stitching. I have thought a lot on what to write as my first write up. I guess it is only appropriate that I will do a post about myself on my craftsman journey as a start.

I have always wanted to give forging a go at the age of 15, after my trip to Japan on the guise of a student exchange. I bought my first Japanese sword at the age of 16 from a guy in Johor. It was just a bare blade but I was mesmerized. It did not take long before I bought my second Japanese sword for RM2,000, the Kaze in shirasaya mount from Cheness under the same guy. Let me tell you, I blasted my savings from years of Chinese New Years on this sword. Of course, my parents were furious. If you would ask me if I have regretted it, 10 years ago, I would tell you no. Now, I would say yes. RM2,000 is no small number. If I was any smarter, I would have gone back in time to slap myself and told my old self to just get a tanto which would have been a more affordable option. Though, now thinking back, it definitely is what started my journey and without it, I do not think I would be appreciating sharp objects as I do now. Unfortunately, the bare blade ended up broken as I read in forums that it was possible to re-heat treat a blade with a hamon. With limited sources and charcoal on the ground, I ruined the heat treat and never got to heat treating it until recently.

Having met my wife 7 years ago, I guess she provided me with the opportunity to finally realise my dream of forging when I was introduced Adam who graciously invited me over to his house/workshop to fiddle in the fire arts. My first forge experience was housed in a brake drum, fueled with charcoal, powered by a hair blower, bashed over a 25kg cast iron anvil and shaped with an angle grinder. PPE (Personal Protection Equipment) was almost non-existent. The old school way. Our limbs got burnt, even carbon sparks flew at our eyes. It was awesome. This did not last long, probably the span of 3 months as he started to invest more time into his works. I was left wondering if I will ever forge again. Then came Jason, a manipulative playboy, who also offered me to use his home built forge. At the time, I was mostly a stock remover. Only ever going over to heat treat knives. Unfortunately, our relationship soured mid 2018 with him expecting a free pattern welded (damascus) knife which I respectively turned him down and he got offended from that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The first forge I have used
 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 First knife like objects

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since I could not forge despite trying the first couple of months, I found an old parang which I then used stock removal method



 

 

 

 

 

 

 The lack of understanding on heat treatment caused the blade to crack and fail



 

 

 

 

 

 

Reground to make something similar to a kiridashi with zebrawood scales I got from TaoBao when it was first getting started

 Thank goodness that by the end of 2017 I had finally invested in my own forge. At the time, I did not think it through on the design as it was just a brake drum sitting on top of a platform with the manual crank blower attached to the bottom. The more I used it, the more modifications I added and realised what forge design worked best for me which contributed to my updated forge design by end of 2019 when I closed my workshop due to personal financial difficulties. As of today, I have made give or take a 100 knives, from small or large. Everything I did contributed to better knife design and efficient methods.

So, you have read my not so short story and reached the bottom. Originally hailing from the Land Below the Wind, Sabah, my wife and I have recently made a move from Kota Kinabalu to Johor. My aim with this blog is my journey as a person in the craft scene in Malaysia, be it woodworking, leather working or knife making. Having read/watched the efficiency and the available equipment in Western world of knife making, I would like to express my take as an English educated craftsman in an age old craft dominated by racial priorities. I have hopes to break the stereotypes and that being a mixed blood that I am able to put myself out there higher than the backward thinking fools.









My first commissioned forged knife, a leather skiver








 

My latest stock removal knife, a stainless damascus clad vg10 core san mai gyuto chef knife with crocodile inlay leather sheath







My latest forged knife, a tanto from early 2020 where I forged an old parang. This is differentially hardened using clay. Saya (scabbard) has 7 layers of black paint and clear coat has 5 coats. Habaki, seppa, tsuba and kashira are all made by me while the fuchi and menuki was from an old mount from more than a decade ago where I disassembled an old sword handle