August 5th, 2011
SADDLE BRONC BOWIE
This knife is forged from 15n20 & 1084 steel. The blade is 9 11/16″ long and 14 3/4″ overall. Spine to edge is 1 5/8″. The 416 stainless fittings are heat colored gold and file worked with a damascus guard, ferrule and butt cap. The guards damascus has been pierced top and bottom. The blade consists of 4 saddlebronc riders wrapped in mosaic w’s as a core wrap. The handle is premium walrus ivory. The butt cap is mosaic w’s with a 416 stainless finnial nut that has been worked into a spur shank with a 14K spur rowel. A nice inlaid sheath will accompany the knife. The price is $4200. For information on how to purchase, click on the Available Knife tab.
Tags: abs, bowie, bowie knife, damascus, JW Randall, knife, mastersmith, mosiac, saddle bronc
Posted in Damascus | No Comments »
February 6th, 2011
Beginning Knifemaking Class – April 7, 8 & 9, 2011
This intro class will cover the construction of a hunting knife from start to finish.
The following steps included are:
-Forging blade shape
-Profile and grind
-Handles and guards
Notebooks will be provided and it is suggested to take lots of notes. This book will become valuable to you as reference material.
The maximum class enrollment is four students. Class will be three, eight hour days. There will be plenty of one on one time with this small class. Every day will begin with class time and discussion. Shop time will start mid-morning. Lunch is included all three days. There are several motels close by for your stay.
Call JW @ 318/925-6480 to enroll.
The cost for this class is $650.
Damascus Class – May 5, 6 & 7, 2011
State of the art techniques and proper welding procedures will be taught in this class.
The main topics:
-Proper welding techniques
-Metal types used
-160 & 240 layer billets will be constructed
-Face patterned techniques will be taught
Class is three, eight hour days. The maximum class enrollment is four students. You will come away with the knowledge to successfully weld damascus and the knowledge of face patterning damascus. This class is an entry level and the discussion of mosaics and powder will only be taught in an advanced class. Taking good notes is essential for your future reference. Notebooks will be provided. Students will leave the class with one to two billets of steel. Lunch is included all three days. There are several motels close by for your stay.
Call JW @ 318/925-6480 to enroll.
The cost for this damascus class is $800.
Posted in Classes, Damascus | No Comments »
October 25th, 2010
I attended the World Championship Blacksmiths competition at the State Fair of Louisiana in Shreveport in late October of 2010. My good friend Ross Emerson of Emerson Horseshoeing Supply had a booth there and supplied the anvils for the competition. On Friday we watched the beginning of the competition starting with the contestants making a standard horseshoe in a ten minute time frame. What is neat about this event is how it helps each competitor to improve their speed in their day to day work.
The next event involved making two difficult shoes in one hour. The shoes were made by a judge prior to the competition and each contestant had to duplicate these shoes. To be able to accomplish this, each contestant was allowed a helper or striker. The craftsmanship in this event is of utmost importance. The first being to exact size as the pattern and next the overall perfection of nail groove, nail holes, top clips, heels and forge welds.
It’s always interesting to me how any competition, whether it be in knife making, artist blacksmithing or horseshoeing can help everyone raise the bar. We can all learn from one another and when willing to share some of the things we know, only helps us all to get better. Developing that awareness of where you are with your craft and where you want to go is so important. Friendly competition helps us to hone ours skills and continue to grow in the crafts we choose.
J.W. Randall
Tags: blacksmith, emerson, forge, horseshoeing, JW Randall, knifemaking
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 29th, 2010
I had a great time at Quad State in Troy, Ohio last weekend September 24 -26, 2010. I want to thank Steve Roth for inviting me to teach. The Southern Ohio Forge and Anvil always do a great job organizing and orchestrating an event. I also want to thank Butch and Cindy Sheely for taking care of me over the weekend and for Butch being my helper with the classes.
Nine hundred and forty people attended the event. All the classes were well attended. My class consisted of forge welding two billets of Damascus into seventy-five layers of ladder and raindrop and discussion of the techniques of other patterns on Saturday. Sunday consisted of an informal discussion on powder metals from beginning to finished products.
Mostly blacksmiths attended but some are crossovers into bladesmithing. Lots of interest and many questions were asked. This was my second event to teach at through SOFA. And again, I enjoyed seeing some old friends and making some new ones.
Tags: blacksmith, bladesmith, damascus, JW Randall, knives, sofa
Posted in Classes, Damascus, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
September 16th, 2010
This is the debut of my new website. I hope you enjoy it. I wanted to thank Tracy E. Thomas of STOUTsource.com for the wonderful video he did of my Damascus class earlier this year. He also created this website of which I am very pleased. If you haven’t seen the video, it is below. I will be having another Damascus class next year. It will be announced soon.
I will be at the SOFA Quadstate Round-Up 2010 on September 24-25 in Troy, Ohio at the Miami County Fairgrounds. I will be doing a demonstration on Damascus and Powdered Metals. The demonstration on Saturday will focus on Damascus development with in-depth discussion on powdered metals from beginning to finished product. You can find out more info on this at their website. www.sofablacksmiths.org
My last show was in August 2010. It went really well. I enjoyed visiting with collectors and other knife makers. I sold a few knives which is always nice. The next Expo will be in January of 2012. Make plans to be there. It is a smaller show with fantastic makers and features forged blades only. I was honored to have been chosen to make the raffle knife for the show in 2012.
J.W. Randall
Posted in Classes, Damascus | No Comments »