SDC Handmade Blades

[Faker]

#1421 - 7 Wood - OFF-

On the outside it doesn't look like much, but this blade is responsible for sending me on a spiral of experimentation with thermo treated layers 😅. When you heat a piece of wood to a certain degree, you cause all the remaining moisture inside the wood to be expelled, which makes it shrink. The vessels that carry water inside the wood (called Xylem), run longitudinally, so when they shrink, there is a loss in diameter. If a piece of wood has the grain positioned vertically, the length will not change, but the width will decrease. Conversely, if a layer has the grain positioned horizontally, the length decreases but not the width. However, if you expose this piece of wood to the natural environment again, it will seek an equilibrium and re-absorb water, returning (partially) to it's initial shape.
This blade was made by "cooking" all the layers to a certain degree, just enough to cause shrinkage, and then quickly glued before they could return to their original shape. I chose a 7 ply structure because there are more layers, so the effect would be more homogeneous than in a 5 ply structure. The goal was to cause tension inside the blade, as the layers want to expand to their original state, but they can't because they are glued to each other.
All this talk, but did it work? In short, yes, but it's not a dramatic effect. It was an experiment, so I used my most disposable woods (because I have a lot of them). The Koto on this blade is very light (and slower), and the Ayous is quite dense, which goes against the basic engineering for an offensive blade. This also made the blade heavier than what most people want from an offensive blade. However, I can sense something different in it, a duality, a calmness, until you push it over the edge and it snaps! It has a nice touch, soft but solid, so I see it more as a modern defending tool, because it can be fast, but it's one of those blades that you need to put some effort in.
Slightly different handle shape on this one too, very round but surprisingly comfortable, very good for twiddling.

Available FS.

- Koto / Koto / Ayous / Ayous / Ayous //
- 94.8g
- 6.35mm
- 150x157mm
- ST (24x28.6x100mm)
- Balance: 3.7cm (High)

Nice looking handle. Which wood did you use for handle?

 

[Metaxa]

#1421 - 7 Wood - OFF-

On the outside it doesn't look like much, but this blade is responsible for sending me on a spiral of experimentation with thermo treated layers 😅. When you heat a piece of wood to a certain degree, you cause all the remaining moisture inside the wood to be expelled, which makes it shrink. The vessels that carry water inside the wood (called Xylem), run longitudinally, so when they shrink, there is a loss in diameter. If a piece of wood has the grain positioned vertically, the length will not change, but the width will decrease. Conversely, if a layer has the grain positioned horizontally, the length decreases but not the width. However, if you expose this piece of wood to the natural environment again, it will seek an equilibrium and re-absorb water, returning (partially) to it's initial shape.
This blade was made by "cooking" all the layers to a certain degree, just enough to cause shrinkage, and then quickly glued before they could return to their original shape. I chose a 7 ply structure because there are more layers, so the effect would be more homogeneous than in a 5 ply structure. The goal was to cause tension inside the blade, as the layers want to expand to their original state, but they can't because they are glued to each other.
All this talk, but did it work? In short, yes, but it's not a dramatic effect. It was an experiment, so I used my most disposable woods (because I have a lot of them). The Koto on this blade is very light (and slower), and the Ayous is quite dense, which goes against the basic engineering for an offensive blade. This also made the blade heavier than what most people want from an offensive blade. However, I can sense something different in it, a duality, a calmness, until you push it over the edge and it snaps! It has a nice touch, soft but solid, so I see it more as a modern defending tool, because it can be fast, but it's one of those blades that you need to put some effort in.
Slightly different handle shape on this one too, very round but surprisingly comfortable, very good for twiddling.

Available FS.

- Koto / Koto / Ayous / Ayous / Ayous //
- 94.8g
- 6.35mm
- 150x157mm
- ST (24x28.6x100mm)
- Balance: 3.7cm (High)

Andro used to have a blade that she would heat up first. It was an Andro Temper Tech All+ and weighed just 76gr. It was one of the best all-wood blades I’ve ever owned.

 

[SDC]

Nice looking handle. Which wood did you use for handle?

It's a type of Mahogany.

 

[SDC]

Andro used to have a blade that she would heat up first. It was an Andro Temper Tech All+ and weighed just 76gr. It was one of the best all-wood blades I’ve ever owned.

Yes, there are several blades on the market made with thermo treated wood, but they go way beyond this, to the point where there is a change in the cellular structure of the wood. The wood is essentially burned to the point where it loses pretty much all moisture, and does not regain volume after that. I have made some blades with fully burnt layers too, but here the goal was different. It was about contracting/expanding the wood to create tension, the heating process was just a way of getting there.

 

[Faker]

#1421 - 7 Wood - OFF-

On the outside it doesn't look like much, but this blade is responsible for sending me on a spiral of experimentation with thermo treated layers 😅. When you heat a piece of wood to a certain degree, you cause all the remaining moisture inside the wood to be expelled, which makes it shrink. The vessels that carry water inside the wood (called Xylem), run longitudinally, so when they shrink, there is a loss in diameter. If a piece of wood has the grain positioned vertically, the length will not change, but the width will decrease. Conversely, if a layer has the grain positioned horizontally, the length decreases but not the width. However, if you expose this piece of wood to the natural environment again, it will seek an equilibrium and re-absorb water, returning (partially) to it's initial shape.
This blade was made by "cooking" all the layers to a certain degree, just enough to cause shrinkage, and then quickly glued before they could return to their original shape. I chose a 7 ply structure because there are more layers, so the effect would be more homogeneous than in a 5 ply structure. The goal was to cause tension inside the blade, as the layers want to expand to their original state, but they can't because they are glued to each other.
All this talk, but did it work? In short, yes, but it's not a dramatic effect. It was an experiment, so I used my most disposable woods (because I have a lot of them). The Koto on this blade is very light (and slower), and the Ayous is quite dense, which goes against the basic engineering for an offensive blade. This also made the blade heavier than what most people want from an offensive blade. However, I can sense something different in it, a duality, a calmness, until you push it over the edge and it snaps! It has a nice touch, soft but solid, so I see it more as a modern defending tool, because it can be fast, but it's one of those blades that you need to put some effort in.
Slightly different handle shape on this one too, very round but surprisingly comfortable, very good for twiddling.

Available FS.

- Koto / Koto / Ayous / Ayous / Ayous //
- 94.8g
- 6.35mm
- 150x157mm
- ST (24x28.6x100mm)
- Balance: 3.7cm (High)

Nice workmanship. Brilliant work Sergio.