[video]https://youtu.be/RV20kM85GUY[/video]
I'm going to post quite a bit here in this thread, so that some information is built up about bushcraft and traditional skills in China on here for people's reference. There's very little about. It will take a little while.
Perhaps the most directly relevant bit of video I got was this little montage. On my first trip to this area I got friendly with the guy (his name is Li Mingyue) in the blacksmith shop in a town called Congjiang and ended up going for dinner at his familiy's house (also his dad's blacksmith workshop). This time I came prepared with a bottle of french red wine for him, and he took me out to try a local delicacy called niubie, which is a very spicy beef stew, made using some partly digested grass from a cow's stomach. I bought a knife blade from his shop in a style specific to a particularly authentic and untouched village and went looking for someone to handle it for me. The guy in this clip was paid to make a handle and sheath for it. In theory I would have a knife hand-forged by my friend's cousin, in the pattern of the coolest village in the world, and I could use it once in a while if I happened to ever actually get out camping, and all for about eight quid.That breaks down to 2 quid for the blade, 5 for the handle and fitting and 1 for sharpening. The problem is that the postie people refused to ship it and the police wouldn't let me take it on the train, so I was checkmated and it's theirs now, doing police business. Chopping donuts, maybe? I can get another.
This is the blurb I posted with the video.You don't see in it that he uses two different natural stones to sharpen it. One course and one smooth. I think they intentionally let the get worn away in the middle to give a natural convex edge, but I also think they don't care either way. This is copied from what I wrote on youtube:
A traditional hand-forged belt knife being handled in the local way. Miao minority area, Guizhou province, China. The stick tang was simply heated in an open fire and then burnt into a hand carved wooden handle. That simple. There was a little aluminium there that melted and may have helped to stick it in place. The tang was left slightly protruding so that if it loosens it can be banged in a little deeper. No epoxy resin needed! Heating the tang like this may damage the temper of the blade, but they all do this and their blades last them several years of constant heavy use at a cost of £2 for the blade and nothing for the handle.
I'm going to post quite a bit here in this thread, so that some information is built up about bushcraft and traditional skills in China on here for people's reference. There's very little about. It will take a little while.
Perhaps the most directly relevant bit of video I got was this little montage. On my first trip to this area I got friendly with the guy (his name is Li Mingyue) in the blacksmith shop in a town called Congjiang and ended up going for dinner at his familiy's house (also his dad's blacksmith workshop). This time I came prepared with a bottle of french red wine for him, and he took me out to try a local delicacy called niubie, which is a very spicy beef stew, made using some partly digested grass from a cow's stomach. I bought a knife blade from his shop in a style specific to a particularly authentic and untouched village and went looking for someone to handle it for me. The guy in this clip was paid to make a handle and sheath for it. In theory I would have a knife hand-forged by my friend's cousin, in the pattern of the coolest village in the world, and I could use it once in a while if I happened to ever actually get out camping, and all for about eight quid.That breaks down to 2 quid for the blade, 5 for the handle and fitting and 1 for sharpening. The problem is that the postie people refused to ship it and the police wouldn't let me take it on the train, so I was checkmated and it's theirs now, doing police business. Chopping donuts, maybe? I can get another.
This is the blurb I posted with the video.You don't see in it that he uses two different natural stones to sharpen it. One course and one smooth. I think they intentionally let the get worn away in the middle to give a natural convex edge, but I also think they don't care either way. This is copied from what I wrote on youtube:
A traditional hand-forged belt knife being handled in the local way. Miao minority area, Guizhou province, China. The stick tang was simply heated in an open fire and then burnt into a hand carved wooden handle. That simple. There was a little aluminium there that melted and may have helped to stick it in place. The tang was left slightly protruding so that if it loosens it can be banged in a little deeper. No epoxy resin needed! Heating the tang like this may damage the temper of the blade, but they all do this and their blades last them several years of constant heavy use at a cost of £2 for the blade and nothing for the handle.
