I know what you're thinking about.......I had the same thought. You could actually carry a titanium bat'leth around a con all day. I lugged a steel one around Toronto Trek and it almost killed me. This would probably work out to about a 9 pound sword which is a good weight.
K'Daq
Qa'Pla!
I may have found somewhere we can get a stable supply of stainless.
It's a place called Admiral Steel in Chicago Il.They are advertising
24x72
inch stock,I called to get a quote on bat'leth size pieces , but they
called back
after I had gone to work, I'll try again tonight,well that's today I just
got off work and it's 5AM here now I'll get some sleep and try this
afternoon.They handle
1095,1075,5160,A-2( I would LOVE a Bat'leth made out of A-2 that is
TOUGH stuff)D-2 ATS-34 and of course 440.They will also Laser cut to
your drawings (at a pretty penny I'm sure)I will let you know what I
find out in a day or so.
Qa'Pla
K'Beck
Honored K'Beck,
Excellent! Those of you who have been involved in this craft for a while know how difficult it is to obtain large steel at a fair price. (See "mupwI'* Number 1). This would be a terrific find. Keep us informed. Great job !
K'Daq
K'Daq,
I visited my house mate's dad's workshop, and he showed me a plasma
cutter. That thing is awesome! Dad said one could get one for about $500 or
less (including the compresses air that you need to run it), and that there
are different models of cutters for different thicknesses of metal. The one
he had was a smaller model, and I easily cut through a good 2mm thick piece
of steel.
I believe Northern (mail order tool company) has some - I can dig up
the addy if anyone is interested.
SuZilla
Priestess, Order of the Chakram
Su'ZIla'
Charter member, Klingon Imperial Weapons Guild
http://www.erols.com/suzilla/index.htm
or http://www.erols.com/suzilla/temp.htm
Su'ZIla'!!
Talk about bringing a smile to an old Klingon's face. }};-)) I'd say that I am VERY interested. Send me the info and I'll definitely look into it.
Thanks for the excellent info.
K'Daq
K'Daq
Northern: 1-800-533-5545
fax: 1-612-894-0083
http://www.northern-online.com
The plasma cutter is really the way to go. Requires no strength.
SuZilla
Priestess, Order of the Chakram
Su'ZIla'
Charter member, Klingon Imperial Weapons Guild
http://www.erols.com/suzilla/index.htm
or http://www.erols.com/suzilla/temp.htm
Honored Su'ZIla' !
You've earned your blood wine for the day. I have already sent off for their catalog and will be sure to post a letter to the Guild when it gets in and I digest the info.
I think I will expound on the potential benefits of a plasma cutter to our line of *work* in the December transmission. I can think of several right off and it would be a worthy topic to explore.
Thanks again honored priestess.
K'Daq
Greetings Grandfather,
Enclosed is a picture of John Thrashner, a member of the House Drexa and the Engineer of the IKV Bat'leth with his creation, the arm sword. This is the first one in its early stages.....the second one is a foot longer and is meant to be worn on the opposite arm. To be used in close arms, hand to hand battle - the smaller one to deflect blows, while the longer is used to lunge and attack.
I will send a progress photo of both swords in my next letter.
Kaatje
Honored Kaatje,
Please excuse the *massive* condensing of your letter but I felt strongly about displaying John's work for the other members to see. Its very creative and definitely indicates that there is an active *forge* working in your area of the Empire. I know this picture doesn't do the blade justice, but it should be enough to show that there are NO limits to what we design and build. Please convey my admiration to John and inform him of his status as a member of the Guild. I would consider it an honor to display any of his future work on the Guild site.
vavnI'lI'
As the Guild grows, we will try to enhance camaraderie by publishing histories of our members (both Klingon and Terran). It is not necessary to develop a family history to be a Guild member, but it does help to solidify an image of you as a fellow crafts person and Klin.
K'moghjIH
I am K'moghjIH, son of Kempoc! I was born on Khitomer. The House
of K'Heghnach is full of many brothers and sisters that managed to
survive the Khitomer massacre!
I was Weapons Officer on the IKV Shadow Dancer where we fought
many glorious battles against the Romulans. One such battle took us deep
into Romulan space in an attempt to assassinate the Prefect and bring the
Romulan Empire to their knees. We conquered many Romulan worlds,
including D'cI'vanram.
As Medical Officer aboard the IKV Dark Justice, I tortured many
Federation officers to get information vital to the success of our
battles against them. Many songs were written about the crew of the IKV
Dark Justice and their glorious battles. Many star bases fell at our
hands.
I was later assigned to the Klingon Defense Force High Council as
Chief of Security. As part of my duties as Chief of Security, I was the
Chancellor's Personal Guard. I protected him against many assassination
attempts and had many of his enemies killed. During the Civil War with
the Durass family, I sided with Gowron for the right of succession.
Now, as Chief of Intelligence and a member of the IKF High
Council, I keep Lord Admiral Kethas well informed of all intelligence and
plots against the empire. I command the ILP Death's Head and coordinate
the entire covert operative network to infiltrate our enemy's defenses.
I am also a Security Officer in the KIDC and hope to be an
apprentice to the Honorable K'Daq in the art of making and wielding
weapons.
K'moghjIH
Well done K'moghjIH ! We'll teach you to make a sharp blade, but it sounds like you'll need to grow a pair of eyes in the back of your head to keep your skin intact.
Sleep light and keep your enemies upwind.
Next month: Morac and the House of Kale
The history of the qutluch
The qutluch - blade of the Assassin - is smaller than the d'k tagh but has considerably more killing power when used correctly.
Klingons look at death in a totally different manner than do Humans - death for a Klingon is merely a transition from one battle ground to the next. HOW one dies is what is important to a Klingon. Equally important is how a warrior kills his enemy. As always honor is paramount - the code of honor that is strictly outlined in Klingon history stretching from the time of Kahless when he used honor as the building blocks for a Galactic Empire.
Assassination is considered an honorable death as well as an honorable profession if it is carried out according to ancient guidelines. The primary aspect of assassination is that the two parties MUST fight face to face. To look into your victims eyes at the moment of death is the way of the warrior. Stabbing in the back or from the shadows or the use of modern or chemical weapons is strictly against the code of honor.
Secondly, assassination should be carried out with weapons of ancient design - clubs, cudgels and knives are the weapons most often chosen. When looking at the qutluch you can draw your own conclusions as to its development. It is a weapon designed to breach any armor and produce maximum destruction of internal organs . The weapon produces a very characteristic wound of savage brutality. When Kurn was attacked by this blade, Worf could identify the *tool* by the wound itself.
And finally assassination should be carried out quickly and efficiently. If the assassin does not carry out his work quickly, he might find himself on the wrong end of the blade. The qutluch design makes this aspect a reality in the hands of the trained assassin. The razor tip creates quick access and the saw-teeth sever arteries on the knife's path in and out. Every aspect of the blade is designed to produce maximum damage and the formed handle provides a sure grip in all situations.
I make sure mine is always sharp.
Qa'Pla!!!
mupwI' yI'uchtaH !!
qutluch
The qutluch is a very ancient weapon and it's design reflects that. The Klingon race is gifted with a number of redundant organ systems (brak'lul - Star Trek Encyclopedia pg. 161) that make the warrior very hard to bring down by conventional means. This *gift* requires a massive amount of internal damage to be dealt to the warrior in order to kill him. The qutluch is a blade whose sole purpose is to maximize damage (this is why it is the predominant weapon of choice for the trained Assassin).
It is not uncommon to find the qutluch as an ancient family heirloom due to its solid construction and the example I made has been constructed specifically to give the impression of great age.
The blade is quarter inch carbon steel. Stainless is too shiny for my tastes when it comes to creating that *ancient* look.
The guard and pommel are carved from a single Water Buffalo horn. If you have never used this material you should give it a try. Its very durable and polishes to a comfortable finish.
The grip is my old favorite - hardened leather. What can I say ? I really like the stuff. Which brings up a good point. We all will develop a style that identifies our work. Although we can all get ideas from the work of others, don't allow that to block your ability to make your own unique creations. In this respect, leather is leather. I think everybody should try it.
qutluch Dimensions:
thickness of blade - .25 inches
length of blade - 8.00 inches.
length of blade and handle (full length) - 13.5 inches
width of weapon - 2.35 inches
Next month : the standard bat'leth
Creating Simple *Spirals* in weapons handles
The tip this month is designed to go along with our Axe construction but it is a useful tool for dressing up any project. Decorative handles serve many purposes, two of which are to enhance the looks of and to improve the ability to grip and swing the weapon.
The spiral is very simple and at the same time adds a certain elegance to the weapon.
When cutting the spiral be sure not to make your *trench* cuts too deeply or you will undermine the strength of the weapon's shaft. The idea is to create the fluid lines but not to encroach on the minimum thickness for durability.
The first step is to determine how many *flutes* you want on your spiral. I like four on mine, but three produces a nice look as well. We'll use four in this example.
1. Divide the cross section of the shaft into four equal arcs.(Basically make an even *X* across the end of your shaft.)
2. With masking tape, secure a length of twine to each leg of the *X*.
3. Take one of the twine lengths and stretch it down the length of the shaft while turning the shaft. This will produce a *corkscrew* pattern with the twine. Make the distance between each level even, secure on the opposite end of the shaft with a piece of tape and then repeat with each piece of twine.
4. Double check the spacing between each piece of twine to ensure an even spiral and trace along each line with a *sharpy*.
5. Remove the twine and you have your *trench* layout on the shaft.
6. At this point its a matter of preference as to what tool you use to produce the spiral . I usually make a *V* shaped groove along the line to the depth that I want for the final spiral and then slant the walls of the groove out toward each other with my belt grinder until they meet as an inverted *V*. You can also use a large ball shaped *wood-hog* to produce a rounded trench and finish it off with rubber-backed sanding cylinders.
**I think the rounded trench works well for long shafted weapons that will require a lot of hand work during their use since it is much more comfortable to the touch. The *V* shaped spiral is better suited for the short handles like our Axe since there is only an occasional need to move your hand out onto the shaft. The sharp *V* provides a much more *sure* grip on the occasions when it's needed.
We'll follow up on this procedure in the next section when we discuss the construction of the handle for the battle-axe.
Qapla'!
Klingon Battleaxe or 'alngegh
(from Okrand's Klingon for the Galactic Traveler)
Construction of the DeS (handle)
For this phase of our project I chose a material referred to as *Dymondwood* (TM). Dymondwood is wood laminated with a polymer resin under high pressure. It produces an incredibly strong shaft that polishes like glass. It is very similar to wood to work with except that the dust is probably toxic and it throws mean splinters when run through a table saw. It is a common material for smaller knife handles, comes in a variety of wood grains and is sold in small *scales* as well as large 50 inch cylinders. I use it frequently for making canes and it also graces the half bat'leth project.
We will be using a piece of Zebra dymondwood for this project example. I also have a shaft of black walnut dymondwood that I will be making a matching Axe with and it might show up on later pictures.(Hey, these are like Lays...you can't stop at one)
The shaft is 20 inches long with a four fluted *V* grooved spiral (say that fast four times) cut almost the entire length with the exclusion of 4 inches on the far end to increase support to the blade and four inches to create a formed grip on the opposite end.
After locating the centerline of the shaft, a quarter inch *slot* is cut from the shaft to cradle the blade. I have a special *jig* I use to support these cylinders when I run them through the band saw. These are quite simple to make and provide security and precision to your cuts. The slot is just *shy* of four inches which corresponds to the depth of the blade pattern at the centerline.
After the slot is cut a quarter inch hole is drilled dead center in the shaft at the base of the slot to receive the small partial tang of the blade to add support. Later this small tang along with quarter inch rivets will provide the majority of the securing force for the blade to the handle. There will also be a lanyard hole in the grip to hold a strap or various decorative *devices*.
The black of the Zebra wood is going to provide an excellent contrast to the titanium - especially after the blade is treated........and I have to say that after holding the finished handle in my hands I am *dying* to get a blade in this thing !
Dymondwood handle with *V* groove spiral
Next month .........the blade !!!! Kick the tires and light the fires - we are cutting titanium !!!!!!!!.
Remember to write with any material you'd like to have discussed or placed in
*mupwI'* ..
mupwI' yI'uchtaH !!
K'Daq
K'Daq's Office
