Tolkien Inspired Long Dagger

I created this Long Dagger in a Blade Smithing class using the mill, belt sanders/grinders, band saws, a drill press, and blade forges. The blade was inspired by the long dagger held by Frodo and Bilbo in the Lord of the Rings. The blade is made out of 440C Stainless. The cross-guard and flame pommel are made out of C360 Brass and the Handle is made out of Ironwood.

The process was a lot of fun and one of my favorite projects I have completed. It consisted of this:
I first used the bandsaw and grinder to get the general profile of the blade. After that, I took the blade to the drill press and cut out holes in the heart outline so that I could use the mill for the general heart outline. I used filing to finish up the heart and a grinder and free-handing to bevel the blade. The blade was then hand-sanded and heat-treated. Post-heat treatment, the blade required more hand sanding. Then I used a combination of the grinder and bandsaw to make the guard and handle. The guard and handle were then epoxied to the tang and each other. I made the pommel using the grinder and mill to get the general shape of the flame and then I used files to put finishing touches on the thinner parts of the flame. Then I thread a hole in the pommel which would be used with a threaded rod to secure the pommel to the handle and then epoxy everything together. Lastly, I belt sanded the handle and pommel so the profiles flowed together and then did one last hand sand.

I learned so much about working with metal and the properties of the phases of steel and how to achieve them. Not only that, I learned to love the blade-making process and hope I can learn forging in the future to further extend my knowledge in the area.