Question about Mistborn-style obsidian knives

[kabu]

So I'm making a pair of a Mistborn's obsidian knives as a present, but I'm a bit stuck on the design phase.  Traditionally, an obsidian or flint knife would be attached to a haft with pine pitch and tied with leather or sinew, but I am pretty sure that they didn't have pine trees in the Final Empire.

What sort of material do y'all think the haft would be made of (wood? Bone? Antler?), and how would it be attached?  I can always use modern epoxy as  the adhesive and wrap it with something cool looking, as well.  Or maybe it is a solid piece of glass, with a leather or cloth wrapped handle.  From what I recall, the hafting for a glass knife was never really discussed in the series, but it's definitely possible I'm just forgetting.

[1stBondsmith he/him]

If you cut thinner tangs (into the haft) for the knives, you severely increase the chance of breaking at the transition. I would go for a straight blade and tang into an epoxied split bone. It is not as slippery when bloody.If you do decide to thin out the tang, have the bone go up over the transition. It will help the strength a lot, but ir can also expose the user to cuts at the end of the blade. Some kind of thin guard would get rid of that problem, but now you have a different design.

I picture Mistborn knives as elegant and fast, and not as a stone-age weapon as must of us who were taught knapping have learned. What is your method of cutting the obsidian?

[kabu]

22 minutes ago, 1stBondsmith said:

I picture Mistborn knives as elegant and fast, and not as a stone-age weapon as must of us who were taught knapping have learned. What is your method of cutting the obsidian?

I was planning on making a traditional knapped blade out of some obsidian spalls.  I'm a beginner at this, but I am fairly crafts-y in general.  Not that this means I am going to be churning out masterworks or anything, but I am pretty confident that I can at least make something knife-shaped

As for "elegant and fast," what do you think would be the best way of achieving that look?

[1stBondsmith he/him]

If you have a lot of obsidian, and it is very pure, (no swirls turned back or sharp folds in the glass), A long sheer makes the sharpest blades. If you can't break a lot of obsidian trying the long sheer, then small edge knapping is best. It is not as sharp or elegant, but it gets the job done. If you are able, typical glass cutters to shape the stone and chipping the edge with the cutter to rough it out will work, Then you start the knapping. Obviously, this depends on the thickness. For strength, you will need a thick center of the blade. Single piece knives are very hard, and I would be tickled to see what you make. The best and most elegant were those made from a large native shard that was broken in big pieces, then cut and thinned without knapping. Very beautiful, but requires a lot of lot or trial and error. Usually lots of error. Single blade is much easier than two edged, but you can sharpen both sides of the tip for better penetration and still keep the blade strength.

Edited November 4, 2016 by 1stBondsmith
clarification

[kabu]

Thank you for the advice!  I will probably avoid trying to do a single-piece knife, at least until I have way more experience.

[1stBondsmith he/him]

Good Luck! I hope the recipient is grateful for all the work. My experience is that they typically don't have any idea how long it takes, and how hard it is. Cheers to you for the work - from me!