Well, this took a ridiculously long time to finish, and it was largely due to the scabbard. But it's in the hands of its owner now and he's happy with it. The scabbard is padouk wood. The basic work was done some time ago, then it sat around the shop as I worked on it off and on and worked on other projects.

Finally, I finished it up and got the blade appropriately shaving sharp.

I made the scabbard follow the curve of the blade's choil, making it obvious which side is which on an otherwise very rectangular scabbard.

By way of apologizing for the amount of time and thanking him for his patience, I sent the customer this little knife I forged from 1084 and wrapped in hemp and sealed.

The customer has sent me some pictures and description of the blades in use. He commented on how "alive" both blades felt in the hand when he first got them out of the box. The first major task he put the bush sword to was clearing away oak saplings along the bank of a creek to be able to access it for catching trout for breakfast.

He then put the smaller knife to work helping to process out a steer that they were butchering. He said it worked great, and after touching up the edge, he put it to work in the kitchen chopping onions and beef tongue for some lengua tacos.

A few days later, he sent me this story about making use of the bush sword again. He has quite the talent at storytelling, so I'll use his own words: "Figured I'd give you an update on the chronicles of the Bush Sword. Walked in the house last night after work and noticed a box of wine and the Titanic dvd. Not a good sign... Talking with the SheBoss, I confirmed my worst fears - her friends were coming over to drink wine and watch that movie. The trifecta of Team Estrogen, boxed wine, and the Titanic is a sure sign that I should not be anywhere near there - it is also a signal that my dog will likely end up getting dressed up like some city dog that rides around in a purse in New York City. Can't have that - he's a hunting dog! Anyway, I remembered that I still have a turkey tag, so I strapped the bush sword to my pack, grabbed the shotgun and headed out to the woods for the night with the dog. It wasn't all that cold (only about 40 or so), but it was raining so I figured I'd do the dog a favor (he's a hunting dog, but he's kind of soft) and set up the poncho. A couple of whacks with the sword and we had tent pegs. Not only did it make short work of cutting them to length and cutting the point, but it is balanced enough that making the notch for the twine was no problem whatsoever. Excellent! Woke up a little colder than I thought I should be and couldn't understand why until I noticed that the dog had basically stolen my blanket. Selfish mutt. Worked out OK though since I was able to sneak off and get a bird while the lazy hound was still sleeping in my covers. Just in case you ever run into an invasion of turkeys, let me assure you that the sword quite slickly decapitates turkeys. Never know when that knowledge might come in handy! Here's a photo of the sword strapped onto my pack. Really slick with all the attachment points on the sheath - carried great. Again, really enjoying the sword and am astounded at how handy it is."

I'm really enjoying seeing my blades being put to work like that. :)