... Yeah, another one that's been in the works for a long time ( http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11777583/ ). I'm not great at self-supplied motivation. The prospect of money – well, that's another kettle of fish.

I ended up doing a little more forging, viz. evening the thickness, refining the blade and handle recurve to provide a more centered line of thrust, and balancing the taper into the ricasso. This knife breaks a bit of new ground for me; besides drawing the spike head out into a full "D" guard, this is the slenderest blade I've ever forged, coming in at about 1.5mm (3/64"). I'm not sure I'd want to try that with a higher carbon steel. The balance point is right where the twist ends, making it pretty lively in the hand. Hardness... It's a rail spike. I've hardened and tempered it, and the edge will outlast a typical store-bought chunk of Chinastani mystery stainless any day, but a Muramasa it is not. You may need to resharpen after every few murders.

That was a joke. Everyone says I'm funny.