Introduction and question

[sharpstick]

Hello everyone,

My name is Kyle. I am from Amarillo, TX. I work full time as a LEO and I make hand forged knives on a part time basis. Among many hobbies I am also a huge science fiction movie fan. Over the Christmas holidays I was searching through ebay looking for some of the lost toys from my childhood. I have always wanted another Viper and Raider toy to display in my office. While searching through the stuff on ebay I found this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Battlestar-gala ... true&rt=nc

I bid on this as an impulse purchase but I have always wanted to have a Cylon helmet for display too. After the auction was over (and I won), I started trying to research the helmet and I stumbled across this fine website. I see that for not much more money I could have purchased a new helmet kit and not someone's left over project.

Being a total newbie, I was wondering if someone can tell by looking if this helmet appears to be of decent quality and fairly accurate detail? I know I have a lot to learn and after browsing the forums I now think I need a full set of armor too.

Thanks for reading my post and see you around the forum!

[Hand-Schaub]

Welcome!

Looks like a good kit wih a lot of work already in it. If you have any experience with this stuff then you should have no problem finishing it off. Chroming is another issue of course but for the most part you got a good kit for a good price - nothing to frown at.

[sharpstick]

Thanks for the reply. The work doesn't bother me. I am pretty good at paint and body work so this should be no problem. I will post some progress photos once the helmet arrives and I begin working on it. I saw the post of the bronze helmet you made! That was really impressive.

I wanted to show you guys a photo of the latest knife I just finished. All of my blades are hammer forged and differentially hardened.

[Red Eye]

Welcome aboard the Basestar, sharpstick!

Good luck with your current Centurion helmet project.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions you may have.

After seeing your knife, how about making a Cylon sword next?

[Hand-Schaub]

After seeing your knife, how about making a Cylon sword next?

That was going to be my question as well

[Cylon-Knight]

Hello sharpstick - and welcome to ByYourCommand!
Your helmet kit (to me) looks like one of our own member's work - C.O.R.A
Hard to tell, but that's my guess...

Oh the knife is GREAT! Did you make the handle too? VERY NICE and yes, I was going to say Cylon sword as well - but I know that our own member sean has got a head start and is working on a metal sword as the crown jewel of his weapons wall (seen a top secret preview photo!). CYLONS RULE!

Post often and enjoy the site - and - YES! You do NEED a full set of Centurion armor now to go with your helmet... "duh" ... lol

Continue to check out all we have to offer at the http://www.byyourcommand.net forum (here!) AND our Gallery, AND our sub-sites at http://www.cylonempire.com and http://www.cylon-knight.com (< BEST SITES EVER )

[sharpstick]

When I get to the point where my armor is almost complete I will most definately think of making a real sword.

To answer your question, the entire knife is handmade. The steel is 5160 high carbon steel and the handle is desert ironwood. I don't buy knife kits or use any kind of CNC process in my knives. Each piece is made from raw steel and forged by hand (not under a power hammer).

I start with a raw piece of steel. I heat that steel in my forge until it is glowing red. I take the steel and beat it with a hammer until it begins to take the shape of a knife. I do that process over and over until the knife is ready to be filed/ground to the final shape. I then heat treat and temper the blade, add a handle, then hopefully end up with a nice finsihed product. If you screw up anywhere in the process, the knife will crack or break under the stress of the heat treating cycle.

I know this is not a knife forum but I thought some of you may appreciate the work involved. Here is my small forge and the start of what will be an upswept Persian style blade. The last photo is a picture of my 13 year old son who is learning the craft.

Thanks for the other links. I have all of them bookmarked now. My wife thinks I am crazy now that I have found this site. It's impossible for me to explain to her what it was like sitting in front of the TV as a boy and waiting for BSG to come on. To her it is just another show. I was the kid making my own Viper out of a paper towel tube and cardboard. It was much more that just a show.

[goldcylon1]

Very cool. I would like a scaled cylon sword letter opener. Any chance of making one of those to start.

[Cylon-Knight]

Ooooooh good idea, GC1!
I second that idea

[goldcylon1]

Ooooooh good idea, GC1!
I second that idea

Well Id be a buyer

Its neat seeing your son involved in the process as well GC1

[sharpstick]

I'd sure be willing to give the letter opener a shot. One I fill my current outstanding orders for knives I will work on it.

As far as my helmet goes, it still has not arrived. I have been in contact with the seller and he assures me it has shipped. The Post Office told him it would be delivered on the 10th. I guess I will wait patiently.

I have had some bad luck with the PO shipping knives in the past but they all eventually arrived. I once had a Priority package take 17 days to reach it's owner who only lived 300 miles away.

[goldcylon1]

I'd sure be willing to give the letter opener a shot. One I fill my current outstanding orders for knives I will work on it.

As far as my helmet goes, it still has not arrived. I have been in contact with the seller and he assures me it has shipped. The Post Office told him it would be delivered on the 10th. I guess I will wait patiently.

I have had some bad luck with the PO shipping knives in the past but they all eventually arrived. I once had a Priority package take 17 days to reach it's owner who only lived 300 miles away.

LMK when your ready and a project cost. Thanks GC1

[sharpstick]

My helmet arrived a couple of days ago. Overall, the pattern of the helmet seems very nice. The previous owner's craftsmanship is another topic. There were a couple of places where the helmet was cracked and he somehow managed to cut the bottom lip off the helmet. Now I can see why he owned this for several years and never finsihed it. First thing I did was reinforce the entire inside of the helmet with a tight weave fiberglass cloth and resin. This fixed all of the weak areas of the helmet and added some rigidity to it. I also added reinforcement to the broken area above the mouth. The mohawk appeared too rounded off from sanding so I added a fiberglass strip on top of the mohawk and was able to get that sharper angle back. I think the added weight of the fiberglass makes it feel more like a real helmet and less like a novelty piece. I still have a lot of sanding to do so I will post some progress pics soon.

[Red Eye]

I'm sorry to hear your kit was so messed up!

Can't wait to see your building thread...

[goldcylon1]

My helmet arrived a couple of days ago. Overall, the pattern of the helmet seems very nice. The previous owner's craftsmanship is another topic. There were a couple of places where the helmet was cracked and he somehow managed to cut the bottom lip off the helmet. Now I can see why he owned this for several years and never finsihed it. First thing I did was reinforce the entire inside of the helmet with a tight weave fiberglass cloth and resin. This fixed all of the weak areas of the helmet and added some rigidity to it. I also added reinforcement to the broken area above the mouth. The mohawk appeared too rounded off from sanding so I added a fiberglass strip on top of the mohawk and was able to get that sharper angle back. I think the added weight of the fiberglass makes it feel more like a real helmet and less like a novelty piece. I still have a lot of sanding to do so I will post some progress pics soon.

Not everybody is a craftsman. However it seems it is in good hands to add to your collection. With a little effort im sure you can make it right.