Wrought Iron Battleship Chain San Mai Bowie Knife

This Bowie knife was actually the result of a failed hammer project. I was gifted a large piece of wrought iron chain from the USS Essex aircraft carrier. Mind you, I have no way to conclusively prove that; that’s just what the guy who gave it to me told me, and what the guy he got it from said. The original piece was too small to have been anchor chain; it could have been a drag or ballast chain. The original link was marked USN for the US Navy, and the US Navy phased out wrought iron chain completely by 1928, so while the origin of the parent material is somewhat of a mystery, it is undoubtedly a piece of history, and it was a great honor to give it new life as a blade. The knife was made using a San Mai technique where a high-carbon steel core, in this case 1084, is placed between two layers of softer material. The knife was constructed using a hidden tang with a threaded screw-on butt cap. The guard and butt cap were made from another piece of scrap wrought iron. A video on the construction of this knife can be found on the OHF YouTube channel.