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I Forge Iron

blademaker

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  • Location
    Alabama Gulf Coast
  • Biography
    Hopelessly addicted to making knives, and sharp pointy stuff
  • Interests
    Knifemaking, fly tying, hunting, fishing, woodworking
  • Occupation
    cabinet maker/designer

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  1. Hello all! Since I'm new on this forum, thought I'd post some pics of my latest knife - finished it up yesterday morning. Thanks for looking! Overall length: 13 3/8" Blade: 8 1/4" forged 5160, differentially hardened Handle: mortise tang Cocobolo, red and black fiber spacers, and polished elk antler. Brass guard and pins.
  2. Thanks for the feedback, ya'll. I'm really looking forward to some of the events here on this site, and to meeting other like-minded folks who love making art and magic out of red-hot metal. I've browsed some of the galleries here, as well as a few personal sites, and I am absolutely blown-away by the work I've seen in some of the photos! There are some really talented folks on this forum. Thanks again for the warm welcome:D Glenn - to answer your question, I stick mainly to 5160 and O1. The reason is that both are such good steels to work with. I started out with them because that's what I had, and have just sort of always gravitated back to them. I started using 1080 and 1095 once in a while, because I like the way they show a hamon line when clay-quenched. The 5160 seems harder to put a hamon on than those 2. Haven't tried clay-quenching with 01 yet... I recently got 2 large buckets of old Nicholson files (big ones) from a laminate countertop fabricating shop, and will start working with those eventually. I make damascus from 1084 and 15n20. I've also recently started making mokume gane from copper and brass, and from quarters. The first experiments went pretty well, so I've ordered some casting granules of silver and gold, and am going to make some "real" mokume in the next few weeks. I'll post pics when the stuff is finished (provided it's a success:D ). Ya'll have a good evening!
  3. Hi ya'll. I'm new here, but saw the post and thought I'd chime in. Blackbeard, you got yourself a sure-nuff piece of knifemaking steel! Leaf spring is usually really good steel. Most leaf springs are made from 5160, which is an excellent blade steel. 5160 is my primary blade steel for just that reason. If you can get a coil spring, and straighten it out, that's usually good steel too. You want to heat a small piece of your steel to orange-hot, quench it in oil (transmission fluid or vegetable oil will work) that's heated to about 90 degrees (you can heat the oil by dropping a heated piece of steel in it before you quench the test piece). Once the test piece is cooled, run a file across it - it will probably slide like it's on glass, which is what you want. If steel gets that hard and resists a file like that, then it's probably good for making knives. Otherwise, if it was me, I'd forge it down to shape using a hammer and an anvil-like object (I say that because a 100# piece of granite will work for an anvil...). If you're going to grind it, or use files to shape it, anneal it first. 5160 is super tough stuff, and is not easy to grind or file. Anneal by heating to orange, and burying in about 2 feet of vermiculite, wood ash or ashes from a bbq grill (make sure there's no charcoal in there or it'll ignite!), or even burying in about 2ft. of dirt. Leave it for at least 6 hrs, if not longer. The longer and slower the steel cools, the easier it is to grind or file on. If it cools too fast, it'll harden up and Hercules wouldn't be able to shape it. If you're really interested in learning how to make knives, get a copy of Wayne Goddard's $50 knife shop. I've been forging for about 6 years and I still use that book as an information source. Any questions, please feel free to email me. Happy knifemaking, dude!:D
  4. Just wanted to introduce myself, since I'm new here on these forums. I'm a knifemaker, living on the Alabama Gulf Coast near Mobile. I make all sorts of knives, but tend to focus on Scagel style knives, and historically-inspired pieces like trade knives and mountain-man style "primitve", or buckskinner knives. I forge my blades, as opposed to using stock removal methods. At any rate, I'm glad to be here, and look forward to meeting everybody who wants to say "hi". Peace....
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