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I Forge Iron

calixt0

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  • Location
    Vallejo, Ca
  • Interests
    blacksmithing, bladesmithing, shooting
  • Occupation
    disabled
  1. Hello all, Its been a while since I've posted anything but here is my latest. It started as an old 4x4 coil spring, forged down flat and basics of the blade were formed. copper bolster and pins and desert Iron wood scales. Let me know what you all think
  2. I just bought a 128 trenton. The edges on the face are not as clean as yours but has a side small plate coming off the side (not sure what they are called) of the step. I paid 269 for it and I feel like it got a pretty good deal. Unless it has poor rebound (mine is about 90-95%) anything approaching $2 a pound is decent price. most things I was seeing in my area were approaching $3 a lb so I think you go a great deal.
  3. Do not swirl when quenching. swirling can cause uneven cooling and with it warping. before you get to a quench you should heat to red hot and then let cool (cool to the touch with bare hands). It if cools straight then you are good. if it has a bend in it now then you need to heat red hot again and straighten and let cool again. keep do this until you can heat and cool and when it cools its still straight. You can often skip this but if you do you take the chance of having a warp or crack show up during your quench (after all the hard work is done) now is the time to work your blade, any grind etc. don't make it sharp as a sharp blade does strange things during the next step. when that is done heat it up till the metal is no longer magnetic. If you can find when it is not longer magnetic and go one color range beyond that and let soak at temp for at about 5 -10 mins. Take immediately from the fire to quench. when dipping in the quench (oil or water) tip tip first and straight down. if you get sideways it can warp your blade. if you can't get the whole blade in then tip the blade in edge first again straight down. Don't swirl. Hold it as still as possible until the boiling stops. now after this is done your metal should be nice and hard. so hard that if dropped it may break. At this point I very carefully take and sand the blade so when tempuring I can see the color change. after sanding the blade should be relatively shiny. put it in the oven at 400 degree for 1.5 yo 2 hours. pull it out and let it cool till cool to the touch. then in the oven again for 2 hours at 400. the blade should now be hard but not so fragile. take and keep just the edge of the blade in some water and heat with a torch till the spine of the blade is just turning blue. that should give it some rigidity but some spring too. hope this helps shaun... all this I've learned from others on other forums. I've only completed 1 knife so far but was able to do it with out loosing my first blade to a crack.
  4. heres mine. I have so far been able to get 1/2" rebar up to critical as well as some 3/16" 1095 that I made a knife out of up to critical as well. I'm currently looking for a 2'x2' piece of steel to weld the drum to the bottom to so I can use just the drum as a firepot since this picture i have replaced the rotor with a drum. If I can find the steel that I want I may go back to the rotor as a firepot. right now if I can get the drum welded underneath I was wanting to have steel x cut and the middle just pounded down to round out the square edges of the drum. I've been using lump charcoal but will be buying some coal soon.
  5. thanks guys. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to quit. just modify what I was thinking. I've already started looking into one of the air over hydraulic presses. I'm sure not having a proper anvil has helped my situation. I have been using a 3x3" pad on the end of my vise so far. thanks for all the encouragement guys shaun
  6. Hello all, I've recently got interested in bladesmithing. Not sure at all how much I will like the whole of blacksmithing but I'm very interested right now. I have already made my first blade from and old Nichols file. I thought I would really like blacksmithing but yesterday went out with a piece of 1/2 rebar that I was going to make into a pair of tongs and hated it. I'm too weak and tired due to my disability for that kind of work. This has disappointed me because I was hoping to make some damascus billets to make some knives out of as well. Anyways I wanted to stop and say hi and introduce myself. I ended up sidetracked explaining things. Sorry for my ramblings. Hi Shaun
  7. not to hi-jack your thread... can you explain the difference of coal, bitumous coal, and coke?
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