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oakwoodforge

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Posts posted by oakwoodforge

    Weird Hamon activity...

    in Heat Treating Knives, Blades etc

    Posted

    I Got an Answer from the "Don" , on this one...

    "Looks like a vapor jacket formed and slowed down the quench in that area. You can avoid this by agitating the quench or moving the blade. Just a guess

    --------------------
    Don Fogg
    Don Fogg Custom Knives"

    Makes sense to me, I'm just glad the blade survived the water quench !!

    Jens

    My Entry for the SITH ( Seax In The Hat)

    in Knife Making

    Posted

    Julian , that one is the seax I got in the SITH It came before I could finish up my leatherwork, it is the work of Cory Owens from Mooresville , NC and I think he did an exelent job too. Kinda Funny but between the 2 knives there is almost a whole deer leg bone, he used one end I used the other :)

    Jens

    shipping

    in Problem Solving

    Posted

    Motor Freight is going to be the cheapest by far, Have it shipped to a commercial address or pick it up at the nearest freight terminal. Residental delevery surcharges can add $50- $100 to the shipping cost. As to what company like LME, JJJ, Fed-Ex freight or someone else is cheapest you'll have to call and get quotes. Go down to the local truckstop and ask around if your local Yellow pages don't do the trick.

    Hope this Helps

    Jens

    How to add carbon to steel.

    in Metallurgy

    Posted

    To answer your question: Time, Temp and air ( O2 control ) ... ;) Carburizing mild steel or iron takes lots of time and fuel and is not easily, predictibly or econimicly done in small batches without LOTS of practice. If you need High carbon steel why use $100.00 worth of Coal/charcoal to get $5.00 worth of marginal quality semi-carbon steel with unknown properties? If you can't get any High carbon steel localy try ordering from some place like Clark and Osborne, A 3 foot long peice of 1/2 inch diameter O-1 High carbon steel will cost only about $6.35
    ToolAndDie.com - The Toolmakers Marketplace: Oilcrat (O1) Drill Rod 3 feet Long
    Hope this helps

    Jens

    Copper?

    in Knife Making

    Posted

    Stainless ? I doubt it, It probably has just enough melted Mitsubishi cars, soda cans and and other scrap metals to not flash rust right away. I wouldn't bother looking for special patterns in a chunk of scrap like that. If a metal object is magnetic at room temp it is for sure an Iron based alloy or atleast steel based remelted scrap. If you need copper for your project, there are many online retailers as well as cutlery supply stores that carry various sizes of copper. I'd also check with your local scrap yards as well, I have a bunch of 1/4 inch thick copper buss bars from scrapped electrical breaker boxes that I aquired for next to nothing.

    Hope this helps

    Jens

    Copper?

    in Knife Making

    Posted

    The grounding rods around here are usualy just copper coated manure-alloy-steel, like rebar. The copper increases the conductivity and retards rust underground. When In doubt try using a magnet to test, most steels are magnetic at room temerature.


    Jens

    Safety attire in the smithy!

    in Personal Protection Equipment

    Posted

    I quit wearing Steel toes after almost loosing a few toes to frostbite. Having weird shaped feet ( a Narrow heel and Extra wide across the toes) I've always had trouble finding good boots that fit well, in the shop I wear either my Doc Martins or my Rocky jump boots, either way they are all leather on the outside with tough comfortable soles.
    The Doc Martins are really nice and comfortable in the summer, they have the most comfortable boot sole of any boot I've tried and are really nice if you are standing on concrete all day long. the Rockys have a little insulation 200g or so, they help keep me warm in the winter an don't weigh much more than a pair of sneakers. Heavy boots = more leg/ lower back fatigue/ Pain in my experience.
    I don't allow open toes or shoes made from nylon or plastic in my shop, Flamable foot wear is a BIG No-No. Heck Synthetic clothing of any sort ( Nylon , Polarflece, polyester, spandex ...) is a No no in my shop, NOT EVEN A HAT MADE FROM SYNTHETIC MATERIALS, Thats just asking to spend the next 9 months of your life in a burn unit getting skin grafts. Cotton, wool, linen and leather are pretty safe for smithing clothing, they will burn and smolder a bit with extended contact with hot objects or open flames. But they don't flash ignite and melt onto your skin like synthetic clothing will when it catches fire.
    Something else to keep in mind with steel toe boots, Ed Thomas said it well, "they do give a false sense of security", they protect you from a dropped 6 lb sledge hammer, but a 300 lb anvil falling on a steel toe boot just means the EMT's /Doctors have more work to do, they have to cut your toes out of the boot so they can re-attach them... NOT Pretty

    Dont Get me wrong, I'm not saying steel toes are bad or Un-safe but just pay attention to your feet and what is going on around you. For gawd sakes man attach the anvil to the stump !!!

    Just my $0.02


    Jens


    PS . Both Rocky Boots and Doc Martins are available with Steel toes ... If ya have to have 'em

    What Hand Tools for Drawing Out

    in Tools, general discussion

    Posted

    A Fuller over the sweet spot of your anvil seems to get a little more done than using the tip of the horn. Take some good sized scrap plate or wide barstock, lay it on the anvil face , make your self a shank that fits the Hardy hole tack weld the two together, use anti spatter to protect the anvil face,
    margerine works well { Thanks Tenhammers } if you don't have the professional stuff. Now weld a peice of 1/2 to 1 inch round on the plate over the sweet spot of the anvil. This Puts the mass of the anvil under your bottom Fuller and works better than one that fits in the hardy hole way out on the heel of a London pattern anvil. Now you can really beat on it and not worry about breaking the horn off.

    But then I ask why not just forge weld 1/4" or 3/8" or 1/2 " reins on to the tong jaw parts and save all that work ?

    Jens

    My Entry for the SITH ( Seax In The Hat)

    in Knife Making

    Posted

    Andy the SITH Drawing is this Sunday ( Sept 17 ) so you may be a little late, but never fear the may be a, dare I say it ..." revenge of the SITH" :) as Popular as this one has been. its been mostly folks from K-net, DonFogg's and Primal Fires that joined this one.
    But there is a world wide "Chris Kringle KITH" ( X-mas ) you can still join.
    ( Sign up here: Kris Kringle Kith? - The Knife Network Forums : Knife Discussions )
    Thanks for the kind words guys.

    Jens

    making metal look "medieval"

    in Blacksmithing, General Discussion

    Posted

    I would consider ageing it with mustard or vinegar to give it a little patina then buff with 0000 steel wool to give it the "worn out " look. and coat with a clear laquer or Danish oil. Also I learned a neat trick recently, collect a hand full of the fire scale that builds up around the anvil. Place a few pinches of the fire scale on top of the anvil and place the red hot "face " (the side that will show) over the piles of scale and hammer away. Working the scale into the face of the bar (something we normaly try to avoid doing) gives a nice rough 3 -d effect that may be just the "medieval" look you are trying to acheive. Beating the red hot bar stock into gravel or a rough rock like granite will give a neat effect too. I'd Suggest playing with some scraps, give each a different surface treatment and see what the customer likes or wht you like.

    Have fun

    Jens

    home made refactory cement for clay coat heat treating... with directions

    in Alchemy and Formulas

    Posted

    Ellis Custom Knifeworks carries AP Green and Satanite Refractory & High Temperature Tools - Ellis Custom Knifeworks

    Good people to deal with, they will continue to get my business thats for sure !!
    Not too many mailorder companies I can say that about ;)


    Jens

    Edit: When you contact these or other suppliers, be sure and tell them you got their name from IForgeIron.com It helps spread the word about the IForgeIron site and informs the supplier as to where their business is coming from. Site Admin

    My first knife and axe

    in Knife Making

    Posted

    Beautiful ! I love the lines of the axe especially, but the little blacksmiths knife is very nice too. I love the traditional look of the forgewelded tool steel cutting edge and softer metal body. What sort of steel did you use ?

    Jens

    home made refactory cement for clay coat heat treating... with directions

    in Alchemy and Formulas

    Posted

    Just a Quick update - to say that Satanite or AP Green # 36 refactory Cement sticks to the blade much better. The home made stuff works to produce a hamon line but it is easy to knock off unless handled carefully. Chopping your charcoal into small peices ( 3/4 " - 1/2" ) helps quite a bit to keep the clay in place. So does useing a steel pipe burried in the coals of your forge, this helps even out any hot spots. This can also work to even out hot spots in a gas forge. Even temps are really important when heat treating, otherwise you end up with a corkscrew instead of a knife ;)

    Jens

    used forge worth the cost?

    in Problem Solving

    Posted

    Raasmus, something to keep in mind is that a forge can be built for little or no money and probably about the same ( or less ) effort than the required rebuilding of this champion rivet forge. See the forge section of the blueprints and photo gallery as well ( especially the famous "55 forge " or Tim Lively's "washtub forge" ). With that in mind it would seem to ME that $150 is a little high, after all with $150 you should be able to buy what you need to build a forge as well as get a few pair of tongs or vice grips, and hammer or 2 as well as purchase a suitable chunk of scrap metal to use as an anvil and maby even a bag or 2 of coal or charcoal if you played your cards right.
    Here is a good place to start looking for resources and ideas. http://www.iforgeiron.com/Blueprints_200-300/p2_articleid/223

    Jens

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