Greenbeast

thanks guys

i make leaf keyrings from 8 or 12mm square stock.

thanks for that explanation

i use a 4.5" grinder with wire-wheel, still danerous but i fancy less so that trying to hold the work against bench wheel

thanks very much, might get myself some for the next one

if you want the finish in the photo you just need to wire-wheel the scale off, job done.
soak overnight in vinegar to ease the work

i believe you will get a blacker look using oil or beeswax, it might be worth cleaner the item first and rehating by a few hundred degrees to apply the oil/wax but i'm now expert on that

Dave, how to apply the beeswax now it's cold and half complete?

Thomas, do stainless steels retain their stainless qualities when forged, i thought it would need electropolishing or something afterwards?

I'm in the middle of building a hanging pan rack, the main frame is riveted together already and it's only been wire-wheeled.

What can i apply at this point that will make it rust resistant hanging in kitchen?

Kwisatz, this is the method (http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?135931-Handeling-thin-blade), except i've gone with a thin steel ferrule instead of another chunk of wood. This dowel method makes handling blades so much easier than trying to drill out a slot!

John, no they haven't been etched, i figured with the finish they've got it wouldn't show anything. Thanks for your insight on the construction

Justin, the layer boundary is already about half way up the blade (from memory of initial grinding), they're thin enough that any further bevel grinding is going to dramatically change them (i think). I'll leave them this time and use it as a learning experience

Thanks, shame the san mai is hidden but at least it's a usable knife :)

Managed to get one finished, i decided to leave the forge finish because to get rid of the hammer marks and angle grinder marks would have meant grinding through the out cladding and making the knife unusably thin.

They're still in progress unfortunately.

I moved on to some stock removal kitchen knives and made better progress so the pettys are on the back burner.
I've become dissatisfied with the deep hammer marks that i won't be able to grind out but which also have deep scoring from the grinder scale removal :(

I wear in ear buds, work great as hearing protection but more enjoyable.
My day is then filled with wonderful songs by a good few female singer/songwriter types...

Will do!

Just ordered micarta making supplies and a thermocouple to help with the heat treat. Unfortunately lead time on that gizmo is 2 weeks :(

Started a pair of San Mai Pettys, one for the g/f and one for me
It's 1.6mm 15n20 clad in 1.2mm mild steel

I welded up the billets and forged in the tangs while drawing it out ever so slightly:




But then treated it as a stock removal project to protect the thin layers from heavy forging:





I'm planing on making my first micarta for the Wa style handles they'll have.
Unconventionally one will be a nice shade of purple (for the g/f :P) and the other i'm hoping to do white paper handle with black paper bolster/end cap

Tidy! Very nice.

woah nice find! that's a serious anvil

nice!

Thanks Owen!

I will wait till my coke forge is up and running.

Maybe i could use it in as the wrap around in a san mai blade?

Mick, i emailed Owen but haven't had a response yet :rolleyes:
What can i do with the share i took away from the April smelt? What's it good for?

Looking to create a knife pocket clip.
I see some people use titanium, what would be recommended thickness to be strong enough but not too obstrusive?

It would need bending, anything to bear in mind if hot bending it?

Thanks woody, if i had planned in advance i would have done half twists like the other pieces, but at least i kept the direction running the same as the others

Thanks Beth, :)
Yeah it's a nice substantial set, like i said the stand is 25mm square, it's not breaking any time soon!!

Really appreciate that. I agree that when in business you just have to use whatever skills and tools available to get things done.

I guess a lot of the guys just do it as a hobby, whereas i'm hoping to make a transition in the next couple of years to full time.

Thanks for you comments

It initially wasn't a long split of course because those arms and legs are tapered quite a bit

BUT!!

I was wasting too much time trying to do a combo of thin disc cut and hot cutting and was making a mess, even when i got one end split it was taking forever to taper because i could only work one arm at a time (my power hammer was not working correctly at the time)

SO...

I cheated, well and truely, i got 8 lengths of 12mm square stock and tapered them all, then i stick welded the ends together (over about 100mm of length) and then i prepped and welded the arm set and leg set to the previously prepared twisted 25mm stock.

I'm such a fraud :(

Once undertaken however, this was the only reasonable way of getting it finished and the product delivered.