Altusjg

Sorry to disappoint Phil but all in all i'm personally very satisfied with this blade. I'll definately be going back to get the lines out as this is a birthday present for a very good friend and i want it to be right. Thanks again for looking and the comments.

Thanks Guys. Phil- i brought the blade down to 1500gt and in the light of my shop i didnt see any lines. After your comment i went back to inspect it and yes i can see some faint lines in the blade especially in the glare of the light. Guess i'll have to bring it back to the table. I really need to get a buffing wheel and a good compound to use. Thanks for pointing it out.

Wow thats a cool idea and well done. Great work!!

Here are some pics of my latest knife. I had a couple firsts on this one. First knife with bolsters and my first time dealing with synthetics for handle material. Some Specs: blade steel: 5160 quench: x3 in canola oil temper: @350 x2 cycles Guard and pins: SS Handle: black G10 (woven cloth fiberglass composite) The blade is 3 3/4" X 1 5/8" . The overall length is 7 1/2". The handle was sanded down to 1500gritt and wiped down with a wax coating to help bring out the shine. I think this one is a personal best for me and i learned a good bit during the under taking. Thanks for looking!!

WmHorus- What kind of anvil or you tying to sell? Size? Weight? Price? I'm on the hunt for one and may be interested.

I wire brush off any excess rust from the base and sides of my RR anvil and leg vise then spray a heavy coat of WD40 and leave it. After it dries it seems to leave a nice oily film that prevents them from rusting. I wipe off the working surfaces well as not to transfer oil to all my work. I do this once a month or so depending on how humid its been or if they've gotten rained on, ect... It does the trick for me and both have a nice patina.

Thanks for looking guys and for the comments.

Thanks Kevan... I plan to use the caster wheel as a contact wheel... if it holds up. We shall see!! It doesnt track well currently and i have to make a few adjustments before im able to put it to use. Thanks again!!

Here are two knives i forged and finished on my last stretch off. Steel is 5160 coil spring triple quenched and tempered in oven twice each. Handles are black walnut. The larger has SS pins and the smaller has brass pins. Both are shaving sharp!! Thanks for looking

Great looking collection of knives. Well Done!!

So here is my belt grinder. I have to build a platen attachment but here it is with the slack belt attachment. The belt tracks well but i'll probably be either investing in a new tracking wheel or replacing the current bearings as the wheel on it now was scavenged from an old wooden belt sander and it is a bit noisy. I bought 3 belts to start. I went with 100grit blaze plus ceramic, 220grit ceramic and 400grit silicon carbide. The motor seems to provide more than adequate speed. If my calcualtions are correct, i'm getting approx 3600fpm allowing for belt slippage. All together i have about $250 plus my time welding and fabricating the frame and such. Thanks for looking!

A quick question about idler wheels as i am going to be ordering them online tonight from usaknifemaker. I see that they offer both aluminum wheels and poly wheels which are rated @ 70duro. Aluminum wheels seem to be the tried and true choice but the poly wheels can be used as a contact wheel as well. My question is which is the best choice? What are the pros and cons of them both? Which would you recomend? Thanks in advance for the input.

Thanks Nathan. I'm curious about the motor speed as well. I'm going with the shaft mounted drive wheel for now but is i'm not satisfied with the speed and want more or less i may end up adding step pulley setup. If i calculated right, i should end up with around 2031 fpm on the belt. I'll post more pics when i get more done.

So i've been researching belt grinders for a while now and decided to get started this past weekend. My dad has a mig welder so i bought some square tubing and welded up the frame. So far i have the frame, platen tooling arm, tension arm and tracking wheel assembled. Im planning to use a shaft mounted drive wheel which can be seen in the picture. The motor is 1hp AC rated @ 3450rpm. I'm waiting on platen idler wheels to come in the mail and i still need to order belts. Here are some pics of my progress so far. Thanks for looking.

Matt- I plan to use a shaft mounted drive wheel that is 2.25" in diameter. Motor speed is 3450rpm with a 5/8" shaft. If i calculated right that should equal about 2031 fpm. Is that right? Is 2031 fpm a decent midrange number? I will be unable to adjust speed unless i end up applying a step pulley system. I do not intend on doing any heavy duty stock removal. I'll be using it primarily for shaping and polishing knives and the like and i try to forge my blades as close to finished shape as possible. Thanks for the help.

I'm working on building a belt grinder as well. Im using a 1hp motor rated at 3450rpm. How do i go about calculating the ft/min. Is there an equation that i plug the roller size and motor speed numbers into??

Welcome to IFI!!! If you intend to make knives, coil spring or leaf spring steel is a good starting point and is fairly easily obtained at scrap yards or suspension shops. I went to a local off road suspension shop and talked to the manager about picking up there scrap coil spings and he told me to check back with him around the end of each month and i can have the pick of the scrap pile..... no charge! To the best of my knowledge, coil/leaf spring steel is generaly 5160 and hardens well and hold an edge well. There are those who say RR spikes can be hardened in special quench mediums but from what i've read, the general concensus is that they are not good for knives. Railroad spikes have a low carbon content and do not harden or hold an edge well. In my opinion they are good to practice your hammer control and color/temperature range recognition on. Fair warning though, it has been said often on this site that walking RR tracks in the U.S. is illegal and after 911 is considered a terrorist threat.... so be careful. As far as swords go... many people here who know a great deal more than i do will tell you to practice making knives and advance your knowledge and skill set before you even attempt a sword. This recomendation is mainly for your own safety as the steel used and the process is apparently quite different than knife making. Not to mention that if not properly forged, hardened and tempered, a sword can shatter while in use and cause serious injury if not death. So take it slow and learn as much as possible while enjoying your new hobbie. Hope this helps a bit. Good Luck!!!

Looking good!!I think the incomplete welds(the little cracks and crevices)on the blade will end up being points of weakness and possible breaking points at some point but i still like the way it looks. Well done for your first cable blade. I have a few family members in the oil field. Guess i'll have to ask them to keep there eyes open for any old cable. The handle really stands out to me especially because you mentioned that it was homemade micarta. What material and process did you use?? How did you heat treat the blade? -Altus

Very Nice! A similar design could be made with a portion of the vine making a horizontal loop which would be used as a base and the plate flipped upside down and used as a candle holder. The punch and drifted hole with the leaf and vine running through itself could be incorporated where ever you choose. Just a thought. Great work!

Thanks for the knowledge Stormcrow.

That is indeed a mean looking blade. Great job. A question though, what is the purpose of multiple quenches? Does it insure a proper grain or that the blade is hardened through out? Thanks for sharing!!

Well that is certainly different and a cool idea for an old claw hammer. Well done!

Looking Good. I like the mix of leather and antler for the handle. Hard to make out some of the detail as the pics come up pretty big and distort the pic. Try picresize.com to resize your photos online without having to download anything to your computer. Keep up the good work.

I made this staghorn hunter/skinner for my little nephew. The blade is spring still hardened in oil and tempered in oven. Guard is copper that has been darkened with a torch. I added some file work but im not completely satisfied with it or at least not the pattern at the proximal part of the spine closest to the guard. I realise now that i should have tried it on a scrap piece before trying it on the blade.... lesson learned. I'm still working on my fit up between the handle, guard and blade but get better with each one. I'm tempted to try some solder on the next fit up though i read that many have problems with soldering. Guess i wont know till i try. Anywho... All comments are welcome. Thanks for looking. -Altus

Very nice. Looks Great!!