Jump to content
I Forge Iron

PeterM

Members
  • Posts

    73
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by PeterM

  1. This is the first piece completed from my new forge and the first knife I've done completely forged-to-shape including bevels. I wanted to make an 'fashion mountain man's belt knife with a rough forged finish and minimal embellishment. It is SCREAMING sharp!! My hands are blistered and my arm is jelly, but and I'm pretty proud of this first effort. Blade: 7 1/2" x 3/16"(+/-) 1084 with forward taper, 260 grit belt finish on bevels. Handle: 4 1/2", spalted and figured Red Maple heartwood, 1/8" brass pins w/ tung oil and buffed conservator's wax finish. Sheath: in-progress Comments, criticism and advice for future pieces would be greatly appreciated.
  2. I have been given the following explanation on another forum. "A venturi burner draws the air in by the "Venturi Effect' caused by the gas jet. If the gas pressure gets too low, the venturi starts to collapse, and the resulting "chirping" is heard. It is caused by the flame moving back into the burner tube due to not enough gas/air flow to push it out into the chamber. The pressure needs to be turned up a bit at the regulator if chirping is heard. Do not run with a chirp, as the flash back and tube burning is not good for the burner. The choke is how to adjust the air/gas mix, but there is a practical limit to how low a venturi will run. If a lower flame rate is needed, like for HT, building a blown burner is the way to go.....materfact, building a blown burner is the way to go anytime. Ways to reduce the problem are; Use a 100# tank to deliver a more even flow pressure and cut down on tank freeze up. The propane temperature lowers as it boils off to produce the gas we burn. After an hour of continuous boiling ,it gets to the freezing point and becomes slush in the tank. It will not deliver enough pressure to maintain the flame. Adjust the choke to maintain a good flame. Make sure the chamber stays in the neutral to slightly reducing atmosphere state, or you will scale the heck out of everything you forge/heat. Adjust the gas jet position. If the gas jet is movable. it may need to be moved in or out a tad. Adjust the gas jet size. If the gas jet is a MIG tip type, changing it to a smaller size orifice will allow running at a lower pressure. The trade-off is that the burner won't get as hot at full blast as high as before. Build a blown burner and make all the parameters adjustable. A gate valve in the air line and needle valve in the gas line will allow the burner to run from a candle flame to as big as the gas/air supply will allow. Virtually any forge can be retro-fitted to run as a blown forge. Stacy E.Apelt"
  3. "Chirping" forge?? I have a new dual burner, venturi gas forge that, after about 1-1/2 hrs of operation, began to intermittently "chirp". Any explanations? Thank you, Peter
  4. Phillip - Thank you for showing so much the forging process of this beautiful knife. I'm just starting to forge my own blades and this thread has become invaluable.
  5. Jim - Thanks for the info and advice. I picked this one from a selection of three, all P.W. This was the smallest of the group with the largest being about twice the size of mine. All were in similar condition, all for $1.50/lb. The seller was unaware of the weighting formula and had just guessed at "100 lbs" for my anvil..... thus the selling price. I just found this formula: "Typically the hundreds weight markings are separated by dots but not always. These figures were stamped into the finished anvil and are often not very deep. The first figure to the left is hundred weights which equal 112 pounds. The next figure is quarter hundred weights which equal 28 pounds and the last number is whole pounds. The three are added together for the total weight. Examples: 1 · 0 · 16 = 112 + 0 + 16 = 128 pounds 2 · 1 · 3 = (112 x 2) + 28 + 3 = 255 pounds 2 · 2 · 25 = (112 x 2) + (28 x 2) + 25 = 305# [/i"
  6. I just picked this up yesterday for $150.00 from a local blacksmith. Despite the small piece cracked off the tip of the horn, I'm pretty happy with it. I don't know much about the stampings and I haven't weighed it, or tried to clean it up yet. Does anyone have any knowledge of this anvil? Any recommendations for removing the surface rust and getting this thing work-ready? Thanks, Peter
  7. This is my first completed forged knife. I finished it about a month ago. Its the first of three in this style that I managed to get out of a single harrow rake. Blade: Forged 1084 (from a 75+ yr old harrow rake) with a 10 1/4" cutting edge. Forged bevels and 3/16"-zero taper at the spine. 2000 grit hand rubbed finish w/ forge-finished flats. Handle: Crotch Sugar Maple with a weathered moose antler bolster. Tung oil and buffed conservator's wax finish.
  8. Steve, et al: In your first post in this thread you mentioned that you've not measured the Ph of Ferric Chloride. I wonder, if you did measure the final etching concentration, what Ph would it be? I ask because of an "enlightening" experience I had recently when mixing up my first-ever batch intended for blade etching. The short of the story being that the glass mixing jar cracked at its base spilling most of the contents onto my gravel driveway. The result of my hapless bumbling is about a 1/2 gallon of rescued liquid of unknown concentration. In lew of litmus paper and an accurate Ph measure, are there any tricks/tips on how to "zero in" my mixture to a proper concentration. Here's a "morning after" photo of my evening escapades.
  9. "Asking price is $175, so about $1.17/#. The price is great" I'm referencing the above quote because I'm also looking for a "first anvil". I happened to have looked at one today of similar size to the one in this thread, but in considerably worse condition. While the surfaces were basically flat, there was a lot of rusting and pitting. It would take a lot of grinding to get this in shape. $375.00 was the asking price. I thought that a bit stiff so I passed. But, I really have no guideline for pricing one of these. I've heard "buck 'a pound", but..... Is there a pricing standard for used anvils..... even those out of someone's backyard shed?
  10. Halo from Cape Breton! It seems that every time I search the web for forging info, this forum shows up. So, I thought I'd finally register and join the community. My name is Peter. I'm a retired chef living on the Atlantic coast of Cape Breton Island with my wife and daughter. These days I spend time playing in and working on canoes, exploring out-of-the-way waterways, and doing a bit of woodworking in my small shop. I also make a few knives as a hobby, and have started doing some simple blade forging. I'm a member of the Cape Breton Blacksmith Assoc. where I intend on taking a few courses in the near future. There's a wealth of information on the forum and I'm eager to learn. Good day everyone! PM
×
×
  • Create New...