liamh

I think i will start with flat stock and try that round rod jig! Thanks for the help

Are you doing it freehand or with a jig?

I hollow grind bars that are flat and have parellel sides. i leave enough of an edge ,,about a dimes thickness to help wredouce warpage in heat treat. I have forged one straight razor. I ground the hollows after heat treat.
If youi wish to see how I hollow grind i did a bp,,0235 and it is in the blade making lesson on here....Not likely to retype all of in this wee box.

Hi everybody. Ive only flat ground my blades so far, but i want to start hollow grinding some straight razors. During my forging process i forge all bevels in and clean them with a flatter before i start rough grinding. My question is, do i need to forge in an edge bevel for hollow grinding or do i need to just forge he knife shape without bevels?

Thank you for the responses, ill look for some large half round or full round files.

Iv'e been commissioned to make a large knife with a larger than normal gut hook. I'm trying to figure out the best way to create this gut hook. Iv'e looked around and everyone is using a chainsaw file to create one, but it is too small. Any ideas?

Thanks for the kind responses!

Hi, can anyone describe the process of making a feather pattern damascus billet?

A blade is being used in battle; it breaks. Thinking back the blade remembers being forged. So young, untouched and malleable, it is shaped into the blade which will be broken in its later life.

The blade has just started its journey to become a mighty sword. It is not a sword yet, but an uninfluenced piece of raw forged steel.

The creator, gives this piece of steel life by shaping it, and hardening the steel. The blade reminisces back to the feeling of being quenched and given meaning. The crackling, flaming action and cooling feeling soothes it’s mind.

Not yet is the steel a sword, but so close to it. The steel is so close to being whole. The creator tempers the steel, removing stubbornness and giving it meaning, finally! It graduates this part of its life.

Now it obtains a handle, further dignifying it. It remembers being so sharp and keen, very keen. The sword was the sharpest of them all; because it was so patient and willing.

After many years of battle and triumph the sword still lives on, destroying any endeavor in it’s path. Yes, the sword remembers being sharp. Over many years the sword notices that it is getting rusty, the handle in a mild form of deterioration, and the edge is dulling....

The blade is starting to loose it’s keen ability, and it’s strong temper, and it knows it.... only to fight on and never give up.

A loud clashing noise occurs! The sword encounters a foe, a much younger, keen foe. Its blade sharp and shines with a blinding light! The handle of dark ebony and copper. The old sword has shattered, finally. It accepts defeat, to it’s own surprise. It realizes it is time; it does not fight it. It was to be.

-Liam Hoffman
 

should be independent of the softness of the wrought, its a watered down form of electroplating i believe.  if you sand the surface it should remove the copper coloration.

 

edit:

thanks frosty, my chem is backwards then, thinking more along the lines of what happens when you pick up silver items from the pickle pot with steel tweezers instead of the copper tongs :)

I always sand blades with 1200 grit after etching, apparently it was not abrasive enough to remove the plating (luckily).

Thanks for these fast intelligent responses.

I use FeCl.. and come to think of it i DO etch copper mokume gane rings in it! Do you really think that's what it could be from? I assume it only appears in the wrought iron because it is softer, thus allowing it to be deposited. Interesting theory.

Hello all,

I forged a wrought iron/1090 damascus blade a couple days ago, and etched it.

When I pulled it out of the acid there were pink or copper colored spots all over it. It looks like someone mixed mokume with damascus. Anyways, the wrought iron I used is on the lower end of the quality scale. My BEST guess after thinking about it for a bit, is that there are copper impurities in this wrought iron. So the next day I forge a hatchet out of the same stuff, and there is a copper color in it as well. BTW the wrought iron came from an old wagon wheel, and I was using a coal forge. Anyone out there with much experience in wrought iron? IS this color from copper mixed in the wrought?  I'm not complaining, it looks beautiful whatever it is.

Look at pictures of this blade.

This knife was a pretty fun experience, being it was my first jawbone handle and the 15 degree weather.

This is my anvil, I am a complete nuebee, can anyone tell me more about this "made in Sweden" 126 pounder? I am guessing the wording says " superior" am I close??? any info would be greatly appreciated.... Thanks Brian...
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Your anvil is a SISCO Superior made in sweden.. At the time the steel it was cast from was the worlds best. If you go on google docs there's a tarrif document between a lawyer and a couple ohio and new york anvil makers, they all quote that SISCO Superior was better quality than theirs.

Maybe I should not add this as you were not looking for this, but imporoving forging skills should be a top priority this will not cost near as much as the grinder. Things to think about are brush that scale off rather than forging it into the steel, also keep it from building up on the anvil and getting pounded into the blade from there. Use a flatter as needed and it should help reduce those hammer marks. Make sure your hammer faces are properly dressed. After you get the grinder of your dreams the forging skills will save you $$$$$$$$$ in belts and time.

Yes! I thought i was the only one to use a flatter on knives consistantly :P

It can be hollow in three minutes...

What do you mean?

The bone up untill the teeth is extremely thin, I thought about doing the natural guard but I don't see fitting that large of a knife and tang into 1/16th thick bone. I really think it has to be cut off for this large of a blade.

Hi all, I'm about to start fitting together a knife with a 40 year old coyote jaw as a handle with a nickel silver guard. The teeth are glued in. What i had in mind was cutting off the thin wide part up to the back molars. Making the blade tang shorter and overall smaller to fit into the jaw... Is the jaw hollow inside? Does anyone with experience with this type of handle have any suggestions? I definitely don't want to mess this one up :P Here are pictures of what i'm working with.

Yep Rob, Scott. Good guy, lots of connections.

I don't know Scott but it sounds like I want to know him! haha

So many hammers in the shop for so many things :o overall favorite is the japanese cutlers hammer for all my blades, think it's 4lb.

Thank you.

Just forged a kitchen knife with a 10 inch blade. I was looking at pictures of kitchen knives and I either don't see a grind line or I see a small rounded grind line near the handle. I'm just wondering how these knives were ground so they are not left with a noticeable plunge.

copyrighted photos removed.

Alright thanks guys !

Hello everyone, I accidentally left a 52100 bowie knife in the oven tempering at 450F overnight... I'm curious as to what it has done to the steel. Should I re-harden it? Has anyone accidentally done this too?