jmccustomknives

I have personally noticed the price of some materials has went up. But because of those shows so has the price I've been getting. So in that it's all good. Rockstar is right about the economy, if it wasn't for government jobs we'd starve. And that's a bad thing. Anyway, back to the topic. It isn't going to take long to weed out those guys brought in by the shows. A little sweat and a few burns and they'll go back to the video games. Those that have the staying power, that's a good thing.

I'm no expert, there are others who know more. It's a Wilkinson. The numbers are in stone weight. 1 = 112lbs + 2 (1/4 stone) = 56 and 10 = 10lbs. So it's around 178lbs. Nice find. Don't get to aggressive with the cleanup, you could do more damage than good.

Some of those steels in the RR industry are a manganese steel that will work harden. Try taking a flat faced hammer and start lightly peening the area of the hammer mark, as it works down increase the force. The rebound should increase.

In my opinion the layer count seems to look best in the 80-200 range. Like you I hand forge my billets and don't want to over work myself. There are several things that can enhance the pattern. Two such things are blade style and handle material/style. A small thin blade doesn't typically look good with a low layer count, while a large chefs knife can. Look around a blades you like and try to copy those styles.

When it comes to Propane, butane, Ametalyne and MAPP, they are all so similar that they interchange. MAPP is just propane that has some additives to get a few more btu's. Gasses like propylene and acetylene however are different and may require different orifices/pressures to get a proper air/fuel ratio. Butane has a higher boiling point than propane so it's more prone to pressure drop if it's drawn too fast. It's always wise to stay within the manufactures guidelines until you have sufficient knowledge as to not hurt yourself.

Ok, time to throw some water on this. You can price it however you want, the market will dictate what they will pay. For the newb don't expect to get what an experienced maker gets. Just as the experienced maker doesn't get what a Master Smith gets. A knife is a duel purpose item, it is a tool and it is art. As a tool, people who use them generally has a finite dollar they are willing to spend. As an art piece the price really hinges on the artist name and the overall quality of the piece. So, as a newb, if you break even and are able to pay for your supplies your doing pretty good. I recently saw on one website someone had posted a rather rough (even by my standards) Damascus knife for $750.00. While I admire his "shooting for the moon" there are much higher quality items by known makers going fore less. In other words, if he sells it at that price he needs to take the proceeds and buy lottery tickets.

Yes, copper will alloy with steel in an arc welding environment. It is common practice in the automotive industry to weld the car together with silicon bronze mig wire.

I generally pass on anything less than 9/16" in total diameter for knifemaking. When the individual wires weld up a decarborized zone forms. It comes out to .010 of the total diameter of the wires decarborize. That means that if you have wires that are .25 almost half the carbon is lost during the welding process. Given that cable will be from .65-.90 depending on grade you could end up with something that barely hardens to something that won't hold and edge at best. I however do use cable like that for more artistic endeavors.

Parks 50 is the standard.

Learning how to forge a blade before learning the grinding and heat treat is like writing a song before learning to play an instrument. It looks like your welds went weld, but until you clean it up you'll never know. I've got a couple of spools of cable like that (extra IPS), it makes decent enough knives. Now for the grinding and h/t, which will make the knife.

Hobart is owned by the same parent company as Miller now. All a Hobart is now is a stripped down Miller, the migs even use the same consumables. They do this to compete with Lincoln in the big box market as the Lincolns sold in those stores are made cheaper and in Mexico.

I'd think it was a tad small. 3/16" is the thickest it can handle with flux cored wire. While you can make multiple passes it just doesn't have the amps to really dig in. I'd think you'd want to stick weld it just because you'll need a 200amp + mig to do the job. There are also things like duty cycle which is how long the machine can weld in a 10 min period (30% @ 90amps = 3 min out of 10).

Have you done this test then? Some are made from 4140 then case hardened. This steel will harden but will not snap clean or easily like high carbon steels. As a rule I don't mess with rasps too often. I've been burnt (figuratively) by name brands that were case hardened 4140.

Heat the tang of the rasp like you would the whole thing and quench it in water (just the tang). From there, do not temper but put it in a vice with the hardened tang sticking out. Give it a tap with a hammer. If it doesn't break but bends you've got a case hardened steel. If it bends but is very tough then it's likely 4140 or something similar. Either of those outcomes put those rasp in the art department and not for knives. Oh, wear your safety gear. Don't want to loose an eye to flying metal. While I shy away from rasp I did have a good experience with a Heller.

1st rule having to do with working with files, and I have made a bunch, I never forge on a file with teeth intact. Rarely do I ever find it necessary to forge a file to shape anyway. Every one of those knives pictured could have been done by stock removal. That would have saved a lot of time, energy and effort.

You've came a long way. I bet you feel the same way. Those look like good users. Do that with them and be your own best critique.

Well, to be sure in knifemaking learn stock removal first. Why? Even if you forge your blade your going to have to grind it. Better to learn to get that part right (along with the heat treat) first. Forging a blade has many pitfalls that can cause endless frustration and drive a man away from the craft. Blacksmithing is a wonderful craft to learn, with it you will be able to take something and make it into something else. It isn't only in knifemaking, but building artwork and tooling in which the skills can help make you a better rounded smith.

I got some of those strait ones. They are instant knives. Minimal work and you'll have a good old fashoined pig sticker. The curved ones are a little more of a challenge, but workable.

You'll want to get a Fisher anvil then. For years my neighbors thought I was doing cabinetry, and that was me swinging a sledge. Start small and as your skill increases so will your tooling. Go ahead and look up those local guys, seeing a proper shop in action speeds up that learning curve.

Recently I attended Batsons Blade Symposium and was surprised to find several people wonder in who saw an ad and wondered in just to see what was going on. They said they watched those shows and became curious and wanted to see or try it in person.

There's a way to test them. I'll heat the tang with a torch and quench in water then clamp it in a vice and give it a tap with a hammer. If it bends over it goes in the scrap pile. If it snaps clean it goes in the maybe pile. Since manufactures used a variety of steels the performance cf the steels will also vary. I've never found a bad old Nicholson or Black Diamond mill file. Rasp on the other hand are a crap shoot. I've found "reputable" brands that were case hardened so be wary and test all of them.

I love those Fishers. The anvil of choice if you work in a neighborhood. Great find!

ooh, Mokume grips would be cool.

True, it took 4 1/2 years to find my first. Since then I've purchased 3 more.

I can say that because of those programs I have received several orders. I'm sure I'm not the only one that's happened to. They have given people an appreciation for the art that have never thought about it before. And that's exactly what they told me.