Steve Sells

the proper way is to say you will pay him 2x what the other guy offered

drops @ Henry off Anthony. and his cousin's place, Hoosier metals on Colosseum for steel scrap at 20 cents (they also have copper).

drops I get for 30 cents a pound. These are left overs from the companies that bought full 20-22 ft lengths, and resell the left over sections, so I get 4 to 9 ft bars, mostly new steel. 2.50 to 3 pound for new of same. tool steels are double that. this of course is a guide for comparison only. this place even has bridge guard rails and trusses from old RR bridges

as MarcB said, we Electricians bend pipe a lot. 1/2 up to 6 inch diameter, and collapsed pipe wont allow wire to pass. We can do the small radius's up to smooth curve of pipes matching the stair railing going up a gas storage tank to its top. Hire an Industrial Electrical Company to make your bend. If they have a 555 or 855 power bender it will be great for your desired look, and fast enough to not cost an arm and a leg.

MIld is fine, use what ya have lets see them tongs when ya finish

YOU sir need to show us photos of your swords. and start telling people how you make them, rather than whining about us who do actually teach. I feel this insult of yours has gone far enough. No one here has made any such statement, only in your mind. We would not have this section here if people were not sharing how to make them. If someones ego thinks they have to be able to jump in and make anything with out the needed skills learned first, that's your problem. I feel you are clueless about swords making, I challenge you to prove otherwise.

HUH ?

Mlmartin15 seems to be missing the point, the actions and risks of making swords are no different than making most anything else. Its when people try to USE that object as a sword that the cuts and deaths occur. That is what we are trying to warn about.

I should add I wipe off the black goo every 15 minutes or so as well. Also I do warm the soda water I use to neutralize. and defiantly OIL it soon as the rinse is finished. very clean metals rust fast. MSDS is mandatory is you have any type of business, and I am use to working with these chemicals from my day job. Always add acid to water. Never the reverse.

how does tempering leave lines?

I use ferric Chloride at @ 1.5%, Hydrochloric @ 5%, Sulfuric @ 5% I have not measured Ph. I read labels to find the concentration, and add to water accordingly. in English: Radio Shack PCB etchant 1:3 water. Hydrochloric I get at 30% from pool supply (muratic) , and Sulfuric from auto zone, I add to water bringing down to 5% mainly for topographical then a finish etch in Ferric chloride for color. Vinegar I use alone, for high layer blades (over 400 layers) white vinegar to 1 or 1.5 part water. I have no Nitric. Warming speeds up etching, and many seem to be in a hurry and prefer this. I like slow etches, as they appear more even to me. My Swords I use Vinegar 6 to 10 hours, very slow to etch but detail is great.

I like the pattern. I want to see more.

This is so wrong on many issues. I wont even bother except to say I hope your Insurance agent and Lawyers are good.

Maybe you guys have forgotten: this IS the same guy that talks about making pistols from RR spikes? he is jerking you around, again.

Ken, what other steels do you prefer? While I like using new Crucible L-6 for thin cross section blades, I normally use 5160H from security steel for most of my mono steel swords, as its basically 1060 with just enough chrome to aid in consistency in hardening, and holds an edge very well.

Did you find the information given in this forum lacking? Your questions have been answered many times in this sword section of IFI if you took the time to read them, I am sorry if you don't like the answers you found.

IF this is for use, you are facing a hard time getting your work and blades certified. I know many people hate me when I mention it, but swords are weapons and there are liability issues, not just for the maker but the users and bystanders as well. Most legitimate places are very serious about this.

while I am sure there are people that will disagree, I have found that tac welding around the edges wont allow the layers to shift as they start to weld, so it bubbles up rather than shifting and allowing the layers to stay parallel. tack ONE end only and start welding there, and move along as it welds. Just my 2 cents worth

Hello, and welcome to the Nut house :D

a larger quench tank is nice as for grinding I love my Bader B-3 2x72 its plenty for me.

The grains of steel grow larger and they stay large unless we do something to change them. Such as impact from hammering and thermal cycling. Just cooling from high heat wont reduce them alot. The normalizing helps reduce stress and evens out the transitions from a failed attempt at hardening, I dont understand everything about heat treating, just basics for hardening,tempering and grain size control

Knee mail sent

One thing that bothers me, besides the point about your choice of a Katana as a first blade, is your choice to start with a steel you appear to know little or nothing about? Please be careful, Read more before you try this. Also if you take some time to look, there is a lot about 5160 swords in this section of the forum.

When steel over heats it allows grain growth. This growth into larger grain size is exponential, so a little over heating goes a long way. The larger grain in those areas cause your steel to become weaker. The best solution is to learn how to heat evenly. Until then: if you over heat, you should normalize the entire unit again, once or twice to cycle it, reducing grain size, and re start until you get it right.

Never, ever, scratch your itchy nose with the tongs, with out setting down the hot steel you were holding first.