DanielC

From my experience, with the eye offset as it is, the hammer acts like a pendulum. From left to right the hammer seems to stay straight, and the only thing to really focus on is the forward and backward pitch of the blows.

Oops sorry guys. Yea the saya would be the scabard for japanese blades. My apologies. So much reading on the subject that the terminology is used too often without thought to explain. Thanks for the compliments!

Almost finished with this. I havent done any forging for over 2 months due to some tendonitis and bursitis in my shoulder due to work related injury. So this is the first thing I have forged since. Wanted to do something that would assist me in my progress with the japanese blade. In this case easier chiseling for saya. This is my first wood chisel I have made, along with the Mokume Gane is the first I have ever attempted and made. The steel is 5/8" round W1, and it was water quenched in 120F water and switched to warm oil after 4 seconds in the water. This was normalized 3 times prior to quench, and it was tempered at 250F for 2 hours. There is a very slow taper in thickness and width to make it rather stout. Blade is a little over 6" long and 1/2" wide at the tip. Tip to tang is a hair over 11". The hamon was created by the effects of the water only, no clay was applied. The Mokume is Copper/Nickel, and it was a lot of fun to make. I may make habaki in the future doing the same. The handle is probably going to be made from Walnut. Will post more as I progress.

Ah ok, I misunderstood what you were saying. I knew the answer more or less, I was just unsure if you really meant that or not, since I know that YOU of all people know, lol.

Why wouldnt you differentially harden 1075, 1095 or the W series?

http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=3 As a new owner of one, I would suggest this. Its cheaper than a Bader, and does what a Bader will do. Even their cheapest model is still built the same as their most expensive model. Difference is the size of motor, and speed controls. After owning one for a month, I tried my old 4x36. The 4x36 felt like a flimsy kids toy now.

Used my new KMG to grind my 18" wakizashi thinner and work that shinogi prior to yaki-ire. Both sides the shinogi is looking crisper and crisper. Getting the hang of my new sander.

Started using it this evening. Went non-stop for 5 or more hours. I remember when grinding used to suck in comparison to everything else in knife making. Not anymore! Not to mention slack belt grinding is rather useful. Decided to try to push it and pressed against a cheap 120 grit AO belt with a 1/4" lead spring. Never bogged down, and hogged a lot of metal. Haven't tried the blaze belts yet, lol. Was getting acquainted with the sander and finishing up a few knives.

Thanks guys. Got the trench dug to shop and having it wired up this afternoon. Upped the gauge to 8 gauge so i have electrical to handle the press i will be building later on (a 5hp motor). Looking forward to grinding for once. Ive already been surfing TruGrit and bookmarking several belts. Btw, i bought belt grease recently on K&G. Is it appropriate for most or all belts, or only recommended on cheap AO belts. Also snagged 2 belt erasers.

Bought this from a nice fellow here on IFI very recently. It is the 3hp variable speed drive KMG belt sander. Has most of all the bells and whistles. Tool rack, bottom mounting plate, 10" wheel, one of the smaller diameter wheels (3/4"), flat platen, tool rest, and 55 assorted belts, from Norton Blazes, to 3M Trizacts and Cubitrons. Been a long time coming, but I think this will allow me to finally get a load of incompletes done. Just got bogged down by wanting to forge one blade after the next, and getting slowed down by slow stock removal (4x36 econo sander and files). Apparently this motor is beefy enough to handle large items like hammers and such as well. Having my family electrician stop by tomorrow to get a look on getting it wired up. Even with a light dusting of rust, she sure is a beaut. I'm surprised this thing sat for sale in the tailgate section for as long as it did. It's their top end package cheaper than their base model 1.5hp single speed package. Barely a year old even. Oh well, it will enjoy my company for years to come.

King makes a good economy water stone. I have one of their 1000/4000 stones for 30-40$. Cant remember exact price. The stones are pretty wide and long.

I would suggest the typical 3 rounds of normalizing prior to hardening.

The guys at Thak told me it was Canada only.

Buy the video on Lee Sauders website. Its like $20 and coverea everything about furnace design, composition and so on and so forth. Its really learned learned through some guidance and trial and error. Otherwise attend someone elses smelt and take some of the trial and error out. Which means saving charcoal.

Another smelt under the belt. This time with EricS and of course Mark Green. Really fortunate to learn from one of the masters for sure.

Doing another smelt with Mark this Saturday, so more pics and possible video to come.

Well here is a question. I have read varying opinions on how high to take the sanding for pattern weld. I have read about some people stopping at 220 and etching and others 1500 and etching. What do you prefer?

Yea i figured as much. Was just overly happy with my results. Ground to 600 grit, sharpened and etched in FC.

Thanks for the replies. A little surprised about the lack of attention it garnered though. Oh well.

I would deff. take Ric up on this offer. Awesome turn of events.

Today I hardened my blade shaped object, and it survived, so it is now a blade. This is my first pweld blade and one I have been working on for a few days. I decided to stop at 104 layers because I was short as it was on material left, as I am doing this by hand. I got a pound scale in today, but too late to weigh the original billet. Either way, this is a 104 layer random pattern comprised of 15N20, 1045, 1075 and 1095. This is also the same billet that I made a video of last weekend and posted here on IFI. There are no inclusions so far in the grind, and only one tiny spot of delam that is seen in photo 2. It seems to be grinding out though so hopefully wont have to worry about it. These pics are only at a 120 grit grind. I was simply too anxious to post. I hardened the blade in 130F veggie oil, and it worked on the first try. Was happy about that. Was hoping not to have to take it to water. Any way, I know there is a lot of random patterns out there. I now have the confidence to really venture out with the patterns now though, or pattern weld in general. I am just happy that I was finally get one going in my favor. Was a blast forging this out.

Thanks again. It's a workout but very rewarding. I seem to be picking up this forge welding pretty well lately. Was spoiled with bloom iron in some ways. It moves a lot easier than this stuff, but it's prone to cracks, and has to be worked at yellow heat at all times, so the forging window is a lot smaller. Not sure which one takes longer to fold at this point. HC steel or bloom. Love doing both either way. Confidence in my welds has shot through the roof. It should be evident given the fact that I went ahead and made a short film on the first real damascus billet i've ever worked. A few 5 and 6 layer billets I made in the past don't count in my book. I have also decided that my next billet is going to have some bloom in the mix. Either with foundry steels or go ahead and refine some in a hearth and make some steel, and mix the two. EDIT: And I would love to see that set-up!

Thanks. I had a handle welded on with the previous fold but it finally gave. Being the weekend and my welder at work i made due with impatience lol.

1) no that is a 1/8" piece of 1095 folded over once. 2)i used regular hydrated borax, no additives 3)i used my usual coal. I also made a video of yesterdays work. Watch in HD 1080p on youtube.