Momatt

Neat, I like it

Finished knife

Daniel, How is carbon migrating into the melted wrought? I've watched Ric Furrier's videos about making canister steel, and I thought you needed that closed sealed environment with a set amount of carbon added to make the iron into steel. Thank you for sharing, fascinating stuff.

Frosty, I didn't know coat hangers were not mild. I wonder what number welding rod would not etch and act like 15n20 does in the common knife billet. Shop Dog share your results if you try it. I really enjoy the "take what you have make what you want" aspect of our hobby.

Robakyo- The furnace cement I used came from home depot in a caulk tube and only costs 2 bucks. I squirted the tube into a mason jar, should do many many blades. I didn't let it dry for more than an hour before I stuck it in the forge. I think that maybe the reason the furnance cement stuck well is because of the anti scale compound I put on first. I bought it from Brownells its called ATS something or other. The water quench you used may have been harder on the clay than the oil I used. Were you using a water quench steel like W-1 or W-2?

Usually pattern welds are used for a knives, I don't think coat hangers would harden, but it might be fun to twist up a rope good with a pipe wrench and a viseand weld them up see what the billet looks like.

Nice knives. I think it's neat they are pretty popular with servicemen.

This is my first hamon. 1095 steel. After forging and grinding with 60 grit I normalized then dipped in anti scale and applied furnace cement. Brought it to critical and quenched in hot veggie oil. Tempered in oven at 400 for an hour. Cement stayed on good, actually kind of hard to get off. I hit it with a 120, 220, and 320. Couldn't wait stuck it in hot vinegar. I'm pleased, should be a cool blade.

Gearhartiron's beautiful feather pattern chefs knifes he posted recently got me interested in how you make the feather pattern. I found a tutorial and after Seeing how you cut up the billet and cut it again to pull the feather then weld it all back up it has me wondering if it's as strong as a solid billet. I'm guessing if the welds are good it is a the same as a thicker billet. I think of a knife as a cutter not a crow bar so practically it makes no difference, just curious about performance under extreme tests like the abs smith tests.

Thanks for the responses and expressions of concern. My hands always look like this, not really swollen, just have a bunch of weird meat under the skin. I have always had "ham hands" but no doubt that they have gotten ticker since I started this a few years ago and I was curious if you all had experienced anything similar. Sounds like I am an anomaly. I think I will ask my Dr. about it.

I think there are way more belt choices available in 2X72 and the cost per sq inch of abrasive is a little less at least at the places I buy belts from.. There is 71 percent more abrasive on a 2X72 vs a 2X42 so the belts last longer and run a little cooler. The width of the machine will stay the same, and you save only a little length. I have a KMG with the variable speed I just love and can't imagine downgrading. I have experience only with 1x30 and 2X72.

Thanks for sharing this, I really admire those who start with raw materials and create. Someday I would love to try to create iron/steel from ore in a charcoal furnace.

Wow those are beautiful, something to strive for

thanks for the comments and the explanation on the different pattern. That makes a lot of sense as I was whaling on that to draw it out. I was using the outside edge of the anvil to draw it out, but I bet when I hammer out out all the fuller marks it did that.

Frosty, I never thought about my grip other than to never place my thumb on top of the handle. I think I do squeeze the handle hard, I see what you mean about a whipping action in a looser grip. I'll have to experiment. My tongs rarely fit well even though I have made many pairs, as I mostly forge recycled junk, so I am always bearing down hard on the tong hand it seems like to hold some odd shape. My left hand is the same size though not as strong. My sister is a physical therapist. In the US that is a person with a PhD in a medical study that focuses on recovery after an injury, surgery etc. She noticed my hands had gotten awful thick and brought a device to a family gathering that read out how much force you could squeeze. I bottomed it out, she said she had never seen that or anything even close, but I am not sure that means anything, since most people squeezing that contraption in her practice are probably hurt. John, I agree with you about men who work for a living, and you must be one, just noticed you holding up an anvil by the horn in your avatar! I remember as a boy watching a skinny tall farmer I worked for throw a heavy bale that had fallen off the hay rack into the upper hay mow of a very big barn from the ground rather than turn the lativator back on. That bale must have went 25 feet in the air, I immediately made a mental note to stay on Tony's good side. One of my fathers friends drove spikes for the railroad. Pop says he would sometimes take a 12 pound sledge in one hand and touch the tip of it to his nose. That trick is kind of like doing a flip, seems some danger in trying it out to see if you can. Speaking of Peter Ross, you ever see him nearly choke Roy Underhill in those old woodwright shows? Roy would get in his way, touch everything sharp or hot and yap away wasting at least half the heat before he got out of the way every time Peter tried to demonstrate. You could tell he was getting mad it was comical.

Hi theo, I like copper so I will forge out a copper guard for sure, I like to hot fit guards as I find the filing tedious. Probably some burled wood. I have a nice shed antler, maybe incorporate some leather washers.

I was wondering if you guys experienced this as well, My hands have changed dramatically in the last few years to the point my family is making fun of my "cartoon hands." I'm a hobby guy only, forge a few hours a week through most of the year. My thumb meat looks like a drumstick and they have gotten so thick I can barely reach the bottom of my pockets. I use a standard 2 or 3 pound hammer, nothing unusual. The guys who did this for a living must have been men to be reckoned with. My grip strength has improved dramatically.

Hi guys, i gave been absent for a while first knife in maybe a year. Today I took a one inch wide bandsaw blade from a woodmizer sawmill and quenched a test piece. I put it in hot vinegar and it turned black. Since I knew the saw was not high nickel since it etched black i layered it in with 0.065 15n20 from New Jersey steel baron. My billet was about 4 inches by 1 one by 1. I wrapped a wire around the middle and forge welded the end up good so I could take the wire off. I welded it all up seemed to stick good. I drew it out and folded it once, so it's probably 30 layer or so. My forearm was swelled up and I figured that was enough. The billet was just right size for one knife and manageable for hand forging. I think it will make a nice hunting knife. After a few minutes in hot vinegar, one side has parallel lines the other has circles which was unexpected.

I came across this video on youtube and wanted to share. I was unaware you could buy a set of files with varying hardness to test the hardness of steel. The guy took mild steel bar and put it in a foil pouch with sugar and bakes at 1700 for 4 hours, then quenched in water getting a harness of 55R approximately. Quenching in oil did not harden. Sticking a hot blank in sugar also did not harden. If you have a kiln I could see this as useful for marginal stuff like rail road spike knifes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XvkmmoXriNI

My favorite chefs knife is 5160, one of the first I made. It was 1/4 inch stock and I ground it all the way to the top of the blade. It's a slicing beast, holds an edge well and is easy to sharpen with a diamond steel. It's patina is a lovely gray now.

I copied this owl design from a youtube video.

I like it, encourage you to post a picture in use. Kind of a fun irony, smithed piece for high tech.

I find if I surprise her with a trinket now and again she is more tolerant of the Ping Ping ping and me coming in smelling like a goat.

I am tired of hand weeding so I forged a tiny hoe from a rail spike that will fit through the concrete mesh tomato cages. It has made that little task fun so my assistants will do it.

This is just a rr spike repurposed into a little spade. All forged no grinding. I forged the head down for extra length, upset the point before spreading the blade. It's a sturdy little bugger.