Chuck Richards

Here are a couple examples of a ladder pattern.

First one has been laddered then parkerized to bring out the contrast.



Second one has a more polished blade and with the play of light shows a nice chatoyance.

I purchased some "15N20" bandsaw material from a saw maker who purchased it from Uddeholm. I was assured it was 15N20. When I made the billet though, NO PATTERN. It is good to hear that Uddeholm admits their smaller blades are actually simple carbon steel (these were .062x6). Just goes to show that even when you buy known steel it might not be what you expect.


Great first attempt, would be great for your 20th. Very nice contrast and it looks very solid. Nice Job :D

Mine had been repaired once before. Actually both arms are welded and they used nickel rod. It held up for 12 years. I just welded it up with a mig so I'll see how it holds up. Looking at the arms they do not seem too complicated. I have the ability to do both the forging and machining so I hope I can make them up. I did find a company that says they specialize in parts for the Beaudry and other hammers but I have not spoken to them yet. Here is their link http://united.forginghammers.com/

Hand made knives take a lot of time and patience. Hand filing will take many many hours of hard tedious work. If you can file a blade in 6 hours you are doing pretty good. As mentioned before it takes a lot of practice. I had a great teacher who told me once that he did not make knives any faster. He found that when he was able to get faster at a particular step of the process he just spent more time perfecting other aspects. He is one of the most talented makers I know and am proud to call him a friend. By the way his name just happens to be Tai Goo.

Keep at it. There has been some great advice given. Find what works for you and perfect your process.

OK lets give this a go. Stainless cable is normally 300 series and does not make a good knife. Cannot be hardened and does not weld good in an open environment. It can be welded in an inert atmosphere. A sealed canister is a great method. It is the way I do almost all my damascus. Cable can be problematic. It has lots of voids and crap in the strands that cause inclusions. What I have found to work best is cable in a can. I pack as much cable into a box with one end sealed off. Once I have all the cable I can pack in the can I fill the voids with HC Nickel bearing powder. I make sure it is vibrated down and filled in as much as possible. I then weld a cap on the open end. Then forge weld this as you would any other billet. Work it down and pattern it as you see fit. Comes out pretty nice and it can be manipulated differently than regular cable. Make sure you cable is HC steel. Much of it is just mild steel and will not harden. Do a practice HT on a small piece you forge welded. Also make sure you get as much carp out of it as possible. I burn out my cable then take it apart, at least the major strands. I then either wire brush the remaining burned grease off or sandblast it off. Then reassemble and make up the billet. Also try to avoid the cable with rope centers or remove the rope. I have also seen cable with plastic sheathing in the middle. Avoid this also it will cause you nothing but grief. PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM GALVANIZED CABLE. It is TOXIC when burned. Good luck and whatever you do have fun.

I have a power hammer, well until I broke it today. I also have a press. There are advantages to both and will not give up either. When I began my mentor made me forge all my damascus by hand. He loved watching me beat myself up. Every once in a while he would have pity on me and draw out a billet on his 250# Murray. I finally got a 100# Beaudry and used it a little before I got a 50ton press. I can move material really fast with the press and smooth things out with the hammer. Noe I just need to get the hammer fixed. Luckily I know someone who can forge. :rolleyes:

I broke my power hammer today. It is a 100# Beaudry and I broke one of the spring arms. It cracked at a previously repaired spot. It really sucks I am right in the middle of a big project. I re-welded it and stress relieved it. I hope it holds long enough to finish the project. I do have the press. I like to do some of the finish work on the hammer though. It can get things really smooth and it also helps to seal up any surface imperfections.

Anybody have a spare set of spring arms laying around?? I really doubt I could find some. I did find a company that specializes in Beaudry's but I probably won't hear from them until the AM and they probably want an arm and a leg for them. I also found someone at a blacksmith site that forged a set. I guess I will look at making my own. Oh well I just had to vent a little. Thanks for listening.

No he is not a chef. He had me make one for his fathers birthday and liked it so much he almost kept it. So my daughter asked if I would make him one. This one turned out much better than his dads. I think he might get the hint, but if not I can always use it for another purpose ;)

Here is a new chef's knife I just finished up. Blade is 11.75" W-2 tool steel with a nice hamon. The collar is 416 stainless, handle is double dyed and stabilized box elder burl with a stainless and copper mosaic pin to set it all off. OAL is 17" This knife is surprisingly light in the hand. The blade thickness is .155 at the ricasso. This will make my daughters boyfriend really nice Christmas present.






Thanks for looking

Dustin,

I would highly recommend getting involved with the American Bladesmith Society. There are many smiths in the northwest that would probably allow you to come over to the shop and pick their brain for a while. I would offer if you are ever in the Salem Or area. There is a Master Smith in Walla Walla which is closer to you I believe. I also second getting as many books on the subject as you can afford. You can occasionally find one at the bookstore but most will have to be purchased on-line. The $50 knifeshop is a great beginner book. Good luck and keep asking questions.

Do not pre drill for a 1/4 inch hole. If you are using a nice sharp drill bit it will go thru like budda. Do not use coolants as the liquids will be absorbed and cause problems later. If you have sharp tools and work slowly it should go just fine.

Though i normally do not get involved in the political arena, this bullet/gun ban/restriction is one that I will get into. I encourage all to do the same.

Yes I use peanut oil. The highest smoke point food oil is called camellia or Tea Seed Oil. it has a smoke point of 486f, refined safflower is next at 450f then refined soybean at 448f refined peanut falls in at 444f. The cost of the camellia puts it out of reach for most $60/gallon.

Well that is probably why it has been there for a while. They can be a bit high on some of their materials (antiques) but it is still cheaper than new. I found a really nice one there for $150. Did you find the box of 52100??

You can always go with the NWBA, Here is one in Portland, POST VISE

I use a home built blown forge with a single 2" burner. I can get 18 + hours (welding) out of a 100#/20gal tank. If I am just forging or heat treating then I can get much longer. I like the 100# tank since it does not freeze up like the smaller ones can.

Woody,
The thing is that they are Federal Property! No scrap yards in my area will buy ANY railroad steel, period. I do however aligin my feelings with yours...get some good steel...much better in all ways.
Woodreaux

I don't think they are federal property but it is a felony to tamper with ANY railroad. All the Railroads are privately owned and will sell their metals for scrap, at least out here on the west coast. I purchased a whole keg of spike from the local scrap yard last year. Also if you really want to be "legal" you can buy them from Mcmaster Carr McMaster-Carr

Check Out Cherry City Metals in Salem Or.They have a post vise there at their usable steel section. Needs a little TLC but it is very servicable. They also have a large selection of heavy stock that can be made into a post anvil or the like.

If the question is was it common during the civil war, the answer is no. There may have been a few here and there but they were very uncommon and were imported from India or Germany.

I have a 250lb fisher, marked with name and date a weight indicator though part has been removed. No hold down holes. It does not need them. You will need to block it to keep it from moving on the stand.

Determining the actual carbon content of a given scrap steel is difficult in a home shop setting. The spark test will give you a rough idea, and test quenching can tell you if it has enough carbon to harden. The alloying elements will decide the contrast in a pattern welded blade. A high mn or moly content will etch darker. A nickle or chromium content will etch brighter. 2 materials of a similar content will have little to no contrast. Low contrast pattern welding can have a beauty of it's own and is used in Japanese swords. The best way to figure out if you will have an acceptable pattern is find enough of given materials to make several billets. This way if it works out it can be repeated. If it does not, try another mix. Make sure you will have an acceptable hardness after quench. This imho is the most important. If it will not harden then it will not make a good knife. It may make nice fixtures but not blades.

My press moves about 1.5"/second. I find id moves plenty fast enough. Some have presses that move 2-3"/sec and control can be a problem. The pump and cylinder configuration will determine the pressure of the press. I would lean more towards a 6" cyl rather than the 4 but then I have a blacksmith mentality (bigger is better). Mine is an 8" and my press pushes 50tons. I can squeeze a hot piece of 2" round in half if I am not careful. I personally feel 20 tons is minimum for a forging press though I have heard of 15 ton units. I just depends on what you are doing and the size of stock you want to work. Check out Don Foggs website, he has a page about hydraulic presses. Hydraulic Press . The book by Jim Batson available on his site is great. Good luck

The only thing I was told when setting up my Oxy Propane outfit was you can not weld with it. Not enough carbon in the flame. I have no need to gas weld so not a problem. It is so much cheaper to operate I will make up the difference in set up costs quickly.

Try Fastenall. I believe they have some of the tool steels O-1 D-2 etc. For simple carbon steels 1050-1095 you could try Kelly Couples or Aldo Bruno. You can PM me and I will give you their Phone Numbers. Local Steel suppliers normally do not carry any knife steels. I looked for years and finally gave up and just order it.

Let me know how it turns out...

A friend of mine just sent this link to me. Blacksmith Anvil Might be of interest in the Salem Or area..