Chuck Richards

The problem with some hoof rasps is they can be case hardened.This means that to re-harden it would require some form of case hardening. Here is hoping you have a HC steel rasp. I would first try a quench from non-magnetic in warm oil, tranny fluid or even used crank case oil may work well. If it does not harden in the oil then use brine. If you have a piece of the rasp remaining then do some testing on it rather than risk the blade. Good luck

Actually on page 94 of The Craft of the Japanese sword does talk about the curvature and how to adjust it. It does not require mild steel to get the Sori (curve). Just the application of clay to the back and a quench in water. If you quench in oil the curve can occur in the opposite direction. I watched Dan Pfannenstiel do a wakasashi quench. It was straight when it went into the water and had a 1 inch sori when it came out. Really cool. I even saw a water quench somewere that filmed in the water. The sword curved toward the edged first then curved back and beyond to form the sori. Both of these were on mono steel blades.

I have finally graduated to working outta my garage. Used to forge in the back yard. I just had a well put in and the drilling rig had to have it's cable changed. Yup I aquired it. About 100' of 3/4". I just wish I could turn the cable into enough $$ to pay for the well, cha ching. Nice cable though, did a test forging and it HT'd really nice. Anti twist so the pattern should be interesting.

If you cut the cable to 6-12" pieces you can take it apart and remove the core. I too would avoid using this material though but I have a bunch of cable to play with. Try to fill the void with something, a piece of HC steel would be best. I would also tack weld up the ends with a stick or MIG welder. This prevents unraveling when you heat it for welding. Also make sure you burn out all the oil. Wayne Goddard describes his method in his books. Good Luck

Larry How fast are you going thru propane?? If you smash the end of your copper tubing and then drill with the #54 drill it will help a lot. If your blower is going full blast it is probably too much air. Make a gate for the input and damp it back. You r pressure may go up on your guage but pressure and flow are connected. Smaller hole higher pressure for same flow. My forge I had the air gate on the input almost completely closed and still had plenty of air for the fire. Also the forge should be really quiet. If it sounds like a jet engine it is not efficient. Let me know if I can be f firther assistance.

DJ A larger tank will help. I use 100lb tanks. They hold 20 gals of propane and eliminates freeze up. One tank will last for 3 days of forge welding. Thats about 6 hrs a day so 18 yours. That is a little over 1 gal/hour. my forge is 8" id and 18" long with 4" of cerachem wool and a layer of castable. Freezing is common if you are drawing gas too fast so the old slack tub trick works well also. Like you said just keep it from tipping. Wayne Goddard goes even further and puts a heater into his slack tub.

What is the opening on your gas line into your forge?? If you are looking for a little more control try making the opening smaller. I used to pinch the end of some 1/4 inch copper pipe and drill a hole in it to the size I want. I used to use a #54 drill. You may need to play with it to get optimum performance. I have since gone to a design based on Kevin Cashin's forge set up On his web site. It uses a needle valve to control the amount of gas allowed into the forge and a gate valve to control the air flow. Much better efficiency that the old forge and easy to control at lower temps.

Sorry about the link to Aldo. I forgot it was an email address rather than a web page. here is his email address, njsteelbaron@gmail.com. Drop him a line and see what he has.

Kelly Couples, Darren Ellis are both great choices, Aldo Bruno for 1084 and 1095. O1 pacific machinery and tool steel in Portland Or. I have a bit of O1 in forging sizes also. bad link removed.

Fine Silver can be had at any jewelery supply outfit. Rio Grande is the place I use. If you are looking for silver braze this is a different animal. It can be purchased form McMaster Carr or MSC.

William, If you have a small piece left over do a test hardening on it. Heat it to just above non-magnetic then quench in warm oil. See if it hardens. Put it in a vise and hit it with a hammer. If it breaks you got a good piece of steel if not and it bends then you probably have a non hardening material. It is good to try this before you put the time and energy into making a blade.

I purchase my engraver off ebay. I understand I should not post here for items for sale. If you search for flat engraver you should get a hit. It costs $399.95 with free shipping and comes with one diamond stylus and 2 fonts. The fonts alone cost as much as the whole package. This is a diamond drag unit and does not go extremely deep but even an untrained individual can get great results with a little practice. I also found a company who can make a master template of your name or logo. I had mt name done and the J.S.. Came out great and no more setting up individual letters. Mine cost $65 delivered. For me it was worth the cost since I did not like the electro chem process on damascus, and the stamps are so inconsistent even with an arbor press. I was having a jeweler do it but he wanted $35 per knife so the unit has already paid for itself. I recommend it wholeheartedly. Chuck

Very Nice Table leg set. Looks like you will have a nice workbench when finished. As usual great job.

Pacific Machinery and Tool steel had both H13 and S7 (also O1,A2,and D2) on ebay selling 25lb bundles for $25. I went up to Pacific and purchased 500lbs of O1 and 25lbs each of A2 and D2. All for $1/lb. Great deal if it is still available.

If you use them in any part of your knifemaking without repairing the defect you may be transferring the problem. I trash the defective portions. Not worth taking a chance on.

Yes the coin edge has been filed to look like the edge of a coin ie a dime or quarter. Just much more refined. I do not have a good pic of it but I will tr to do one sometime shortly.

Mark, Cut part way through the piece with an abrasive disc on an angle grinder or the like then bend it in half. You should see fiberous layers. Or you can polish an edge and etch with ferric chloride or even vinegar. It should show layering if it is wrought.

For any going to blade Here is one. Here is the knife I will be donating to the 2008 Scott Taylor Memorial Scholarship this year. It will be Auctioned off during the ABS auction at Blade. All funds earned from this effort are donated to the W.F. Moran school of Bladesmithing. 2 scholarships are available each year. One for the Basic Bladesmithing course and one for Handles and guards. Knife Stats Blade 10.875" of 350 layer 1084-15n20 raindrop pattern Damascus. A coin edge heat colored titanium seppa sets off the wrought iron guard. The spacer and butt cap are made of the same 300 layer material as the blade and frame the black dyed and stabilized figured maple handle. Thanks for looking

Ed Caffrey's basic bladesmithing is a great starter DVD. Also Wayne Goddards How to Forge a Cable Damascus knife, though it does cover forge welding it does cover the basics too.

I bought anhydrous from US borax co. According to their website it does not reabsorb moisture under normal conditions. I love it and will not use 20 mule team again if I can help it.

Best way is to Spark test for carbon content then do initial quench testing as Thomas suggested. Then make a test knife out of it and test it in normal cutting chores. If it holds up to your satisfaction use it. If not move on to the next material.

Just remember how to get to Carnegie Hall.... Practice practice prectice

Actually I would have guessed 10k. By the description someone has at least a little bit of an idea how much the stuff could be worth. Heck a 30# hammer in working condition is worth a grand or so.

Mark, whats wrong with the picture you posted??? looks good from here. Also to add to the previous post. How many smiths normalize their wrought iron work?? The low carbon steel does not require it.

If the material is lower carbon then it does not build any more stresses when forged. The main stresses come through uneven and low heat forging. Think about what you are doing when you forge a piece of steel also. By the time you are finished forging it all remnants of a previous life will be erased. If you are using High carbon steel or alloy steel then the normalizing process is very critical to refine the grain structure and relieve stresses. The carbon content in the average HC spike is .3%. This is below the reasonable expectations of a knife steel. It does make a nice novelty and is great practice but normalizing will not refine it much. But like I said it is always good practice to follow through with all the steps you would go through with a high carbon knife blade.