Ed Tipton

I recently had quite a problem with drilling the pin holes in the full tang of a knife. I had annealed the blade, and it was softened, but when I tried to drill out the pin holes, it work hardened so badly that I ruined two drills before getting the holes all the way through the tang. I thought about drilling the holes when the blade is still hot, but I am concerned about the holes shrinking too much. I am sure others have had similar problems and I'd like to know how this was accomplished. I drilled them on a DP, but I admit that I was not using a lot of pressure. Would drilling the holes more aggressively have prevented the hardening? This was done on a kitchen knife where I was using tension pins for the handles.

And what is the distinguishing feature of a slip-joint folder?

OK, so my ignorance is showing again. I've carried my "pocket knife" for years, but until this forum, I've never heard of a friction folder. From what does this term eminate, and how is this different from my "pocket knife"?

I have had an acute allergic reaction to nickel. It first started with a watchband and then propagated to other areas. It started as an INTENSE ITCHING, and no amount of scratching would get to the bottom of that itch! The Doc told me that he knew of no cure and that his suggestion was to avoid prolonged contact with anything having a high nickel content. Oddly enough, this is not that uncommon of an allergy, and is quite common with people who do a lot of work with metals. There are some anti-itching compounds available that eventually did help, but my reaction was pretty severe, and it took quite a long time before the creams and ointments took effect. It only gets worse if left untreated.

Whenever I'm bang'in iron, I tend to use faces, edges, and surfaces of the anvil that clearly were not intended for such a purpose. Since only the face is typically hardened, most peeople assume that that is the only surface to be pounded. Obviously the face, and bic are the easiest to work on for most effects, but there ARE other surfaces on an anvil. Also, what was the intended use of the holes typically found in the body of anvils? Were those holes strictly intended to aid in the handling of such a weighty piece? I tend to think they were put in there to aid in grabbing the anvil with special tongs during fabrication, but does anyone know of any other specific purposes, such as using them to aid in tying the anvil down to the stand?

Avadon--I think this is one of those things that largely depends on the type of work you're doing. I am getting ready to build a stand myself, and I think mine will come about 1" higher than the recommended "knuckle" length. I am basing this on the fact that I tend to do more tap-tap-tap than bang-bang-bang. I don't very often work larger pieces, so giving up one inch of stroke is not a big deal for me. I think this is one of those things where someone tried to devise a means of telling people the "correct" height. I think the correct height is whatever works for you. Just as there is no perfect "do everything" tool, there is no perfect "do everything" height. I do agree that standing for a prolonged time stooped over an anvil is not desireable (for me). For that specific job, you can always stand on a board or something to get yourself high enough for the perfect work keight. It's just not that critical.

I think all of these are good reasons. I think one of the primal needs is to create. I think the fascination with blacksmithing is that it enables the common man to take something generally considered indestructable, and tame it using fire and brute force...and thereby create something useful or beautiful. The theraputic value cannot be overstated. After dealing with all the trials modern man is subjected to, what could be better than grabbing the most basic of tools and beating the hell out of a piece of steel. It fools one into thinking that they are in fact in controll of their destiny! Afterall, if you can forge iron with fire and a hammer, you can do anything! It is EMPOWERING1

I may as well jump in and expose my ignorance as well. With my limited understanding, I have been led to believe that...all things being equal...the forged hook will be the stronger of the two. The simple act of forging, as usually understood, usually involves deliberate/controlled heating-working-and some form of quenching. The heating and working result in refining of the grain structure, and the quenching and tempering aid in the transformation of the various phases. Simply cutting a hook from a piece of plate is not going to yield the same quality of steel as what has been forged since there has probably not been sufficient work or phase transformation to cause any significant refinement of the grain structure, and there has been no quenching or tempering action taken. A properly forged hook would be much stronger.

Just yesterday I acquired a new (to me) 111 pound anvil in the classic London style. I am wanting to make this my shop anvil, and I would like to build a stand for it. Although it will be my shop anvil, I prefer that it be light enough that I could take it out to a hammer-in. I am fairly new to smithin, and am looking for ideas to incorporate into the stand. The temptation is to try and put too much into it, such as a hammer rack, or a box for hardies, and eventually the idea of a lighter stand gets defeated. I could just go with a bare-bones stand,or possibly a "modular" design with features that could be removed during transport, but I decided that some of the more experienced smiths out there probably have some worthwhile ideas that might not occur to me. Any suggestions?

Hello. Just wanted to let you know that I am from Clinton, Il. which is about as central il as it gets. We have a good group of people, and we are pretty active as a group and individually as well. What town are you from? If you think you would like to join our group, leave a message on here, and we'll do it. We meet every Wed. night in Farmer City at the local blacksmith shop. Both new and old group members and we all belong to IVBA. Lots of experience to draw from, all nice people. Welcome aboard.

Thanks for the responses guys. I guess I should have been more clear. I'm really not looking so much for where I might BUY it, as for where I might FIND it, as in a junk yard or salvage yard. I am aware there are many places that sell o1 steel, but, I'm looking for uses of o1 that a guy might stumble on to if he's lucky. I am aware of the problems of using "mystery metal", but I'm new to bladesmithing, and on fixed income. While o1 is cheap compared to some steels, it still squeezes my wallet pretty hard to pay retail for it. If I was selling knives at a profit, then I would pay for the "known quantity", but I'm trying to get by on the cheap, especially until I have developed some worthwhile technique. I'm still at the stage where my knives have far more issues than being made from mystery metal. From what I've read, o1 seems to be about the easiest steel for beginners to work with, and it is capeable of producing some terrific blades. It is also very forgiving, and if you fail at heat treating, it will allow you to "do it again", providing you don't burn it to a crisp! That sounds like what I need!

Can anyone tell me what some common sources of o1 steel are? I have seen charts that tell such things as old car springs are a good source for 5160 etc. but I have never found such info for likely places to find o1 steel. I do know that it is used frequently in dies and punches, but I am looking for something a little easier to find and in sizes and shapes that are workable with a hammer and anvil rather than a power hammer. I'm sure there are many uses, I just havn't found the info I need.

Can anyone here tell me what kind of steel was used in the old two-man cross cut saw blades? I'm thinking it was probably o1 since I've tried quenching in both water and oil, and the water quench cracked, but the oil quench turned out ok. I'm planning on doing more testing, but if anyone could tell me, I would appreciate it. I'm pretty new to bladesmithing, and I'm not that confident in either my heat treating or spark testing to proceed with any great confidence. I intend to make several knives from this blade, but since I am new to this hobby, I want to feel as though I am progressing and not just spinning my wheels. I know that there is no sub for just getting in there and doing it, and I have, but this thing is difficult enough without trying to use inappropriate metals. To this point, I believe the steel is probably o1, but a little affirmation would be nice.

I am having difficulty in understanding heat-treating. I understand that drawing the steel from the full hardened condition produces less hardness and more toughness. I have been told that I should draw the steel three times in order to assure there are no "hard spots" remaining in the blade. I have also been told that it is not necessary to "re-harden" the steel prior to tempering for the second and third times. It seems to me that once tempered, the steel is no longer at max hardness. If I begin at that point and temper for a second, and possibly a third time, am I not reducing the hardness each time, and thereby arriving at a steel that is too soft to produce a good edge? What am I missing here? I feel there is some part of this process that is escaping me, and I need to get a better handle on this subject.

I am still pretty green at smithin', and new to this forum, although I've been a lurker for quite a while. My question is does anyone know of a site or reference that could maybe point me in the general direction for correctly identifying different types of "old iron"? I have a decent stockpile of "mystery steel". Much of it is pretty old, but I know where it came from. What I'm looking for is some reference that would tell me that in 1875 this was probably made from XXX type steel, but today it would probably be made from XYZ steel. For example, I have seen charts that tell me that sawblades are probably made from S5 steel, but what were they likely made from before there was any such thing as S5? Anyone know of such a site?

It's later right now than it's EVER been before... or, It's earlier right now than it will EVER be again... And of course, There is no shortage of experts, the trick is in knowing which one to listen to!

I had the good fortune to purchase about 1800 AL/OX Klingspore cloth backed sanding belts at auction. My problem is that these belts range in width from 5 to 7 inches in width, come in two grit sizes 80 and 150, and they are all 148 inches long. I am considering making my own grinder since I have most if not all of the material needed to do this but I need some opinions on design considerations. I have looked into the possibility of shortening the belts, and that does not seem to be a viable option. I am not sure, but I think I should be able to split the belts into the standard two inch wide belt width without too much difficulty, since I have done this previously with 6x48 inch belts successfully, but , of course, I'll still have the 148 inch length to deal with. What I have in mind is a triangular shape with a base 2-3 feet in length and two uprights of equal length which would make the final height somewhere around 5 feet...which works for me. Any and all help/suggestions are appreciated.:)

My thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. Before I go any farther, I should clarify what I'm doing. I have built a guillotine tool to be used in blacksmithing. Initially, I made my cut-off tool using the A36, but even when cutting hot steel, the edge did not hold up. Following this attempt, I decided that some harder steel was needed for the cutting edge. I have a good supply of HSS tool steel, and thought that would be a good choice since by definition, it holds up well under heat. As mentioned, my welding skills are less than adequate, so I asked for the help since I didn't know about welding the tool steel to the A36. I am not concerned with the tool coming apart or fracturing during use since it is not going to be used on a lathe, but I'd rather it simply stay together after it is once welded. It will be subjected to impact, although I am hoping that even the hammering will not be too extreme. Cutting hot steel is not normally that difficult, but it is simply more than the A36 edge could take. I believe the tool steel will hold up just fine, and I think I'm going to give it a try and see what happens.

I am new to welding. I have successfully stuck two pieces of A36 together, and thats about it. So far, they have held up satisfactorily. I have two questions: I need to weld some lathe tool bit steel onto a piece of A36 mild steel. I have a Miller 295 amp stick welder. I need to know what type of welding rod I need to use, and if there is any "special" expertise required to do this job. As mentioned, I am a raw beginner when it comes to welding, so please answer accordingly. Also, in my brief experience at welding, I have had great difficulty in striking the initial ark, and I believe that one of the new instant helmets would help me greatly, since I am not very adept at placing the end of the rod where I want it. Any recommendations as to which are best suited for stick welding. I am not interested in becoming a journeyman welder....Just trying to get things stuck together. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.:)