Savage

What do you mean more belly?

If Its too much to do then i might just leave it with no gaurd and use some nice hard wood as the handle.

Its for my dad who does pig and deer hunting.

that just struck an idea, whats your thoughts on tig welding a guard onto the blade in between the handle and the blade part

Haha i look forward to it

Ok guys so i gave the billet another 2 welding passes and it seemed to be solid so i drew out the billet, cut a few grooves into it and then dimpled it with a ball pein and then ground flush and etched, this is what i got.

im a fast typer lol well i got my tongs so im happy. Probly ganna thin out the jaws a bit to make it easier to pick up stuff.

Will it be fine if i weld up the drill holes and cut out a tang shape?

I might weld up the holes and forge it out to a hidden tang

NOt sure what to do with the gaurd tho. Didnt really think it through before i drilled the holes, and thanx

Ive been looking around at bowie pics and from what i found this looks almost like a bowie and seax combo?

With that much why not test it out yourself?

Nice knife, that episode shocked me a bit haha

Sorry about that, didnt realise it wasnt a very gud pic. Here you go.

As for the failed attempts i have no pics, to explain how i failed, well everytime i went to forge the steel i end up doing it the wrong way or the one piece isnt anywhere near the same as the other. Dont get me wrong i do like blacksmithing and when i have thetime to do that then i will but at the moment i am focused on getting a few knives done to sell and try get the word out there. Once i have got some more people wanting knives and such i will be using the money to set up a bit more of a workshop. These tongs i plasmer cut didnt have long enough handles so i simply drew them out a little, im probly gonna need to shape the jaws a bit smaller to make it easier to pick up knives but im happy with the outcome and they got a heap of strength in them.

As the title states this is my 1st bowie attempt with a walnut handle, forged from a truck leaf spring. Still wondering what i should do with the gaurd if i should do a small brass one or gud old forged in a Z shape with nice little ball pein indentations on it. Since its not a hidden tang im not sure how to go abouts doing a gaurd but never the less im happy with the progress so far.

Any kiwis on IFI? Would love to chat.

Ok so what would you suggest regarding metals? Unfortunatey here in NZ metals such as 15n20 and o-1 seem imposible to find and i am starting to think they dont have them here.

The heat part yes it is possible that i didnt soak it long enough but regarding hammering too hard i barely even hit it, more let the hammer drop onto it than hit, both steels were cleanly ground, is therea rule of thumb when it comes to letting it soak? I have a small gas forge with a half inch venturi burner running 10psi max. Only 86cu/in inside.

Well guys sadly the billet didnt fully weld, maybe because im using boric acid as a flux instead of borax?

It seems i have been doing it all wrong then. Anvils too high, not standing evenly, forge on wrong side of anvil. Thanx guys, next time i go hammering i will re-arrange my work area.

Your welcome, i plan on sharing all my progress as ive only tried damascus about 5 times, im not worried about carbon content as ive already tested the strapping and it would appear to be reasonably high, im hoping that the rest of the billet is welded as gud as the piece i cut off.

Heres the end of the welded billet, very light etch, i plan on drawing it out and rounding it for a few twists and if it works maybe use it as a guard for a kife or maybe just a key ring. The final etch will be in hot muratic acid, i find that cold muratic doesnt etch as dark as hot muratic.

Okay from what you said i seem to have my gasser on my hammer side(right handed). What is the better way to face the anvil? Facing with horn pointed towards stomach, hardy hole facing toward stomch or facing the side on the anvil, still need to make a stand for the anvil but at the moment its on a saw horse, all together top of anvil will be around belly button hight.

Hey guys, quik question, im having trouble finding a comfetable way to stand infront of my anvil and seem to loose heat due to this, lack of experiance maybe? Or is there a certain way to possition yourself?