gearhartironwerks

That handle actually has a lot of color/movement that unfortunately does not show well in the photo. It's something I have to remember when making/photographing blades. I guess it's the 'bling' factor. I've always felt that a really nice handle can sell a blade, whether justified or not. Fortunately for me, that knife is sold/partial trade to a local artist woodworker for future wood for handles. His wife owns an art gallery and he gave it to her for a Valentines present. And...ain't nobody happy if momma ain't happy. Thanks for the feedback. Always appreciated. John

This is the last one to get a handle. Now it's time to start on some new pieces. Thanks for looking. John

Hi, I don't know where time goes when working in the shop, whether for me or a client. It just seems to fly. I made a concerted effort in the past week to finish some pieces for me, so here they are. The 'w' chef blade sold yesterday. I should be happy, but am kind of sad to see it go. Thanks for looking and comments/suggestions always welcome. John

Nice blade. I like the simplicity and elegance. John

You are fortunate as the only ABS folks are 3+ hrs away, and info isn't always forthcoming unless I want to spend several hundred $ for a workshop. John

Yeeha! Another convert to the 'dark side'. John

Mike promised Scottish fire water , so I acquiesced. That silver tongued devil... JE

Grant recommended heating to 1950, soak 45min-1 hr depending on thickness, then quench in OIL. Draw temper at 1000 for an hr. If you look at the manufacturers graphs, H13 actually gets harder at 1000 deg. I have been using this and it is as Grant said for H13. John

Nice work. Those beauties look lethal and would strike fear into the heart of a tomato. John

awesome! John

Wow...nice job! John

Ahhh, you're totally screwed now! There is no known cure for the disease which you are about to embark upon. This is one of those in for a penny, in for a pound avocations. Heat treating will most likely become your cursor after you master some basics. Welcome aboard! You're off to a good adventure with like minded folks. John

These are really nice! Great 'user' knives with style. John

Nice blade! Thanks for sharing. John

Excellent! Thanks John

Nice job Mike! JE

The ribbon burner is the only way to go imho. I use it in an 18" horizontal forge with the inlet from the side. I use hard bricks on the floor and come up one brick (laid flat) on the sides, then use kaowool up from there. I just figure the floor bricks are expendable. I tried a vertical forge and found the flux ate away the kaowool on the sides. Pm on your web site. John

Here's the flux formula I use by volume: 5 parts anhydrous borax (not out of the supermarket) 2 parts boric acid 1/4 part each of fluorspar (calcium fluoride) sal ammoniac (ammonium chloride) non iodized salt I know there are probably a lot of bladesmiths who would say this is unnecessary, and that borax is all you need. That may be so, but I rarely have a problem welding anything including 5160. I use natural gas and a ribbon burner. It may be overkill, but it works well for me. All those ingredients can be purchased online. John

Justin, I'm using L6 because I have a bunch of 9"w band saw blades that I shear in the ironworker to the needed width/length. I grind, cut and stack both hot and cold depending where I am in the process. I do take the time to etch if I'm ultimately going to be drawing out so the ends show as the face of the blade like in the 'w' pattern. Also, after slitting for the feather, I immediately grind the slit to remove scale prior to rewelding, then flux and back into the forge. I found that mig welding down the sides opposite of the slit helps in keeping the billet together when welding the slit. 5160 seems to weld just like any other steel to me and I've never had a problem with it. I'll post the flux formula I use when I get to the shop later. John

Well now, this pattern is a top secret mistake. I had a gadzillion layer billet that had absolutely no interest...totally boring. So much so that I considered trashing it, but just couldn't do it. It sat around for awhile and I finally decided to deal with it. I cut the billet into 2" long pieces and stacked it layered with L6, and welded. I then slit it in the press for the feather pattern, rewelded, rotated and drew it out. I have no idea how many layers there are, but it's in the thousands. I am a little surprised that it looks decent. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Thanks for the comment. John

These are the blades that I flubbed the heat treating on last Sat, but made a comeback on Sunday. Materials are 1095/L6. The larger blade is 5160/L6. Comments always welcome. Thanks for looking. John

Thanks Ric, I'm still working on the low temp salt part. How long are you soaking blades, say 1095/L6, O1/L6 etc and at what temp? Is there a loss of hardness by letting the blade cool to room temp after the low temp soak? I am still confused about using anything other than oil. It won't break my heart to get away from that combined salt/oil mess, even though it works. John

Hey, Did whack that elk just for the antler? If so, please send some backstrap for favorable comments. :) John

Steve, Since I tested in multiple spots, my guess is that it's fairly accurate overall. I probably am not as astute a bladesmith as some members, but I have to start somewhere and the rockwell tester seems to me to be a start. It certainly showed flaws in my heat treating on Sat. What I really learned is that temperature is everything...even a few deg make a difference. I only wish I had more time to make blades... I appreciate your support. Thanks, John

Thanks guys for the help. I had a better day today and kept tight controls on every step including maintaining the quench at 120 deg. The results were much better and after testing in several spots on a clean blade, the hrc after tempering 1 hr @350 was btw 56-59 on the chef blades. The O1/L6 hunter blade came in at 60, so my thinking is another temper to lower it a bit. I also ordered another thermocouple as a backup as I have a hand held battery powered remote to double check the temps. A friend gave me some low temp salts and I have yet to build the setup. Any suggestions on heating/maintaining the temp? John...who is enjoying a scotch and hopes to get a good night of non bladesmithing sleep. After all, tomorrow is a work day. :)