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I Forge Iron

adpsimpson

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    monthofsaturdays.net

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  1. Thomas, thanks. I can't find an exhibition from the Museum of London by that name, is it this book you're referencing? If so I'll buy a copy - nothing like a good read during lockdown. [Commercial link removed]
  2. Loving this conversation about clay - wasn't expecting that when I posted. As an update, here are some snaps of the next knife I've made, using stock removal from 3mm O1 steel, with a beech handle. I hardened the blade using an update to the forge above, taking most of the advice into account. Much easier process, due to the improvements and the steel. The peened brass pin for the hinge isn't holding enough tension to keep the friction high enough. I've ordered some phosphor bronze bushes, which I'm going to tap to accept countersunk bolts in the next one. Overall though I like the shape and feel of the knife, and the O1 is incredibly easy to work with.
  3. That's a good idea actually. There's a few little creeks around here, I'll check their banks to see if the mud is more clay-like.
  4. Good point. That would make using random bits of stock much easier actually - I'll have to try peening square pins. I've got various bits of aluminium I could use for that. That's excellent advice, thanks. I'll do exactly that, still have some of the fire cement left so I can use it. However I see lots of people here just using plain old clay from the ground. Can sub-soil type clay from pretty much anywhere work, or do you use / buy a specific type? Actually I was trying to achieve the same but in the other direction - I annealed the whole thing, then after shaping I heated and quenched the blade, but not the tang. Then tempered in the oven. Would that work too, or is there a reason to harden everything and then further temper the tang? Thanks for the advice, I really appreciate it. Planning to take another stab at it this weekend.
  5. Hi Glenn, and thanks for the advice. Much appreciated. All but the galvanized pipe I had already figured out in the process of this first trial-and-error project - I'll replace that with something more suitable when I upgrade for the next attempt. For the process of annealing / hardening, the magnet worked surprisingly well - the steel was soft enough to work easily after annealing, and as hard as the original file after hardening. I guess that, for the stage I'm at, that is sufficient? It's funny, isn't it, how used motor oil is recommended in many places on the net. I've read through the topics on this site, after finding it pretty bloody awful in use (messy, flash ignition, awful scaling on the metal, a strong desire to remain up wind of it), and certainly wouldn't use it again. The hairdryer was not directly connected, but I was obviously not controlling the heat correctly, hence the melted blade tip. I had a good hunt around the garage for material for rivets, but genuinely couldn't find anything other than steel. I've bits of brass, copper, and aluminium in various shapes, but not pins. I though brass would work better, and look good, so have ordered that - what would you recommend for a wooden handle?
  6. Hi all! New hobbies needed due to quarantine madness, and forging is something I've wanted to try for many years. A simple place to start seemed to be turning a file into a knife. I had a suitable hardened, high carbon, blunt old file, so needed a forge to anneal and harden it. This was the (not very pretty) result. Based in an old steel 10" cake tin & £10 pot of fire cement, with a length of electrical pipe for air (connected to a hairdryer via a large paper cone, not in view). The size is awkward - not really long enough and too deep. I had to heat the file in 3 sections (each end, and the middle). Also the high sides all round mean I can't hold it level in the heat, so one end will always be hotter than the other. I think I need to cut a notch at one end, so I can lay something down along the line of the air pipe. I used a magnet to judge the temperature, which worked well. I then shaped the knife blank using various tools: angle grinder, files, belt sander, sharpening stones, sandpaper. Whatever was to hand. Now, a couple of photos of the closest this knife came to finished. The blade was quite thick, and there are no holes for rivets. The epoxy didn't take well (I guess I didn't clean the residue from the used engine oil quench well enough), so I had to remove the scales and re-anneal it to drill holes in the tang. At the same time I thinned down the blade a little: Then to practice rivets. I didn't have any rods of soft metal available, so practiced peining mild steel from various sources, in strips of wood of similar thickness to the scales. Although I managed some, I also split the wood just as often, so decided to defer that, and ordered some brass rod on the internet. Finally, to re-harden it (second time). Sadly, at this point, things went wrong. I must have got the forge too hot, and melted / burnt the tip of the blade. So, re-annealed (3rd time), re-shaped the blade to shorten it, then re-hardened it (3rd time). That time, either in the forge or quenching, the blade warped. After tempering it I tried to straighten it but it snapped. So, after all that, I've learned a xxxx of a lot (modification to forge needed to make it shallower, drill holes in the tang early in the process, don't quench in used engine oil, charcoal can get hotter than it needs to be very fast, etc), and feel ready to tackle the next file with confidence! Now to source some old files.
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