kevin (the professor) Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Greetings, I have spent my Spring Break trying to learn some things. The first thing is that I am never forging anything out of an old rasp again, until I get a better grinder. I got tired of burning through belts on m (y poor 1/3 hp grinder. So, once the blade was smooth to the touch, I stopped grinding. So, the kukri looks like it has feathers! It was a lot of fun to make. Next time, I will thin the brass out some. Probably heat and squash. W1 quenched in canola tempered at 400F for 3 one-hour cycles blade 11 inches 3/16" thick @ plunge, 1/8" at tip ranges from 3/4" to 2" wide The blade will shave. Flat ground with convexity at cutting edge. THIS ONE PASSED THE BRASS ROD TEST! (So did the machete and bowie that I made; #'s 7 and 4). Handle: Mesquite w/ linseed oil 5.5 inches (including leather spacers and 1/4" brass bolster and 1/8" copper-nickel buttcap) Thanks for looking. As always, comments, ideas, teaching, or encouragement are sought. take care, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
element Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Awesome, Kukris are great knives and yours turned out good. Did you chop stuff with it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panzertank27 Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 beautiful kukri., i look 4ward to the day i can produce such beauty. just a couple of questions.... 1) are all old files of the w series of steel? cause i have a few that i will use one day, iknow i should test b4 i use it and i will. 2) are the w steels always hard to work with files or grinders even after annealled/normalized ? once again sweet kukri (although im biased as that is my fav shape to knife) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisfrick Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Nice looking chopper there--try hacking up some wood with it, then inspect the blade for chips/cracks/bent edge/etc. Really kinda cool looking with the "feathers" in it. Nice work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin (the professor) Posted March 27, 2009 Author Share Posted March 27, 2009 Panzertank27 - the OLD files are almost all (I know that Nicholson are) w1. The newer ones are case hardened (cheaper). Some of the really expensive new ones are rumored to be 1095, but I don't know for certain. W1 is actually really easy to hammer and machine, it is the baseline for measurement of machineability for engineers of steel. Its the huge darn teeth on the rasp that are the problem, way worse than a file. I have only been making knives since December, and this Kukri is the 8th one I have made. Don't sell yourself short. Study and also listen to what people on the forum say. Finally, get in there and try. Past a point, reading won't help. I hope to try pattern welding today or tomorrow. I have to first find a cheap and efficient way to get a 1/16" sheet of 15n20 cut into bars. Once I do that, I have some 1/8" 1095, and I am going to build a 5 layer, 9/16" billet, and see what happens. Chrisfrick- If I can't get the stuff cut to try pattern welding today, then I am taking my kukri into the woods for some mayhem! thanks for looking, Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dodge Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 Kevin, Nice looking blade. Personally, I happen to like the "feather" look from the rasp teeth. I want to try a blade some time and leave the pattern there by design :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brucegodlesky Posted March 27, 2009 Share Posted March 27, 2009 W1 andW2 are very similar except W2 has vanadium. They are both cleaner versions of 1095. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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