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Show me your Bottle Openers!


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8 hours ago, Eophex said:

Anything to keep in mind when forging bottle openers?

The single greatest piece of advice anyone ever gave me about bottle openers was to make sure you have the same amount of metal on both sides of the slit when you first open up the hole. Sure, it's possible to make adjustments, but if the metal is equal on both sides, truing things up and shaping them evenly is a LOT easier.

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And never a truer word was spoken! That would be my number one tip, too. Whether you start with a slit or punch a hole, make sure it is dead centre. If one side looks like getting a bit thin, all is not lost. You can correct it by cooling the thin side before drifting, but it's much better to keep it even from the start.

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On 7/4/2018 at 10:52 AM, JustAnotherViking said:

Each time you make one, make a mental note of what you'd like to improve/what didn't work/what worked well... next one, apply your observations. No magical formula, just practice, practice, and more practice.

Yes that's working out pretty well when it comes to learning this craft! I made another one today:

IMG_20180705_185812__01.thumb.jpg.33202d1c36d9576c94e30a746e041cbe.jpg

This one fixed some of the problems I had with the "left one". It's much thicker, it has a smaller "hole" and a wider "tooth" (what's it called?) so it can grip underneath the caps easier. It also works, which is a good thing :)

As for all the things I forge, there are always things to improve and as you said, learn from the recent tries!

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Finally joined up to share some bottle openers I have made. I've been a long time lurker usually ending up here looking for info on forges and anvils.

The damascus one was my first attempt with making my own layered stock. I used band saw blades and strapping. The texture didn't end up staying so I polished it again as seen in the shiny image and later heat tempered it to a rainbow pattern. I didn't have a great image of that, but could dig it up later.

The weird bearded skull/tentacle one was made as a response to a challenge from a friend to make a "Skull with a tentacle". I ended up giving it to him as a gift.

The last one was made out of 303SS and it cracked on me so I went with it and made an opener I think looks sorta like a crab claw. I have access to 1" round bar in 303ss, but It was such a pain to forge i may just let the stuff go to the recycler.

opener 1.JPG

opener 2.JPG

opener 3.JPG

opener 4.JPG

opener 7.JPG

opener 6.JPG

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Another rebar opener, which ended up as a thank-you to the construction guys who last helped me out with some heavy scrap:

E6C6801D-BA7E-4D45-B15C-6752F66817AF.jpeg

8 hours ago, tkunkel said:

Could you explain how you did the texturing on the tentacle? 

 I was wondering the same thing. 

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1 hour ago, tkunkel said:

Olydemon,   Nice work with your Damascus opener!  Skulls and tentacle are pretty neat also.  Could you explain how you did the texturing on the tentacle?  Thanks for sharing.  Tom

 

Thank you!

The tentacles I learned from a smith named Hanna Gutke through a YouTube video. . I'll post the video as here as her tutorial is pretty good and funny.  Basic steps: Make taper, Mig weld dots, Punch dot centers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giS_d4nu9VM

 

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well getting back to it... still...   Slowly.   

This is originally very distressed metal from a piece of grating that I banged and pried apart producing numerous 1" wide by about 3/16" thick strips with crisscrossed weldments.   Then went through the 2016 flood.   It functions.  And you can hang it off your belt if you wanted to.   I always thought bartenders would pay money for such if made just right.

 015d0a9300aa984fef2b17a01103c03621b974ab9d.thumb.jpg.2bb175eebab130d6781990dce33666f1.jpg

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On 7/9/2018 at 1:44 AM, olydemon said:

The weird bearded skull/tentacle one was made as a response to a challenge from a friend to make a "Skull with a tentacle". I ended up giving it to him as a gift.

I love the tentacle.  Could you share more information about how it was forged? 

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On 7/8/2018 at 10:44 PM, olydemon said:

The texture didn't end up staying

Are you talking about the texture or the contrast?  If the physical texture is what you're referring to, then you merely need to etch it longer.  The longer it's in the acid, the deeper the etch.

If you're talking about the contrast, there are a couple different ways of helping this.  First, etching longer (and deeper) helps prevent the oxides wearing/rubbing off.  A chemical process called parkerizing is used a lot and is probably the most durable.  A lot of smiths (myself included) use cheap instant coffee to improve the contrast.  I etch my blades long enough so that I can feel the pattern with a finger nail (neutralizing the etch by dunking in boiling baking soda/water, then let it sit overnight before cleaning).  Then I wet sand lightly with 5000 grit paper and a hard backer to clean off the nickle steel that has resisted the etch.  Finally, I dunk the whole blade in a STRONG batch of instant coffee (the cheapest you can find).  I used 1/2 a can to 1/2 gallon water, stored in the fridge and have been using it for about a year now.  IMO, there's a "sweet spot" eventually you'll learn, of how long to keep your blades in where all you have to do is rinse off the blade well and have the contrast.  Not long enough, you don't get enough dark.  Too long and the worst that will happen is the 15N20 gets too dark and you have to scrub harder and usually will have to re-dunk in the coffee.  The 2 best things about using coffee is that you really can't do any damage by keeping it dunked too long, and with my stabilized blocks, you can re-darken with the handle on and dunk the whole knife, handle and all.

If you like the pattern, I'd re-etch in the acid, then try the coffee.  Also, before use, you're sealing the steel with something, wax, oil, clearcoat, no?

Have fun.

 

as always

peace and love

billyO

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On 7/9/2018 at 9:06 PM, JHCC said:

One of her Instagram photos shows her holding her workpiece on the anvil with her foot. 

 

On 7/9/2018 at 2:43 PM, SLAG said:

That grip is much easier for the ladies. They may have an advantage.

I could swear, by her get up, that she might be a dominatrix.

Good video,

that the SLAG highly  recommends.

 

On 7/9/2018 at 6:22 AM, olydemon said:

Thank you!

The tentacles I learned from a smith named Hanna Gutke through a YouTube video. . I'll post the video as here as her tutorial is pretty good and funny.  Basic steps: Make taper, Mig weld dots, Punch dot centers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giS_d4nu9VM

 

Not sure how those got in reverse order, but....

Anyway, I think that a woman with a few tattoos and magenta hair is pretty solidly within the normal range of fashion sense. It's a bit of a stretch to say there's much to be read there.

From her instagram, she seems to like octopus tentacles like we like leaves! There are a lot of them. The other thing I saw was how she integrates wood into her work. There's a tentacle inset "softly" into wood, and a "don't panic" button also with the inset softened. It's a really nice look. Kind of like the wood was a soft substance, and she pressed it down. Maybe the wood version of how Elizabeth Brim made soft-look steel pillows?

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My son is an avid golfer so I built him a special 10 degree cap wedge. Specially designed for use on the 19th hole, this wedge can be employed throughout the course. No stroke penalty is imposed by its use, and it is particularly useful after the dreaded triple bogey. It is also commonly employed after 4 putts, difficult sand traps and deep rough. A handy club for any golfers bag. 

vrvHd4o.jpg

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