November 9, 200619 yr Actually seeing that on the piece of wood made me think. Have you ever tried to reproduce a wood pattern using the powdered steels? Seems that it would take a little forethought, but would be possible. Nice blade btw.
November 9, 200619 yr To make a wood grain pattern, assemble a billet of about 25 layers, bandsaw blade and steel banding works well and gives a nice contrast. Forge the billet out to about 1 inch wide and 1/4 inch thick then taper both ends. Now start rolling the billet up welding it as you go like a jelly roll. when you have finished it, you should have a cylinder about 1 1/2 inch in dia and one inch high. Now hammer it down from the end and forge it into a blade. The link will take you to a blade with that pattern. WoodyWoodgrain or Jelly Roll Pattern - Blacksmith Photo Gallery
November 10, 200619 yr Author Here is how I did it : I cut a 6 inch long chunk of 3/4 " square steel tube , then made a 1/2 " cut at each corner, so I can fold the "flaps" like a card board box. http://www.easypics.us/pics/Powdersteel.1.JPG I used 1095 & 1084 Powder this time, but I have also used O-1 Mill/ drill chips. ( got a good buddy at a machine shop ) I weld the flaps together on one end then start filling a scoop at a time packing and tamping often, I also put a small pinch of sawdust at each end. Once its full I pound the top flaps together and weld a handle on. Here it is ready to be forge welded. http://www.easypics.us/pics/Powdersteel.5.JPG And here it is soaking slowly up to a welding heat. The fist few welding heats were weird , kinda felt like hammering on a cooked noodle. About the 3rd heat it just got solid all the sudden and started acting like one bar of steel.
November 10, 200619 yr Thanks for showing us how you did that. Very interesting. Definitely going to have to get off my rear and try it. looks too interesting. one question though. is it hard to remove the square tube after the welding process? and if so, why not use something like stainless foil as a barrier inside?
November 10, 200619 yr Thanks for the pics on that. I'm interested also on how hard it was to remove the 'can'.
November 10, 200619 yr Could be wrong on this, but the way I pictured the procedure, the "can" actually becomes part of the blade, and later gets ground away to reveal the pattern.
November 10, 200619 yr Author The thin wall steel "can" was partly lost to scale, But I attacked the remains of the "can" with my trusty 4.5 inch angle grinder. It took 5 min tops, of grinding to remove it before I forged it to the final shape. Jens
November 10, 200619 yr Hey I love japanese blades and you keep to there style very well.Great tanto. BTW have you ever made a katana or wakizashi?
November 15, 200619 yr Where the heck did you get all the "powder"? Isn't the stuff from a machine shop awefully contaminated with cutting fluid etc.? Another real nice one Jens.
November 15, 200619 yr Thanks for posting this Jens. I had no idea that you could get that kind of contrast with steels that were that similar. I have not tried any can stuff yet but after seeing this it is something that I must try.:cool: Oljoe Foster
November 16, 200619 yr Oak, iv read alot about power sanders making the hamon line muddy. Is this true? Do you use power sanders after the heat treat? -Andrei
November 16, 200619 yr Author Andy,to clarify this blade was through hardened, not clay coated, what you see in the blade is the contrast in the different steels. To answer your question though: I profile and rough grind with 80,120 and 220 grit on the belt grinder then finish with sandpaper & stones. Trying to power finish like with a high speed buffing wheel will smear and obscure a hamon. But it wont ruin it, as it is a structure IN the steel not a surface treatment, so you could go back to stones an paper to bring it back. I'm sure you have seen some of Howard Clark's blades, he does the rough work on a belt grinder too, it sure dosen't play funny buggers with his hamons, they're sweet! Keep hammering Jens
February 24, 200818 yr Jens I do get busy here occasionally too!!!! And you know I just love powdered metal.....LOLa 4" diameter can ready for the forge - Blacksmith Photo GalleryNeeds just a little more cooking time - Blacksmith Photo GalleryI need a striker or two now, but no such luck as usual - Blacksmith Photo GalleryI will eventually beat this 4" can into submission too - Blacksmith Photo Gallery
February 26, 200818 yr Author Lookin Good Stan , I cant wait to see what she looks like! Prost ! Jens
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