bongofury Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 Hi there from West Australia !! I would like to know if, using the same steel for a Bowie Knife blade and the extended guard, could you forge weld the guard on the blade instead of soldering it ? I'm a newbie to this, so please excuse the rather hackneyed terminology I've used above. Thank you in advance, Bongo. Quote
John McPherson Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 Not without serious distortion in relatively thin plates of steel. You would spend a lot of time getting the guard and blade straight and square again after the weld 'took'. Forge welding works best when the pieces to be joined are in the same plane, not 90 degrees apart. And there is considerable metal movement after the initial weld takes, while hammering to consolidate the weld. Why else do you suppose no one has done this for the last, oh, 3000 years? That, and historically high carbon steel was so valuable it was only used for the actual blade of a knife or sword, and only for the cutting edge or face of common iron tools. Quote
dablacksmith Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 it would be much easyier to forge the whole thing from a big piece ... Quote
Mr Smith Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 Hey! I'm from WA too! In answer to your question, I'd say no. It'd be a job that is harder than it needs to be, for a result that is not as good as it could be. Hope that helps!! :-) Quote
David Einhorn Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 I would not recommend forge welding the two pieces together, unless you don't mind a lot of extra work in finishing and tempering. Quote
MattBower Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 Maybe it's just me, but after I forge weld I always have to do a lot of clean-up to get the steel looking good. It would be difficult to finish both the blade and the guard if the guard were permanently attached to the blade. I also don't see the practical advantage of having blade and guard a single piece. Quote
Rich Hale Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 Bongo, Since youi are new to this maybe this will all make more sense to you if you do a simple forging exercise in the shop. Take a piece of steel about the same thickness you think a blade shoud be and use the same stee to fashion a guard, forge weld them to each other and see how it all works and if it is a method you may wish to use again for blades. Quote
pike3e Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 If you use this technique you will have an integral knife. This method can work but as advised above it could add alot more complexity to the project than you desire. I have seen tutorial where this exact technique is used to create ingegral damascus knives however the guard does not typically loook like a typical bowie style guard. Google ingegral knives and see if it similar to the end result you desire. Also this technique will involve alot of clean up which will probably be mostly with files, stones and sandpaper, instead of a machine, due to the angles and joints that will be created. Quote
pkrankow Posted December 7, 2011 Posted December 7, 2011 The potential for excellent results is in this idea, but do practice it a few times before trying this on a good knife. Phil Quote
bongofury Posted December 8, 2011 Author Posted December 8, 2011 Thanks a lot for your replies guys, I realize what I'm letting myself in for !! This is going to be an interesting journey . Having said this, if there is anyone in W.A. who lives within public transport distance of Coolbellup 6163, who feels like giving a partially disabled newbie a few (alright, a lot of) pointers, I'm ready, willing and able. Best Wishes, bongo Quote
Mr Smith Posted December 8, 2011 Posted December 8, 2011 Bongo, Have you been to see the Blacksmiths' Association in Claremont?? That'd be your best bet. Quote
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