ak15-t Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Howdy. I am currently deployed in Kuwait, and am looking at getting into knifemaking. I have been looking at designs for forges, and I have a pretty good design for a forge I want to make with an ammo can, bricks, metal pipe, and a hairdryer. We have plenty of scrap wood, and charcoal is cheap at the PX so fuel is no problem. I can also find a section of I beam to use as an anvil. I want to buy some sections of steel, I am not sure which is better, either 1095 hi carbon, or CMPS 90V. I want to design a hunting type knife for a wet, crappy climate, (Alaska). We have all the necessary tools for cutting and hammering and grinding, but I am curious about heat treating. On the website www.knifemaking.com,, the strips of 1095 they sell are supposed to be heat treated at 1400-1475f. Can a small, homemade charcoal forge get that hot? I am assuming that I can buy a thermometer to mount on the side of the ammo can? Any advice you can give me on starting up is greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRiley904 Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 You need a magnet t to tell you when the steel goes non magnetic not a thermometer. Heat is judged by color of the steel and whether or not a magnet will stick to it, assuming a magnet stuck to it in the first place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ak15-t Posted April 29, 2013 Author Share Posted April 29, 2013 Ok, so do different kinds of steel demagnetize at different temps? Is there a good online, free guide for this info? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 There sure is a free online guide,,it is in this site,,in knife making,,heat treat stickies. Also you may want to read the knifemaking thread also,,,it takes you from forging a blade on to finishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted April 29, 2013 Share Posted April 29, 2013 Welcome aboard, glad to have you. Thank you for serving. No problem, charcoal will generate more than enough heat to do the job. It's getting the knack of it that's the trick. However, there are a lot of guys here on IFI who do just that so help will arrive as soon as they notice. Wet and crappy AK? You from South East, Pan Handle maybe? Be safe, Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 30, 2013 Share Posted April 30, 2013 Remember that all viking swords and most japanese swords even to this day were forged and heat treated using only charcoal. Also knife smithing has a massive practice coefficient; don't expect your first bunch of them to be worth beans; especially don't bet your life or health on them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eseemann Posted May 9, 2013 Share Posted May 9, 2013 AK, First off thank you for your service. Both my sister in law and he Ex were in Kuwait and locations around the Middle East and they did not like it so much. This site http://threeplanes.net/toolsteel.html talks about Tool Steel and has a chart to show Tool Steel Color vs Temperature. The Metallurgy Of Carbon Steel http://www.gowelding.com/met/carbon.htm This one has a bit on 1095 http://ajh-knives.com/metals.html 1095 Hi Carbon Steel Make springs, blades, small parts. you will find many uses around the shop for this excellent quality high carbon steel. Bright finish, annealed. The 10-series -- 1095 (and 1084, 1070, 1060, 1050, etc.) Many of the 10-series steels for cutlery, though 1095 is the most popular for knives. When you go in order from 1095-1050, you generally go from more carbon to less, from better edge holding to less edge holding, and tough to tougher to toughest. As such, you'll see 1060 and 1050, used often for swords. For knives, 1095 is sort of the "standard" carbon steel, not too expensive and performs well. It is reasonably tough and holds an edge very well. It rusts easily. This is a simple steel, which contains only two alloying elements: 0.95% Carbon and 0.4% Manganese. The various Kay-Bar blades are usually 1095 with a black coating. Hardening Bring to 1425- 1450 degrees Fahrenheit, than quench immediately, holding at a non-crucial point such as the back of the blade or handle area. Tempering Temper between 400 - 600 degrees Fahrenheit, depending upon the desired hardness. Flat bar 1/8" x 1-1/2" x 9" and 12" and 18" 3/16" x 1-1/2" and 2" x 9" and 12" and 18" 1/4" x 2" x 18" - 1075 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobody Special Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Ft. Richardson maybe? Mmmm.....beats ft. drum, kinda. Bet ya got welders somewhere on post. Find the mechanics shop or the engineers. Seabees will do in a pinch. Steel scrap abounds if you look in the right places. At the very least, you can probably get bits of tie-rods and leaf spring, stuff like that. Avoid rebar. Also, make sure someone friendly in your nco support chain knows what you're doing. Unless you're fairly isolated, they can be very touchy about mucking about with fire, electricity, or......lets say trying to build a full size ballista on the back side of Taji near the boat graveyard without their knowledge. Not that I would have any experience with that..... :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Ak-15t If you are based at JBER (Joint Base Elmendorf Richardson) I'm only about 30 miles up the highway. Next time you're in country let me know, we'll get together. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.