rhitee93 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Here are a few pics of a knife I just finished up for an old friend. It is a 44-layer ladder pattern made from 1095 and 15N20. The guard and frame are nickle silver and the scales are Sambar stag. It is loosely patterned after the knives made by Wostenholm & Sons in the 1850s. This is my first ladder attempt, and as all such things it was quite a learning experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Lovely, clean work. Ladder pattern is really nice, particularly in the clip, and I really like the raised head rivets and framed handle. I'm sure your friend will be thrilled. I certainly would be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Super nice! I really like the way you did the ricasso. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Beautiful work Rhitee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 tight and even patterning that's the key, you nailed it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhitee93 Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 36 minutes ago, Steve Sells said: tight and even patterning that's the key, you nailed it Yeah, I took a page from JPH's book on the grooving, and it just worked. I did the grove and smash version since I had access to a mill, but no press. However, the deep slots I cut left me with some cold-shuts at the interfaces to the grooves. Next time I'll try the "Squish and grind" approach. Here is the slotted billet: And after forging flat: There were still a few small cold-shuts/inclusions that I couldn't get completely ground out. Next time, if I mill the slots, I won't go so far past the radius of the ball nose cutter in depth. Those deep vertical slots got me in trouble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 no need to go any deeper than after the radius is cut, meaning the straight sides form going this deep were just wasting metal.. but a great first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhitee93 Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 1 hour ago, Steve Sells said: no need to go any deeper than after the radius is cut, meaning the straight sides form going this deep were just wasting metal.. but a great first. Thanks, I'll keep that in mind next time. It's an addictive pattern, so there will be a next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tubalcain2 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 very good work. i don't like to criticize my betters but even if i did i couldn't find anything to criticize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhitee93 Posted December 5, 2016 Author Share Posted December 5, 2016 Lol, well thanks my friend, but I'm not your better, and there is plenty to criticize. I'll never make a perfect knife, but hopefully I'll keep trying until I am no more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlackMetalViking Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 I love the geometry, it is so clean and crisp! Beautiful piece! Viking Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Hope no one minds.. Those are not cold shuts..they are cold laps caused by the peining of the "tops" when you flattened..you should not of cut down that deep... HOWEVER there is a way to cut down that deep and that is to chamfer the "tops" a bit to compensate for the peining effect. That is what I do when I cut down past the radius.. This way you don't get the lap-overs that can be a PITA,,, Also..flatten at a welding heat..makes things a bunch easier if you ask me... Hope this helps.. JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
templehound Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Awesome work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 Getting tips from an expert is never a bad thing! With my geology background I would have said, "make the notches like river valleys rather than glacial ones", (V rather than U) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanternnate Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 I'm really impressed with how consistent the pattern is side to side. Looks amazing to me. I'm a fan of the handle too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 rhitee93....are you going to the IBA meeting in the morning near Stilesville? If so, bring bring that along for the display table. I would love to see it in person. Thanks Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rhitee93 Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 Thanks again all. JPH, I understand exactly what you are saying. I like candy, so lets say it could have looked like two kit-kat bars back to back It wasn't until I got into this project that I appreciated how many variables are at play with a ladder pattern. I based my groove depth and spacing on info in one of your books, but scaled it a bit to fit a ball-end cutter I already had. Afterwards I realized that the desired spine width, the parent billet thickness, and the depth of cut are all locked into a relationship with each other. Dave, Sadly, no, I won't be there. I still have two seniors in high school, and lots of kid events to go to on the weekends. They'll be off at school next year, and I am thinking I may have more time for dad events Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave51B Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 No problem...I just had my hopes up for a bit... Dave 3 hours ago, rhitee93 said: Dave, Sadly, no, I won't be there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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