Matty Smash Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Hey my name is Matt and I am new to blacksmithing. Im also stationed in northern California. I am going to be trying different combinations of steel cable type knives and accessories due to the fact that I came across a large amount for very cheap. My question is, has anyone ever tried using 2 different size cable to make and more unique Billet? I was thinking about attempting to braid the 1/4 in and maybe two small pieces of 1/2 in and smash it all together to see what kind of pattern I can come up with. What do you guys think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.w.s. Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 As a person who teaches classes on this, do yourself a favor, learn to crawl before you try running. Learn the in-depth workings of a known monosteel such as 1075 or 1084, get a few dozen blades under your belt and then learn how to forge weld on solid materials. My advice, there is no real cheap way to become a bladesmith and cheap or free scrap material is just that, unknown grades with unknown problems and surprises; $20 spent through Aldo for a new bar of steel will teach you more faster than you can imagine, primarily because you know it's xxxx grade and not "this part should be this but that month this company got a better deal on xxxx so they switched alloys and ht process for a few weeks to save some money". Save that cable for later, like for when your skills catch up to your dreams. -J Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Welcome aboard, Matty- sounds like you've done a bit of reading already. I encourage you to get a lunch and a cool brew and read through all of the stickies (pinned at the top of each subsection.) You'll learn a lot, especially in knifemaking, safety (and learn that one first, especially galvanized safety,) You'll be amazed at twhat you can learn from this website. Its best to go slow- Blacksmithing is a bit like baking. Better to start learning a simple bread recipe before diving into a complicated cake- Learn to get the basic proceses down- bending, twisting, drawing out, upsetting, and then learn forge welding with two pieces of known steel. Do it again 10 or 20 times, then try a single cable. Try etching. Then move on from there. Better to learn the basics at the beginning then try to go back and find the holes in your knowledge. Glad to have you, and good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Welcome aboard Matt, glad to have you and THANKS for serving! I'm not dog piling on you but as has been said already you need to develop the knowledge and skills sets before you dive into advanced projects. Just because someone on Youtube makes it look easy doesn't mean there isn't a long list of things going on that don't show on a video. Learn to forge before you move onto bladesmithing and you'll only need to learn the characteristics of a new metal and it's needs, you'll already have the skills. The cake metaphor is a good one. Think of general blacksmithing like cooking, cooking is art. Bladesmithing is like baking, baking is a science. There's lots of slack to what and how you do general blacksmithing but your tolerances get really tight when you start bladesmithing and pattern welded blades are a whole new world of tricky. Trying to learn 3 related but different skills at the same time is a recipe for repeated failures. Don't get me wrong, failure is a good thing, there's nothing like the imminent threat of losing hours of hard labor and expensive material to inspire a person to try harder. However risking failure on many fronts can make it really difficult sometimes impossible to tell what went wrong and if you can't tell what went wrong you can't tell how to do it right. Make sense? There is a knife making skill that does NOT interfere with learning blacksmithing efficiently and that's the "stock removal" method. You're going to have to learn how to grind, file, scrape or however you want to do it to do final shaping and finishing on your blades regardless and spending a few hours in front of a belt grinder or sweating over a file, sen, etc. can't confuse you like mixed forging can. We're not trying to discourage you Matt, we WANT you to be successful. A lot of us old curmudgeons are old guys who love to tell stories and being able to tell the youngsters, "We knew Matt, THE bladesmith when he was just getting started," is always a good tale. We love pictures here and look forward to seeing pics of blades that make us drool. Keep at it. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Smash Posted January 30, 2017 Author Share Posted January 30, 2017 I'll admit that I'm trying to run before I can even crawl. I honestly can pinpoint the moment it started. I watched Raw Craft where Anthony Bourdain visited Bob Kramer. Obviously I understand that Kramer Knives are the Pinnacle of the art. I've been bitten by they blacksmithing bug and I'm in no hurry to find a cure. I love that you are only limited by your knowledge and imagination when both can be sharpened! (knife puns) thanks for your help and I will do my best to read everything before asking questions and trust me I have SO MANY QUESTIONS. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wroughton Posted January 30, 2017 Share Posted January 30, 2017 Go man go! It's fun in the beginning when you do stuff you weren't supposed to be able to do......because you didn't know the rules yet. Does Uncle Sam have a forge? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Smash Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Uncle Sam does have a forge and it is fueled by freedom creating hammers of justice cleaned by the Flux of our enemies! Hahaha sorry I went full MERICA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Oh MATT! Are you trying to cut in on my turf with the puns? If you're a player say so and let's get to the point. On a more serious note you never need to apologize for going full American, nor does anyone here who wishes to say good things about their country, everybody should be proud of where they live. No squabbling though, play nice or you'll have to sit in a corner or something dire. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matty Smash Posted January 31, 2017 Author Share Posted January 31, 2017 Copy that. You out rank me here so I'll stay in my lane lol. I'm here to learn and to make stuff with my hands. You seasoned blacksmiths are a true asset to us younger guys and I can't wait to pick your brains Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewayforge Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 5 hours ago, Matty Smash said: You seasoned blacksmiths are a true asset to us younger guys and I can't wait to pick your brains Won't be too long or too much reading until another new smith says this about you. You've got the right attitude and you'll go far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 11 hours ago, Matty Smash said: I can't wait to pick your brains If I had to choose, I'm not sure this is the brain I would have picked.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Abby Normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Ahh yes Abby Normal; our cat before the current two: Morticia and Gomez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marc1 Posted January 31, 2017 Share Posted January 31, 2017 Mm ... for some reason I am picturing my athletics coach pontificating on the scientific reasons that make it impossible for the human body to run 100 meters faster than 10 seconds. He must have been right all along. I never did. 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.