Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Little knife if have been working on for a friend of mine. Shes having a birthday at the end of this month. A2 steel so I will be shipping it off as soon as it is ready for HT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 bevels. Not quite satisfied with the first side i did and the thickness at the edge is a bit thick, but i would rather have it thick than thin. Bout a dime in thickness and there is a gouge at the riccaso in the first picture from me being over zealous making sure that i got it down to thickness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 Nice overall profile. perhaps a grinding jig would help you out. they are easy to make. As a beginner I find it tough getting the depth even. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 I was using a jig. I tilted the file to get the depth and found out it was too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will W. Posted April 14, 2017 Share Posted April 14, 2017 I agree with Das, nice profile. Looks pretty clean so far. How about some dimensions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 14, 2017 Author Share Posted April 14, 2017 Blade is 3.25" and handle is 3.5" the depth of the blade is 1 1/8 inches and the thickness is 1/8" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 19, 2017 Author Share Posted April 19, 2017 Pre-heat treat sanding, first side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in Oly, WA Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 Looking good! What kind of use will it see? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-1ToolSteel Posted April 19, 2017 Share Posted April 19, 2017 That's gonna look fantastic! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 My guess is mostly cutting use and maybe a bit of light wood carving or whatnot. General purpose is what I am making it for. Thanks! I have really enjoyed the process, and its the best looking I've made so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanternnate Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 I like the handle shape. I'm assuming you did stock removal being A2. What did you use to cut out your pattern? The handle sweep is nicely done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 Thanks! I used a bench grinder to profile the generic shape and then i used files to finish the shape. After that it was all filing and hand sanding to get it down to its current profile and bevels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 22, 2017 Author Share Posted April 22, 2017 out of my hands and being heat treated by a local company. Hopefully it goes well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 Ok, Got it back from HT and its looking good, the edge did not warp and the finish has been put on it. I sent it off for engraving to personalize the knife and as soon as I get it back I will make a big push to finish by Friday. One issue though. During HT the knife bent a bit at the points in the picture. It isnt a ton, but it is significant enough that putting scales on it will be hard since it isnt flat. The RC is 62 so It has good RC but I want to remove that warping. What is the best way I can go about that? Should I heat the steel in the handle to get it soft enough to change shape or what? I know I dont want to compromise the HT on the blade since that was the whole point of getting someone to do it who knows what they are doing. I dont think it was his fault since the steel is thin in that spot I point out and it must have warped because of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanternnate Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Depending on how severe the bend is you might be able to correct with the three point method. With your vise you put a dowel or rod in the middle of the outside of the bend and two on either side of the inside of the bend, then clamp in the vise so the rods are pushing things back straight. I've done this with hardened and tempered 5160 without needing to reheat and soften the steel. I let it sit in the vise for an it for the new deflection to "take" but I don't know if that part is needed or not. Caution would be advisable and not pushing it too far so you don't break anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 That spot caught my eye as a trouble area before. Hope it works out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Like Daswulf, that area concerned me a bit as well. The reality is that the tang doesn't need to be nearly as hard as the cutting edge. As long as you don't heat the blade past its tempering temperature, you can heat up the tang to high black or dull red heat to straighten it out. A small propane torch should provide enough heat to straighten that area without heating the blade. That's a really bad spot to have steel that's even a little brittle anyway. The two other places on the tang you created the same pattern do appear to have enough steel around them to be strong, but you're definitely a little thinner than is desirable in the area you highlighted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Quint- Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 Not sure if I'd have the guts to do the three point trick (ive made myself a three point jig for my vise and use it, but never on anything anywhere near that thin. You may not be able to be gentle enough... As for heat, depends on your equipment. If you suspend it blade down in water (with the handle exposed) and can quickly and precisely get those two spots sort of hot , then quickly clamp it between two plates and let it cool, should come out flat and not ruin the heat treat on your blade. A2 is pretty resistant to changing at lower heats, so as long as you don't get it glowing (and you keep that blade cool!) I think you'd be alright. If it were my project, I'd probably put some sort of heat sink on the ricasso and WELD that area up a bit, inside and out, to strengthen it, then I'd grind it flat. It looks very thin there and if I were using it, I'd probably break it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 I'd heat just that area with torch, with the blade in water to keep cool, straighten and then have it re-tempered---NOT rehardened and re-tempered, just re-tempered just in case anything auto quenched from the straightening in the handle cause it's A2! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 I don't have any plates available, I do have a propane torch and I can set it up in water. It might be worth a shot using the dowels and be gentle with it since that method requires no heating and thus no reheat-treat. If I have to resort to heat, would I be able to temper it myself seeing as how I have an oven at my disposal or would that be something even you guys would be uncomfortable with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 If you don't get the steel above critical temperature then tempering wouldn't even be necessary. However, as Thomas pointed out, that is an air hardening steel so it could easily harden if you get it a little hotter than you intended. You can use the kitchen oven for tempering if SWMBO doesn't object. It would be best to get an oven thermometer rather than trust the oven's sensors. As long as you don't go hotter than the original tempering temperature you won't mess anything up. Preheat the oven and use the thermometer to ensure you have the temperature where you want it to be before putting your blade in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Quint- Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 1 hour ago, Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) said: I don't have any plates available, I do have a propane torch and I can set it up in water. It might be worth a shot using the dowels and be gentle with it since that method requires no heating and thus no reheat-treat. If I have to resort to heat, would I be able to temper it myself seeing as how I have an oven at my disposal or would that be something even you guys would be uncomfortable with? If your vise jaws are halfway decent (mostly smooth and square), you can probably just clamp it in there, the jaws will act as heat sink and plates. If the jaws aren't great, a couple of pieces of angle iron draped over the jaws will give you flat surfaces. In fact if you have the angle iron, I'd use it whether the jaws are good or not. As others have said, A2 is air hardening, so don't get it too hot and try to avoid letting the heat get to the blade (use heat sinks, water, wet rag, whatever it takes). You can even clamp the knife in your vise with the blade down, jaws on the ricasso area and probably heat those small spots enough to move them without letting much heat get into the blade (the jaws will act as a heat sink and not much will make it to your ricasso. Then take 2 flat bars or some angle and a pair of vise grips and sandwich that handle right away.should be straight and flat once it cools. Just be careful, there's not much metal there.. if you try to torque it at all it looks like it could crease or just break altogether. Tempering in the oven is cool, just follow Buzzkills advice. I still say I'd weld it if it were mine! But i'm prone to breaking stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Gates(Ionic Muffin) Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 I got the knife straighter now. It has a partial crack on the top portion. I dont foresee this knife going through the kind of abuse that would stress the handle area and I am putting ipe scales on, so I dont think it will go through enough to break it. When I epoxy it up I think the epoxy should help too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 Out of curiosity why did you add the larger holes in the first place? saving a tiny bit of weight while giving up structural integrity is a bad plan. You never know how it will be used, or who will use it once it is out of your hands. I do like the profile and design on the blade. Well done on that. I would go with what Quint said and weld it. There just isn't much meat there to trust it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted April 28, 2017 Share Posted April 28, 2017 It's your friend and your work, but that would not leave my possession in that condition. Most people don't know how well you did the heat treat and may not appreciate the time and energy put into the finish on the blade, but *everyone* notices a broken handle. I'm not a weldor, so I don't know if/how one should weld A2, but I'd have that area welded to fix the crack and beef up the tang in that area before slapping a handle on it. The profile, grind, and etch all look good to me. It would be a shame to have it fail and get tossed out. Maybe you'll get lucky and the scales and epoxy combined with light use will keep everything together. My luck isn't good enough to gamble on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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