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I Forge Iron

Old Man's Front Yard Pattern Welded Steel


JPH

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Howdy!!  

As I mentioned in a different discussion..here is how I do some pattern welding..This will be a "ladder" pattern something or other..haven't decided yet as to what exactly..  I will decide tomorrow once I am back out there...Have a couple if ideas so..in the words of "The Great One"  Annnnd AWAY we  GO!!

The first photo is the raw materials..1095 sheet, 1070 sheet, some L-6 and some 300 series Stainless HT foil (that is he bright shiny  stuff one down from the top..) There is a total of 80 pieces all together.

Second photo is of the bunch stacked in my usual pattern and put together and wired, ready to weld ..

Third photo is the first weld..

Fourth pic is the piece drawn out, cleaned and cut into thirds. 

Last photo is the second weld.. This gives me enough "laminations" to make a rather decent looking pattern once I get the rung grooves cut which I will do tomorrow. This is really the boring part..The fun starts in the AM with the patterning. So stay tuned for more excitement...

JPH

 

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Eventless...I use them as you see them...these are 0.004" thick.."paper thickness"...next installment follows below..

JPH

 

Next installment:

First two photos are the ladder rungs cut into the bar... I do this using an angle grinder and a 1/8" thick steel/metal cutting disc.. The grooves are offset from side to side and abut 1/3 the way down from the flat as shown in the second photo. This piece is 14" in length at this time..

The third photo shows the flattened out bar with the surface hammered out bringing the "ladder" pattern out.  the fourth photo shows the drawn out tang and the basic forged blank. The blade section is now 18" in length.

Photo five shows the blade that has been heat treated and finish ground as well as the bowling ball material for the grip. Photo 6 shows the blade with the grip material fitted to the tang and the blade polished and ready to etch. As you read this this blade is etching. IF all goes well I should be able to pretty much finish this tomorrow save for the sheath.  More as things progress..I still have to settle of a fitting style..I will ponder that this evening.

JPH

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Frosty:

You sure do and then a couple of other things as well... I am rather reluctant to give out this flux due to the fact that if you don't know exactly what you are doing it can mess you up beyond recognition in a second.. I will say that it is a more aggressive variation of my "Steel Glue" flux that I have been using over the years...

JPH

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Bad stuff but there are effective precautions IF you use them religiously. 

I've heard in years past that sal ammoniac works as a SS flux. But . . . Ammonium chloride? Can you confirm or deny that? If not I can hopefully purge it from my  memory or put in a useful knowledge file. 

Good stuff, thanks.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Cool, it isn't an urban myth then! When you say "Help" do you mean in cojunction with another flux or will it work as a stand alone?

I don't know what to expect specifically getting amonium chloride forge welding HOT but free chlorine and ammonia wouldn't surprise me. Neither will make your day better unless you want to cut it short coughing your lungs out. LITERALLY. Check some of the reports and stories from WWI and gas warfare. 

Rule 1 for playing safe. Know what you're getting into and that means reliable sources of info, NOT Youtube.

Okay, that goes in the specials files in my mental toolbox.

Frosty The Lucky.

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Frosty:

Sal Ammoniac does help..and it doesn't take much at all..about 1/4 part fine powder to make a difference...make sure you have more than adequate ventilation when you work hot..no matter what you are doing CO is a killer...and it can sneak up on ya ..

OK next installment.. Didn't get as much done as planned..had some problems with the etch and then the guard decided to be a putz and I messed up 3 of them before No.4 worked....but tomorrow it will be done so here we go..

First photo is the etched blade..didn't turn out half bad really...had to change etchant , which solved the evenness problem...got to do that every now and then.

2nd pic is of the rough shaped bronze guard before the forging of the flats and the bends..Here is when I hit trouble...

The third is the buggered up guards and the one that worked..All that needs to be done is solder this onto the blade..make the top and bottom ferrules and pommel.. fit, shape and flute the grip and it's done save for the sheath..I might include that as well just for grins and giggles..

So we will see what happens tomorrow...The missus has a PT appt. in the afternoon for her knee surgery she had two weeks past..so my work time will be curtailed a bit in the PM..

More as things happen

 

 

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Wow! Looking good JPH! Quick question for you... When you say "bowling ball material" for the handles, are you referring to wood/resin handles, or have you actually cut apart bowling balls? Because I have a black and purple bowling ball that I don't use anymore that I think would make some decent scales.

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Maxwell:

I found a gentleman back in Nevada before we moved down the the wilds of the Florida jungle that made custom bowling balls. He laid up some sort of polyester/polyurethane stuff and resin and worked it around the weight block inside the ball..the stuff STINKS when you work it and it is rather picky to polish but it is something to see...takes a glass like polish.. He is now selling the stuff to custom fountain pen makers (in a much smaller size.)

FAB-

JPH

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Hello!!

Well..here is the last "installment" in this project..so here we go..

The first photo below shows the guard silver soldered to the blade. I use a 4%Ag 96% Sn solder...

The second shows the bronze bar for the ferrule fitted to the tang/guard area.

Third picture is the shaped guard and start of the file work around the perimeter of the ferrule.

Fourth is the ferrule soldered to the guard/tang

 Fifth photo is the rough pommel/ferrule before sculpting

Sixth pic shows the fitted grip before final shaping and fluting

The seventh photo shows the finished dagger.

Photos eight and nine are close ups of the blade and the grip respectively.

All in all this did not turn out half bad. The blade length turned out to be 18 1/2" with an overall; length of 25".. Not too bad for an old man..

Hope this helps explain a bit as to how I managed to do things...

FAB-

JPH

 

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Beautiful as always. How do.you plan out the fluteing(sp?) On your handles. Or at this point are you able to just free hand them without issue?

Thank you for this. Seeing a piece start to finish is truly educational and entertaining all wrapped into one. 

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Eventless:

I just start fluting and work my way from there..I have done so many of these that I can just freehand it and get decent results..at least I think they are decent.. It just takes a wee bit of time to get everything smoothed out..

So ya'all have seen one of the processes I do around here...

FAB-

JPH

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Thanks again, it's been a splendid display of master work. No special techniques just natural talent and decades of experience. Very cool. Well, you didn't show US any "special" tricks that is. :ph34r:

I'm wondering if a person couldn't get suitable plastics for knife and other handles from the same suppliers as the folks who make custom frames for glasses. Some of them will make you two pair in one day for reasonable and choose our own colors, they can't be getting the frames from outside sources. I can pick and choose colors for frames but I wear Ti wire framed safety trifocals. I can have silver or gold tone. 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

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Frosty: 

I had the same eye glasses frame material idea that you had hit me last night while I was watching a commercial for custom glass frames.. Some of the material shown looks pretty interesting...This requires a bit more investigation on that.. Let me  let slip my e-vile minions on this... I am, not much of a fan of using all these "plastics" and all ..I do prefer natural materials but with the present situation as far as some skeletal materials go and CITES.. I mean I have a BUNCH of ivory that I picked up at an estate sale in the early 1980's (I went in with my dear friend Bob Egnath..who was at the time the finest traditional scrimshander in the world and another maker, Sherman Williams and we bought 4 huge tusks that were harvested around 1890 or so....) So I am stuck with all this ivory that I CAN NOT sell....while the paperwork I have is adequate to make it legal to own..it is not legal to sell.. Sigh...  So that is why I am using that 100 year old Bakelite.. So I am always searching for different stuff to fill that "ivory" and "tortoise shell" look without have a vacation at the Greybar Hotel...

FAB-

JPH

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We've been having the same issues at the college, with people donating musical instruments to the conservatory of music. Ivory flutes and piano keys are a particular problem. I was working with a possible donation of antique tortoiseshell conductors' batons that fell through not least because of the CITES issue.

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I'll be your Alaskan minion! :) I'll try to remember to give my ophthalmologist a call Monday and see what I can learn. I know a couple maybe sources I can ask about fossilized ivory. The stuff's getting iffier all the time though. 

There's a local plastics place that has some serious stuff, might be worth a call. Have you tried epoxies? There are 2 part epoxy putties in different colors and I understand the light gray colors can be dyed. Pattern glue billets?

Frosty The Lucky.

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