Christopher P. Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Nice little EDC, 2.5 inch blade, 5.5 inch overall. Water quenched with a light ferric etch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jmercier Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Very nice! Just because i dont have the info available off hand, what's the difference between shear steel and blister steel? Theyre' materials that i'd love to work with sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher P. Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 Blister steel is what you get when you carburize wrought iron, it comes out of the furnace with blisters on it, hence the name. Stack and weld, and you get shear. Stack and weld again, and you get double refined shear... once more for triple refined. All 4 grades were available in colonial America, used for different cultery needs, and often heavier tools would have a welded shear edge and a WI body. A farmer might get his axe "steeled" every season with a new blister or shear bit as the old one wore out. Razors would use triple-shear, as it had a more homogenized carbon content throughout, and fewer impurities, important in more precise tools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Stack and weld the blister as per : Tilt Hammer - Crucible Steel Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 (edited) Don't forget the "Double Blister, Double Shear" too! "Steelmaking before Bessemer, Vol1 Blister Steel, Vol 2 Crucible Steel" goes into great detail on the differences and how they were made. (This is why I burst out laughing in "Pirates of the Carribean I" when the fellow was going on about "folded steel" as the cooks' knives were probably shear steel and so "folded" as well. If he wanted to be fancy he should have stated the sword was *crucible* steel! (of course you would't use a colonial blade in a presentation sword---you'd use a good imported Sheffield blade!)) My question is: Where did you find the shear steel? I need some for some historical pieces! Edited June 26, 2008 by ThomasPowers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher P. Posted June 26, 2008 Author Share Posted June 26, 2008 Ric Furrer welded up a bar at Harley's a couple years ago, and I got to keep some by his leave. I am in the process of making a pile of blister from some of your old watertower, Thomas, that Adlai sold me last year... I have a big project requiring this stuff coming up, and only 6 months to do it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Ric said it blistered real well when we tried a piece at Quad-State the year he did the "3 ways to make Steel" demo. Is it working well for you? I moved about a ton out here with me---very expensive scrap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted June 26, 2008 Share Posted June 26, 2008 Did any of you read Moby Dick? Remember when Ahab gave his razors to the blacksmith to put an edge on the harpoon for Moby Dick? I guess that would be "steeling" the harpoon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher P. Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 So far, so good... but I'm in the middle of a furnace rebuild after my ol'faithful of the last 2 years crapped out on me (too thin a shell, slumped, and no opening in the back for longer pieces... time for a new one). I scored a couple propane tanks, have one half done for a horozontal forge, and have another for a dedicated melting furnace set vertically, both plumbed for running either blown propane, or waste oil. Hopefully I'll finish the new forge over the weekend and get cookin', and then get my wad of shear welded up in the next month or so. I have to go to Oregon next month, and I'm running a BSA High Adventure camp in August. Busy busy busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife-Scales Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Blister steel is what you get when you carburize wrought iron, it comes out of the furnace with blisters on it, hence the name. Stack and weld, and you get shear. Stack and weld again, and you get double refined shear... once more for triple refined. All 4 grades were available in colonial America, used for different cultery needs, and often heavier tools would have a welded shear edge and a WI body. A farmer might get his axe "steeled" every season with a new blister or shear bit as the old one wore out. Razors would use triple-shear, as it had a more homogenized carbon content throughout, and fewer impurities, important in more precise tools. Very nice Jobs. Thanks for your information. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I really like the shape-design. Whats an EDC? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlpierson Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Very nice knife. Shear steel is such cool stuff and the piece you used shows a lovely pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher P. Posted June 22, 2009 Author Share Posted June 22, 2009 EDC = Every Day Carry Thanks for the fresh compliments, guys. This is one of my favorites. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markb Posted June 22, 2009 Share Posted June 22, 2009 Thanks Christopher Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin (the professor) Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 Thanks for the info and links. This craft is great because you can mix science, history, philosophy, and plain ole hard work. So many levels. Finnr - I can't censor any longer - What the heck is on your head in your avatar? Not that I mind it, I just can't decide what the thing(s) is (are). Really nice knife. subtle pattern. One last question - in terms of final product, how much difference (what are the differences) between an etch done with strong salt like ferric chloride and an etch done with a mild acid like vinegar (not time, just any other diff's). Thanks for showing this knife. It is great as a knife, and a wonderful conversation piece, also. Kevin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted June 23, 2009 Share Posted June 23, 2009 (edited) That's my Anti Clause hat!!! based on a find from Birka Sweden. Shows up better here. Finnr Edited June 23, 2009 by mod07 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christopher P. Posted June 30, 2009 Author Share Posted June 30, 2009 Thanks for the info and links. This craft is great because you can mix science, history, philosophy, and plain ole hard work. So many levels. Finnr - I can't censor any longer - What the heck is on your head in your avatar? Not that I mind it, I just can't decide what the thing(s) is (are). Really nice knife. subtle pattern. One last question - in terms of final product, how much difference (what are the differences) between an etch done with strong salt like ferric chloride and an etch done with a mild acid like vinegar (not time, just any other diff's). Thanks for showing this knife. It is great as a knife, and a wonderful conversation piece, also. Kevin I find vinegar etches more uniformly grey... great for antiquing pieces, but ferric is better for contrasting pattern. Especially with something like Shear, where there's not much contrast to begin with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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