Goods Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 I got good results with an instant coffee etch after a long etch in vinegar on welded cable. Might give that a try. David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 2 hours ago, Chimaera said: Then I had a friend ask if I could make a karambit. Here is my first try at it, with mediocre success. It's trickier than it would seem to make a karambit fit your hand properly. Your index finger is in the hole, so you only need enough room for the other 3 fingers in the handle portion. It also feels best in your hand if the ring is positioned so that your fingers all rest in a nearly straight line when holding the knife how it would be wielded. Here's a scan of a couple prototypes I made a few months ago. They are just rough ground, so the finish isn't great, but the dimensions are comfortable for me. karambits.pdf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 For billets with not a lot of differentiation; a weaker, longer, etch is suggested as a strong etch eats everything almost the same and you are working with not a lot of difference between components. That's not a Walking Wheel; that's a Skylarking wheel! Finished off the first go at my wife's water collection system on the cheap yesterday; so far under US$100 for a 600 gallon tank and the fittings/gutters. Now to get some rain so I can tweak the system! Collects from about 10'x60' metal shop roof. And yes I will be adding more cribbing directly under the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Frosty, What ever the wife wants. Army, i would guess about 1 1/2# maybe. I watched the guy at Christ Center Ironworks make something similar last week and decide to challenge myself and try it. Not as hard as it looks. 1 piece of 1/2" square bar, 6 pieces of 1/2" x 1/8" flat bar all cut to 10". Forge the tapers on the bars then the scrolls are actually forge welded on. Then add the collar. The forge weld and the collar are the trickiest part. The weld has to be good but not deform the metal to bad and the collar has to be thin enough on the back side so it does not interfere with hanging it. The first one took me almost 5 hours. Yesterday i got done in under 3, that even includes cleaning out my fire pot and rebuilding my fire for the forge weld. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMADDOX Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Thomas you can have some of our rain from KS if youd like. Its been steady for 2 days now. Come to think of it hasn't been a week in a while where it didnt rain a few inches at least. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 No rain for months and the wildfires really appreciate that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 8 minutes ago, KMADDOX said: Thomas you can have some of our rain from KS IIRC we recently had a conversation about building an aqueduct from my place here in Oklahoma to Thomas’s house, we could patch you in to the drainage too! Problem is we ran into a serious sea level difference so we had to put the project on hold for now, once we get it figured out Thomas will have his own moat the size of a lake! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 We have a "lake" just down the road at a park. Back in Arkansas we would call it a pond...According to Google the only state with less open water than NM was West Virginia (WV 24K sq miles, NM 121K sq miles) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 That’s only cause West Virginia mixes all their water with corn an puts it in a mason jar! Bahahah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Goods- I think I’ll dilute my ferric a bit and try instant coffee if/when I get a bit of texture. Thanks for the suggestion TP. BK- those look great!! I think I’ll try another one soon with a shorter handle this time and a taller, thinner blade, along with the bigger finger hole. I think that might help the fit. Obviously this one is my first try and the next will be better. Here’s how it fits in a normal grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 A normal grip for a Karambit is index finger in the hole with the blade out the bottom of the hand. Used with a hooking or slashing motion. Look up Doug Marcaida From FIF an expert on it's use. My wife has made a few nice ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.J.Lampert Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 21 hours ago, Les L said: MJ, did you anchor the shelf to keep it from tipping over? And always remember that heavy goes on bottom and light on top the shelf is not anchored as there are shelves directly behind it with items my father may need to get to they are also two piece posts so number 2 shelf has to stay there and number1 cant go lower as the 30# tank wont fit and my father basically said I need to clean up my section or clean out. I can easily change the level of the shelves to different setups if this doesn't work out and each shelf is supposed to support 600# nice wrench karambits every one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Diluted the acid for the cable, and it already seems to be better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Had a really productive day in the shop, I forged and fitted the hinges for a wooden chest, as well as the handles. The handles I followed the style of attaching by DF in the shop, just bending round bar for the keepers. The hinges I made using the instruction in "the complete modern blacksmith", namely splitting the ends and forging them around a mandrel to fit around the other part of the hinge. I thought that would be a bit difficult, especially since I don't make hinges very often, but it turned out really well! ~Jobtiel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 3 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said: A normal grip for a Karambit is index finger in the hole with the blade out the bottom of the hand My apologies, I thought that was a “hammer grip”; however, I am very likely wrong. One of the major flaws with this one is that the hole is too small to accommodate the index finger- only the pinky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 FWIW, I've found that about 1.2 to 1.3 inch diameter is about right for the finger hole on karambits I've made. Of course that can certainly vary somewhat depending on the end user, but that's what has worked for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 Wonderful, thanks for the help. I just took a guess at 3/4, and obviously I was very wrong. I’ll probably try to find a 1.25”. That’ll probably be too big for my small fingers, but just right for my friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 25, 2022 Share Posted May 25, 2022 A cone mandrel or a properly sized drift makes all the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimaera Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Yes, but I was trying to make it still look like a wrench, ie not drift it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 So, make a hexagonal drift! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Worked on another RasptleSnake; even took a couple of pictures in process. Weather quite nice for a change. I probably would have finished it but I realized my BG was going low; so shutdown and headed to the house and some quick carbs. I need to crank out a bunch of these to sell at the state fair in sept to help pay for Quad-State. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Nice work jobtiel! Can't wait to see it completed. Past couple nights I've been tilling different plots in prep to plant corn and other things. The other night I did get lazy and till a spot I hadn't mowed down and wound up with some thicker fencing wound up in the tiller. Last night got that cut out after about 45 minutes and finished tilling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyBones Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Jobtiel, looks nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobtiel1 Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Thanks guys! I think they turned out really well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mothman_c3w Posted May 26, 2022 Share Posted May 26, 2022 Nice work on the hinges Jobtiel1, I've been meaning to try making some for a while now. Handles look great too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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