What's your latest blade look like? Post em and let us see.

[Buzzkill]

13 hours ago, M.J.Lampert said:

would silver solder work??

I use a paste that contains both the flux and the solder.  I solder guards in place after completing the heat treatment (and in the case above after the etching as well), so I choose solders with melting points around 400 degrees F, and I heat from the tang side to avoid overheating the blade.  This has worked for me with brass, stainless steel, and pattern welded guards.

[Buzzkill]

On 7/1/2022 at 6:27 PM, Purple Bullet said:

The problem with using just the grease or oil is that, at least the way I do it, it takes a few heats.

Well, my attempt was neither a colossal failure, nor an unmitigated success.

There was a lot of grease on all the components, and it appeared to have been cut with an abrasive chop saw.  There were a lot of little gritty bits stuck in the grease.  So, I disassembled the piece of cable, and using a combination of kerosene, time, and a wire brush I got it all cleaned up and reassembled it.  I electric welded a "tong grab" bar on one end and also welded across both ends to keep everything together then dipped it back into the kerosene.

I was using a propane forge.  To me it's easier to determine when you get to welding heat without burning the stock. The problem is I needed to take it out once to twist the cable tight before starting to hammer on it.  This allowed the outer pieces to oxidize a bit before it went back into the forge.  After the twist I reheated to forge welding temperature and used the tooling I made to attempt to weld it.  The tooling is basically top and bottom dies each with 1 inch half round.  I think 1.25 inch would have been better, but I didn't have any round stock that size to create the tooling.

After 5 or 6 heats and the corresponding trips to the power hammer I let it cool and then cut it with the band saw. Ultimately what I got was an outer layer that didn't weld well - probably about a quarter inch deep.  The next layer moving in towards the center appeared to weld quite well.  The center most piece was not fully welded, but I don't know if that was due to the technique or if I just didn't heat and hit long and hard enough to adequately compress the center.

My conclusion is that the kerosene or oil dip method is not well suited for forge welding cable, mainly due to the need to remove and twist the cable before setting the welds with a hammer. 

After that somewhat disappointing result I did a  quick stack of 15N20 and 80CrV2 flat stock using the oil dip method and that welded up just fine.  I haven't used flux in this forge yet, so now I have to decide if forge welding the cable is worth it.  I do have a piece of stainless pipe I might use as a baffle and to keep flux out of the rest of the forge.

[Buzzkill]

Here's a few pics of my quasi-failure cable weld.

[Purple Bullet]

Buzzkill - thanks for sharing. I'm puzzled that you wish to keep the cylindrical shape of the cable throughout the welding process. I'm in complete agreement that oil alone will not work for cable welding. I also understand the reluctance to use flux in the gas forge. I think if you had forged your test billet into a flattened rectangle you would have had a good start for a blade. You might still bring that up to welding heat one more time and flatten it into a useable blank. As the curmudgeons tell us "There are no blade failures - just smaller blades."

Of course, it may be that you are trying to weld cable for some other purpose. I had success using canister, but because I didn't twist it up first, the strands ended up almost parallel to the edge once it was drawn out. It was my most solid weld, however. 

[velegski]

Just my 2 cents. Try angle iron dies rather round dies. I find i get better welds when its compressed from 3 sides. I get fewer stray wires on exterior  and  better compression of the interior.  If hand setting try the hardy hole die shown in Sells first book. 

[Buzzkill]

Thanks for the tips, guys.  That was my first attempt at forge welding cable, and in my head it made more sense to apply the force to the cable in all directions as much as possible to get a good weld, but I can see the V shape working there as well.

If successful I probably would have made a small blade from it, but it was mainly a test case.  I only used about 3 inches of the cable I have, so I have more than enough left for a couple full size knives.

We're in the hottest part of the year now and I have a few other projects I want to get back to, so this one will probably go to the back burner again for a while.

[Frosty]

Another word in favor of using V swage dies is the depth of penetration of the hammer forces. The energy from each blow is concentrated on 3 lines for deeper compression but the cable is contained enough not to spread or fray.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Randy Griffin]

My latest. Kind of like a honesuki. Single bevel. I made it to see how well it will work for slicing. So far I like it. I tapered the Wa handle 1/16” to nothing. It feels great in the hand. Saya is poplar.

[Donal Harris]

On 6/29/2022 at 3:09 PM, JHCC said:

I like the idea, but I think you'll have trouble fitting the guard over the handle loop. Do you need a guard? You could do an integral bolster, I suppose.

Couldn’t the loop be closed a little and then drifted back open once the guard is attached?

[ranstang94]

Randy, I really like that blade, very beautiful! could you post one with it in the case? 

[Randy Griffin]

Sure. Here you go.

[ranstang94]

I really like that. super cool

[GuillaumeMarchand]

Hi,

I'm really busy buying a house so not much to show. One of the last I made. Simple friction folder for a friend. 

Blade is Sanmaï : Iron/115W8/iron, handle is made of Koa. 

 

[Purple Bullet]

Guillaume - Nice, simple, clean. I like it. Maybe that is what I should try for the hawkbill. My only concern is how to keep it closed in a pocket. If it was for myself it wouldn't be an issue, but given to someone who may not understand about tightening the friction every once in a while it might be an issue.

[Wandering_R0gue]

First real knife I have made. Kept it simple, wanted to focus on technique over style and use it as a learning piece. 

[Chad J.]

This is from a rail road anchor.   21 1/2 inch overall length,  15 inch blade. 

[Purple Bullet]

Very nice, Chad. I've made a few with that 1060-ish steel. Haven't had a complaint yet about not holding an edge. Your blade looks like it would be fun to swing.

[Chad J.]

It is...

[Buzzkill]

Brief back story...  Last time I got my hair cut the barber was wearing a custom knife on his belt, so naturally the conversation went that direction.  I had one of my knives in the truck and showed him.  He asked if I made straight razors. I hadn't to that point, but decided to give it a shot.  Here's the results:

This is by far the thinnest edge I've ever ground before sharpening - just over 1/100th of an inch thick. I've never used a straight razor before, so I don't know if the dimensions will be comfortable and practical, but I do like the way the pattern came out anyway.

The blade is 80CrV2 and 15N20 and the handle is a piece of whitetail deer antler tine.  I etched the blade for a few minutes in Ferric chloride then sanded lightly and etched overnight in coffee for more contrast.

 

[Frosty]

Now that's a LOOKER! What does your barber think? That's who I'd ask for suggestions. To me the length of the blade looks short but the closest I've ever come to a straight razor is in a barber's chair and that years ago.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Buzzkill]

I haven't shown it to the barber yet.  I'll take it with me the next time I get a haircut though.

[Frosty]

I bet he'll love it. I love lower layer count high contrast pattern welds and that is beautiful.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Buzzkill]

Thanks so much.  I find myself drawn to those with around 30 to 40 layers for a lot of patterns.  Some of the high count stuff looks really good, but you can't see the details clearly unless you're really close to the piece.  My eyesight isn't what it used to be so bolder is better for me usually.

[Purple Bullet]

Nice razor. I've never made one but I have a couple. I can never get them quite sharp enough. They will shave arm hair. Heck, my knives will do that, but my beard is a mix of stiff and soft hairs. It shaves the stiff ones and leaves the soft ones. I have a stone and a strop, but have never mastered the fine edge.

My dad gave me one when I first started to shave. Back then I could bring it  to a barber every couple of months to renew the edge. I don't know anyone who fools with them now.

[Frosty]

Same here, some high count patterns blur, even if I clean my glasses. Deb prefers my beard so I haven't shaved since the beginning of the pandemic. I used to love the sound to a straight razor cleaning up a haircut. 

Frosty The Lucky.