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I Forge Iron

Intro, and a question on swedge grinding


SlimW

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Considering I can't even see that there was ever an issue I think "ruined" might be a strong term.

I think many blacksmiths/makers in general tend to be the harshest critics of their work. I see this bump or seam or whatever because I was staring at that particular spot for an hour (or several) trying to fix it or because I know something went wrong at that step and wish I had done something different. However, if I point it out to someone they'll  say something along the lines of, "I never would have seen that" or "you're crazy".

Keep at it. It's still looking great to my untrained eye.

 

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I got the blade sanded to 220, stopped there since I'm going to heat treat it. Decided to drill some holes in the tang to lighten things up. This stuff work hardens very easily, even though I used my drill press at its slowest speed, and stepped through the bit sizes. I have one hole that just wont drill anymore. Oh well. I'll finish the other holes tomorrow.

IMG_20210905_002939.jpg

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Just make sure when you're stepping up in drill sizes you aren't taking too small of steps to your final size. Hit the tang with a torch and let it cool slowly to soften it. For relatively small holes like these you probably only need 2 bits. One for a pilot and one for the final hole you're trying to drill. The pilot should be the same size or slightly larger than the web of the second bit.

You may need to resharpen your bit(s) now.

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You used too small steps. The drill bit's edges should have 2/3 contact and never less than 1/3. What isn't removed as a chip work hardens the base. Where the two edges meet in the center of a drill bit is a straight line at 90* to the direction of the edges. The length of that line is the diameter of the pilot bit for that size hole.

A 1/2" hole wants a pilot less than 1/8", 1/4" is at or over max pilot dia. If you step 1/4" - 1/2" - 3/4" you'll blunt more drill bits than successfully finish holes.

Last note. When a bit binds and stops in the hole do NOT retract it! The outer ends of the edge is what's caught under an unbroken chip if you pull the bit out of the hole, especially with it still trying to turn you'll break the outside of the edges off and that's all she wrote until you resharpen it. 

How you deal with a bound or galled bit is, hold it pinned in place, turn the drill off and hand turn the drill chuck backwards to ease the bit out of the hole the way it went in. 

Dad showed me how to sharpen drill bits before I was 10 but I LOVE my Drill doctor! 

Frosty The Lucky.

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6 hours ago, Irondragon ForgeClay Works said:

One thing we are all guilty of at times is, If it ain't broke, we will fix it till it is.:)

perfect :)

 

Thanks, Frazer and Frosty. This is exactly what I observed. It's a shame, because my smaller bits were making such nice long chips...it's a good thing my friend runs a tool store and gives me a discount :D

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I'm pleased to report that heat treat went well, or at least as well as can be expected. As this was scrap steel, I only knew it was a carbon steel from a spark test against a known carbon steel. I didn't know if it would harden much, or the correct treatment, or if it would warp or crack when I quenched it, and all my work would be wasted. Mea culpa. 

I decided on a canola oil quench. I tested a few scraps of the same steel, and got promising results. My good file skated on the test pieces after a heat, so I went for it.

IMG_20210905_184637.jpg

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choil ground, and sharpened. handle next.

boy did this take a long time to sharpen. I need a better method. The edge was pretty thick, and I used a sharpening stone attached to my filing jig. It worked, and its precise, but it took me quite a while.

I'd appreciate constructive criticism - aside from "mystery metal", what would you guys do differently?

IMG_20210907_014939.jpg

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If you have any kind of grinder (bench, angle, belt, etc) and a reasonably steady hand I'd recommend grinding 3/4 or more of the cutting edge in and then finish with the stones.   You'll wear out your arms and your stones removing that much metal that way.

If you have no grinder then you may want to try some low grit sandpaper with a backing board and your jig to get the cutting edge close to where you want it to be.

And BTW, I agree with your kids.  Looks good. 

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Thank you. I had sanded off the original quench oil finish, it wasn't too durable, and instead I tried cold blue. I used alcohol and acetone to clean the blade before I did it, but it still ended being a little blotchy. I carded it, reapplied, then polished the faces again to get the nice lines on the edges.

The scales are walnut, pinned on with the brass rod, and glued with epoxy.

I applied some Formby's Tung oil to the scales and I'm letting it dry before I resand with 1000 grit and reapply. The wood does look nicer now, I'll post an updated pic when I'm done.

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Well, I didn't end up making a sheath, but I did give to the guy I made it for, he was quite happy with it. It was a good trade, I got enough nice walnut out of the deal to make like 700 knives, and some good practice.

 

On to the next project!

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