JHCC Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Cool article: Quote The little steel bulbs that litter parks, roadsides and city centres – the discarded canisters from Britain’s second favourite drug, laughing gas – cause misery to many communities. But now one blacksmith has found an innovative use for them: turning them into handmade kitchen knives. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/jan/20/blacksmith-recycles-canisters-into-cult-kitchen-knives-for-zero-waste-foodies (NB: Thanks to my mom for sending me the article!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 That’s pretty cool, thanks for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I wonder if he knows that that technique, "San Mai", was used in England in medieval times as well... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Of course the amount of energy used to make a San Mai billet far outstrips the more efficient bulk steel recycling of these cannisters that hopefully would normally take place. Not completely sure how sustainable this is, but it certainly is a good sales gimmick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 That's true. If they're that common, I wonder that British scrappies aren't trawling public spaces with a magnet on a rope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I wonder how much those little canisters weigh? just curious as to how many a scraper would have to have to equal a ton? it might not be worth their time to mess with them because scrap prices don’t really pay well and it would take to much effort to get enough of them to pay out, I just say that because around here it’s not worth my time or fuel to bother hauling my scrap so I give it away, and my repair shop produces several tons a year, And another example is walnuts, every fall one of the feed stores buys walnuts for $14 per hundred pounds after!!!… they’ve been de husked, by the time you Drive around and spend all day pickin up walnuts to heap over a truck bed an then drive them back into town, for $30-$50 bucks your not even clearing minimum wage, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 They are pretty light. Very similar in size and weight to the disposable CO2 cartridges used in air guns. This whole thing has far more PR value than anything else. As already stated, the amount of energy required to "recycle" or repurpose these canisters into blades far exceeds the energy that would be used to recycle them at the nearest scrapyard. Kudos to the guy for finding a niche and filling it though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 After it's done taking the edge off, he's putting it back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 Good for him, he's found a hook to sell his blades to the "zero" waste crowd. I wonder how far he has to play the part? I find using his worn grinding belt to make flower pots a bit much. Still . . . A few years ago someone here (I think) was using old propane tank steel to make pattern welded blades, they're evidently medium C steel. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 I think a lot of blacksmiths are eco friendly recycling types! …….or maybe it’s that we’re all just to cheap to buy new stock! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 Well Y E A H! DUH. Recycling found stock is the norm but those little canisters are pretty impractical, I don't even know if you could make minimum wage from scrap with a large yard magnet. I didn't say it was a bad gimmick, my hats off to hi for finding a good paying niche. If they're selling as fast as he claims he's not charging enough. He could really speed up his capsule prep if he ditched the stupid cut off disks. Make a simple guide and feed them to a bandsaw and only nip the tap end. 2 pieces of angle iron angle up that are taller than the cylinders welded to a piece of flat stock to make a guide. A piece of two welded across the peaks to prevent the cylinders from jumping out of the guide and it's good to go. Clamp it to the bandsaw table aligned with the blade and extending just beyond the end so the cut halves can fall into a box or coffee can. Then stand at the feed end with a push stick and start feeding the beast. My Jet horizontal vertical metal cutting band saw would split one in under 10 seconds, EZ PZ. The trick would be not feeding them too fast and stripping teeth, probably the ONLY time I'd put a fine tooth blade in the saw, say 18+tpi but not crazy, 24 would be a bit much. Once split I'd run a similar set up between anvil and forge, toss a scoop in the forge, pull one, smack it and brush it off the anvil with the hammer while I picked another from the forge. Before I used the forge I'd try flattening them cold, they ARE deep draw steel after all. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 I read another article the other day about a 3rd gen smith in Taiwan who make kitchen knives from unexploded artillery shells, I don’t know how to link it using my phone but if you google Taiwan blacksmith a few articles pop up, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted January 23, 2022 Author Share Posted January 23, 2022 If he doesn’t remove the explosives first, the third generation is likely to be the last! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 https://www.breakingasia.com/china/taiwan-blacksmith-turns-artillery-shells-into-kitchen-knives/ I think I figured it out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 The steel used in artillery shells can vary pretty widely. You can sometimes tell the difference in country of origin by looking at the shell fragments. US shells are made of fairly high carbon steel and break into very nasty, jagged and sharp fragments. Soviet made shells were made of much lower quality metal (in some cases possibly even cast iron) which break into small cubes which do not do as much damage. In the article he is using non-bursting projectiles (most looked like 122mm caliber) which probably are of a lower quality steel than ones that are designed to break up into nasty bits. Propaganda/leaflet, illumination, smoke, and chemical shells are all non-bursting. High explosive shells are the ones that do the damage. I have a 105mm illumination shell and some 155mm shell fragments around that I have thought about forging into blades. I am afraid that the shell fragments would be full of micro-fractures from being torn apart by the explosion. I think I would have to get them up to welding heat and then make a billet to overcome that. I don't think that I would want to get into Explosive Ordnance Disposal and remove the fuzes and TNT filler to salvage the steel from a dud HE round. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted January 23, 2022 Share Posted January 23, 2022 Lol, George, I wouldn’t wanna join EOD to get scrap metal either! I just thought it interesting and kinda along the same lines as the British guy, both smiths have chosen to reuse materials that one group or another had littered the countryside with, neither material choice is top of the line knife stock yet the consumer doesn’t care and buys them anyways, kinda like here in the states, there’s been tons of talk on the forum about rail spikes being sub par knife making material, but every single day there’s smiths across this country making spike knives…. and people keep buying them! like what was said earlier it’s all a gimmick but hey! whatever sells and keeps the cash flow comin is what’s working for those guys right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 If he goofs removing the fuse it will become 360x360, self drawing stock. Just think of the time savings, he won't even have to throw his hammers away! You know George I'll bet fragments from different exploding shells would make interesting canister damascus. Do you feeling your interest piqued? Hmmmm? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Canister Canister Damascus anyone? I've found several shells at the scrapyard that I consider "iffy"; one of which I'd sure like to use in the smithy; but I remember reading about a Soviet Smith that had been using a round as an anvil and after years of use it went off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 Just so long as we don't hear about sour grape afterwards, Thomas. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 But Frosty; you need to etch the result; don't be bitter about it! (For some folks: Acids are Sour, Bases are Bitter). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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