TravisM Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 So I've been chasing some wrought iron for san mai knives for a while, it's a bit hard to find here in Australia. I was looking to buy from overseas UK/US postage is pretty expensive. I got quoted £40 for 1 x wrought chain link £60 postage. So I started looking for wagon wheels here. I don't have a great knowledge of our steel making history in Australia. I don't know if we produced much wrought or imported it, any help would be appreciated. The asking price is $200aud 1.5m wheel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 See if you can find them falling apart or just the tyre and try to get them much cheaper! Also be sure they are wrought iron before buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 You might try researching old trade routes from horse and oxen powered freight and travel days. The TPAAAT method will work for anything, wagon tyres are on the list. Frosty The Lucky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daswulf Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 Also, have you tried getting in touch with other Australian blacksmiths on ifi? They might have suggestions or maybe even source you some more locally so shipping wouldn't be as much as overseas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 Have you seen this thread yet? Great bunch there and may help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisM Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 Thanks for the replies, so I took a punt and picked it up. Couldn't see any welds, it had a thick coat of paint over it, couldn't make out any grain until I got it home and gave it a sand back Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 What did the spark test say? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisM Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 Ripped into this wagon tyre today. I forged it from 20mm thick to 9mm. Cut it and cleaned up, the only high carbon steel I had around that thickness was an old worn out file so I used that as the core steel. I've used old files for kitchen knives before and I really like them as monosteel blades. It turned out to be a bad combo with the wrought, I've got way too much core left, hardly any wrought. I forged it almost all the way to shape just to keep the cladding where I need it but I'm guessing I'll grind through the a lot if the wrought layer. I'd be interested to know how other knife makers work with wrought. L Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 Certainly looks like wrought to me. You did a fine job keeping the HC centered, at least in the photos. Can be more difficult once forged to shape. I've done a handful of blades with this kind of combination, and the wrought moves so much faster than the HC it can be a challenge to forge accurately. If you forged close to final shape and thickness with forged bevels you should have enough cladding to show up. Can be a real test of your forging skills. Check out Nick Rossi's videos on forging San Mai wrought knives for good info. I don't do a full perimeter weld prior to the initial forge weld, but if you have clean surfaces it can't hurt and will eliminate the need for flux. Be careful when quenching. The different thermal expansion between the hardened steel and wrought can rip your billet apart right down the spine. Careful normalizing and stress relief before hardening and a slight bevel at the spine to reduce the thickness of the cladding seems to help. Also make sure you get the blade into tempering as soon as it cools to a point where you have martensite conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisM Posted September 23, 2022 Author Share Posted September 23, 2022 Yes I was very surprised how differently the wrought moved compared to the file steel. I'm certainly no expert but maybe w2? I've done lot of san mai before and I do everything flux free. My next billet will have 3.6mm 1084 core and see how that moves. This is the forged blade Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 That should do it. Nice job pulling down the heel as well. Look forward to the finished product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisM Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 I probably should have put this in another section but here it is. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 Lovely work. That's quite a good size chef's knife. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisM Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 Thanks mate I was happy how it turned out. It's fairly big 240mm x 57mm high Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hefty Posted October 28, 2022 Share Posted October 28, 2022 Looks awesome, Travis. I'm by no means an expert but some of the old railway areas may have old railroad spikes/dog spikes that are wrought. It can be a bit hit-and-miss though. I picked up a few in Cairns and there are a lot of people west of Brisbane who sell old spikes on marketplace. I'm guessing there would be some historic railway areas in or near the Hunter? Any Cobb and Co. type historical places near you? Cheers, Jono. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravisM Posted November 7, 2022 Author Share Posted November 7, 2022 Thanks Jono, I'll keep an eye out for railway spikes. I'll be up around Brisbane soon I might try to find some wrought souvenirs. Cheers Travis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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