bluerooster Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 I had decided to make a Wakizashi some time ago. The plan was to make one of the Kobuse style. So, I grabbed some old re-bar and went at it. (no I didn't) I have plenty of known steel kicking around in the 1085/95 range, and plenty of low carbon for the "heart" of the blade. Started with the HC steel, about 5/16" thick, and cut it, to length then folded it into a "bun", to accept a piece of the LC as the "hot dog". I used a piece of 5/8" square for the "dog". Got it all put together, and started welding. That was an interesting experience. Two different steels, that like two different temps to weld. Plus the scale loss from the HC. What a fiasco. The "bun" too thin, and the 'dog" too thick. Made for a loong day at the forge. So, after a couple few days at the forge, I had it getting close to file time. Just for spits and giggles, I decided to sacrifice this blade to see what I'd done. I heated it up until a magnet wouldn't stick, then held it there for a few minutes. Then quenched it in the slack tub. It took on a very nice curve, and remained straight laterally. I figured that I'd snap it off over the edge of the anvil, and get a look at it's insides. No luck. It didn't snap off, It didn't bend, I clamped it in the vise, and smacked it with the 5 pounder as hard as I could. As the hammer was comming back at me, I thought I heard a slight "tink" sound. Sure enough, the HC edge, had cracked. But the blade remained straight. Wow! I'm on the right track. I removed it from the vise, and a chunk of the edge fell out. As you can see, I didn't get a good weld. At least in spots. I went ahead and destroyed that blade doing the research. Then started another. As you can see, (which I didn't know at the time), the "dog" is thicker than the "bun". That caused some problems down the road. By the time it was finished to the point of filing, there wasn't enough HC on the outside to file. I didn't get a picture of where I filed through the HC layer. But decided to continue with the blade to completion anyway. Got it finished up, and "clayed" it using refractory cement. The following week, it was heat treat time. Now, this is a longish blade, and my forge will only heat about 4" at a time, max. So I built a quicky JABOD that would heat the blade in it's entirety. Got the vise ready (just in case), heated it up to just over critical temp, and held it there for a bit, then immediately into the quench. It took a slight bow, so into the vise immediately. Other than the spot where I filed through the HC, it appeared to have come out perfectly. Came out of the vise straight, with a nice curve to it. I was happy. I turned to lay it on the bench, and bumped the vise. "Plink" and the end hit the floor. Now, on to the next one. I learned quite a bit from the last two. First, The LC doesn't have to be all that thick, the HC needs to be fluxed through the whole forging process, to reduce loss due to scale. (Thanx Frosty) And need to Keep it at or near welding heat even while drawing out. (just to be sure everything is welded good, throughout. And another thing, is to keep track of hammer blows on each side. Also make sure you get good hits. This is not something that you can forge thick and grind thin. You want to forge as close as you can to final dimension, if possible, with as few hammer marks, and burnt spots as you can get. (I'm still working on that) Mabe even plannishing as a final step, to get as smooth a finish as you can at the forge. Saves time filing later. And there's gonna be a lot of filing. Been filing on this latest one for two days straight. There's a hammer mark that I'm afraid to try to remove completely as I've already removed a lot of material. But it's straight, and that's the only imperfection so far. Ready for heat treat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 Do you do any pre-shaping of the core before welding? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted August 4 Author Share Posted August 4 I did on this one. But apparently, the core is a tad off center. It showed up when I quenched it. It took the nice curve that it's supposed to, but decided to also take a turn to the right, then left. I immediately clamped it, in hopes that it would come out kinda straight. Nope, so I clamped it again, and put the whole thing into the oven. Held it at 435 for a couple of hours, then allowed it to cool, and un clamped it. Another one for the wall of shame. I don't think I'll even clean this one up. Here's the side view And looking down the edge Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted August 14 Share Posted August 14 Hello: ave you tried using straightening sticks on this??You'd be surprised how much they can straighten things out.. JPH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted August 23 Author Share Posted August 23 Straightening sticks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPH Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 straightening sticks are two sticks that have a groove on one end that the blade is placed into the groove and then the sticks are either moved towards the outside to bend the blade towards you or are moved inward (together) to bend the blade away from you...very simple...very effective,,,this will be covered in my 4th book. JPH. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluerooster Posted August 29 Author Share Posted August 29 Haven't tried it. And not sure how they work, based on your short description. But I guess I'll pick up your book when it comes out, and read about it.In the meantime, I'll concentrate on my hammer blows, to keep the core centered in the blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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