not another knife thread...

[crashdive123]

I like the designs that you came up with.

[canid]

i agree a drainage hole will be a good idea. i'm also thinking of a soft liner.

the wood interior is sealed with polyurethane sealant.

[canid]

this saw blade stock is tough cutting by hand, even after i annealed it.

i don't know if i'll get around to it until i can buy that blade for my bandsaw.

i guess i could do it with a cut-off wheel if i can borrow the dremel again.

[crashdive123]

Canid - my first attempt at annealing it failed (that's why there were no pins in it). My second attempt seems to have worked. I anneal mine in a chiminea (little outdoor fire place). First try (failed) I got a good bed of coals, put the knives in, got a good fire above until they were glowing cherry red then let the fire die down. My successful attempt was the same method, but kept the fire going for about six hours before letting it die down. A blacksmith told me that I would need 6 to 8 hours to soften them. Seems to have worked.

[canid]

yeah, after trying to anneal with air cooling, it seems this steel air hardens a bit. that would explain the continued difficulty in cutting it.

i plan to make some smithing tools, including a rr spike hot chisel, so maybe i'll try to hot cut the stuff.

i've been doing a LOT of research in blacksmithing lately, and i'm trying to get some things together to start learning to make forged blades. i'm currently reading The Blacksmith's Craft, published by the Rural Development Commission of Wiltshire, England, and The Master Bladesmith by Jim Hrisoulas, the owner of Salimander Armoury, and from what i can tell, an extremely talented smith.

i still need to acquire some type of anvil or anvil material, and some other things to do even basic work. i have a friend who said he thinks he has an anvil, but i haven't heard back.

[crashdive123]

I picked up a 75 lb anvil last week. On the steel for those blades, I was at the gentlemans workshop today getting another lesson and he said it is most likely L6.

[Rick]

I picked up a 75 lb anvil last week.

Are you bragging? I could pick up one that heavy too......with my two wheeler.

[Batch]

Harbor Freight has a 55lb anvil for $60.

[Camp10]

Canid - my first attempt at annealing it failed (that's why there were no pins in it). My second attempt seems to have worked. I anneal mine in a chiminea (little outdoor fire place). First try (failed) I got a good bed of coals, put the knives in, got a good fire above until they were glowing cherry red then let the fire die down. My successful attempt was the same method, but kept the fire going for about six hours before letting it die down. A blacksmith told me that I would need 6 to 8 hours to soften them. Seems to have worked.

The longer you keep a steel at non-magnetic, the more carbon you loose. My method to anneal is to heat an old window weight (those cast iron bullet shaped things you have saved because "there must be a use to these") until it is dull red in most spots and stick it in a metal bucket full of vermiculite. I will then heat my blade steel to non-magnetic and get it into the bucket near the weight and leave it for several hours. If it is a plain steel, this will work and keep the carbon loss down.

[crashdive123]

Thanks for the tip.

[Rick]

Is the vermiculite just an insulation?

[Camp10]

Is the vermiculite just an insulation?

Yes. It keeps the steel cooling at a slow but constant rate and this is what soften the steel.

[Rick]

Thanks. I was leaning that way I just wanted to make certain there wasn't something in the vermiculite that added to the process.

[canid]

it's about time, with with my new steel sawing capabilities, i roughed out the blade for one of the drop point hunters i'm planning from crash's L-6.

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

don't adjust your set; keeping a consistent bevel on a compound curve like this is hard. quite possibly beyond my skill.

[canid]

i don't know what it is with me and curvy blades. this one isn't even all that practical, though i must say it has sex appeal.

as i said further back in this thread, the curves should probably be toned down a bit. i'll probably try to strike a good balance between this, and a tasteful suggestion of this curvature.

Hunter: if i can pull it off as i intend, some more of your antler is going to good use on these knives in concert with padauk and some cherry or maple in my first attempt at a nice puukko handle style. something like this:

Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

but probably with much less class [i don't have any figured hardwood].

i have a 16-18" or so round of walnut that's been seasoning, sealed for over a year now, which has nicer figure, but is probablydarker than i want. i'll see what i can scrounge up in the way of pretty, light colored hardwood.

[crashdive123]

Woo Hoo - more knife porn! Looking good.

[canid]

i've still gotta round up some brass flat stock. it would be too handy not to try and get a supply on hand.

i'll be at the home despot today anyway, i might as well see what they happen to have.

[canid]

here's the scheme for the handle:
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.
Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

i want to put some brass at either end before all is said and done, but it's antler, padauk, ash, padauk, antler.

[Camp10]

That looks great! I really like the looks of this knife!

[Rick]

The orange accent is really going to be striking on that. Very nice.