Not bad for a evenings work

[dtalbot]

a rather addictive and time consuming hobby ):

NO
A VERY addictive and time consuming hobby

 

[Roving Rich]

not another one !
So i better set up the belt sander, sounds a bit tricky to me.
Would a nice slow watercooled grind stone work ?
And should i drill the handle now before hardening?
better buy some new files aswell....
Rich

 

[Simon]

I'd definitely recommend drilling before hardening .. some tangs are very difficult to anneal again after hardening

what kind of belt sander have you got?

I rarely use files, setting shoulders and detailed work perhaps, on the whole I prefer to use Wet'n'Dry wrapped around pieces of hard wood

 

[boaty]

I'd definitely recommend drilling before hardening .. some tangs are very difficult to anneal again after hardening

Especially tangs attached to knives made with the help of a couple of "glamorous assistants" (whose names escape me...)

 

[ESpy]

I'd definitely recommend drilling before hardening .. some tangs are very difficult to anneal again after hardening

I should have heated the tongs to red heat too - use them as additional thermal mass for slower cooling.

Live & learn.

 

[Roving Rich]

Onwards -

not 100% happy with em, a bit more fine shaping to do - does it ever end ?
lost the tip off the single bevel, over ground one side over the centre line,then lost the tip grinding the other bevel. The convex grind was exactly that and looked real nice till i reground/filed it to get a sharp edge for a fire steel :roll:
still, they are gettin there.

So how do i go about hardening them ? ):

Rich

 

[Stuart]

WOW they are really coming along fast

 

[Simon]

definitely getting there ..... you'll find the fine shaping to be the most tedious .. but I find going in to a trance like state helps :shock:

So how do i go about hardening them ? ):

well i notice you've been hovering around BB . there's lots of info if you want to do it yourself

you can go the charcoal way ... you don't need a grand piano .. hairdryer will do ... or a plumbers torch inside an insulated steel tube ... get the O1 to just over non magnetic (780 - 820 Celsius) bring it out and let it cool down a bit in air, repeat 2 - 3 times . then get to non magnetic again and quench in some warm veg oil or variant.

this gives a bit more info

http://www.ghcook.com/crp01new.htm

alternatively ... send it to one of us at BB and we can do it for you .. might even put a hamon on it

 

[ESpy]

Pretty much anything will do for an air source. I've been playing with using an airbed pump over the weekend - gives a small draught, but perfectly adequate. Vacuum cleaners (eg shop vacs) with an exhaust work well too.

Or you could build a grand piano and pretend it is a box bellows

 

[Roving Rich]

so i need to build a hammond ? wasn't that the one with the spinning speaker.....

oh a hamon ? wots one of them then ? does it come in a box ?

Built a forge when i were a lad, used the bottom of a 40 gallon drum, and a hoover. Fun, but a bit overkill ? how does this pipe or firebrick and a blowtorch work then, surely i cant just lay the blade in on the floor....

Urrr that link has really confused me, can anyone translate ?
And how did you know i'd been a BB ? :shock: is somebody watching me ? tis conspiricy tis true tis true...... :spider:

Rich

 

[ESpy]

The 1 brick forge is nice and easy:

Take a soft firebrick. Bore a hole end to end. Bore another hole in the side to stick a blowtorch into. Keep the blade moving back & forth to even out the heat.

 

[Simon]

that wavy line with speckles along the edge is a hamon

it's created by insulating part of the blade from the sudden temperature change in quenching so you have a hard edge but softer body of the blade in the traditional japanese forging method .. it supposedly gives the blade the shock resisting properties of softer steel with the hard edge for good prolonged cutting with edge retention ..... no it doesn't come in a box ):

fundementally.. get the blade hot a couple of times and let it air cool .. when I say hot . almost red hot ... around non magnetic ..... then get it up to non magnetic and catch it right at the point it changes, slip it in the heat for another 5 seconds to be sure ..... and then take it out and plunge it in the oil till it is hand warm .. then run to your oven and put it in the oven at 200 degrees C for an hour ... you now have a hardened and tempered blade

and your name was in the list at the bottom of the page on BB, not exactly spying, just observant

 

[Roving Rich]

): ): ):
Sounds straight forward, can't wait :hyper:
How do i find the point of change, put it next to a compass or try and pick it up with a magnet ?
I suppose there is no need to harden the tang so i can hold that to pass it in and out of the heat....
I caught an episode of "ultimate weapons" at the weekend on satellite, all about the Samurai Sword, showing how they make em, how they put the Hamon on with using a thin layer of clay. They were using the box bellows or grand piano, exactly like Peter had at the meetup. But not in the sand , on the floor in one of those Japanese paper houses !!! :shock:
Those bellows are great. propel air in both pumping directions. That is how the Chinese has Steel 1500 Years before we did in the west ! :notworthy
I've still got some more work to do on the knives before hardening - thats what BB does :shock: Kind of puts my amateur efforts to shame.
Thanks for your advice
Rich

 

[Martyn]

That is how the Chinese has Steel 1500 Years before we did in the west !

Actually, the Saxons had steel 2000 years ago - they just couldn't make it in any quantity, which made it insanely expensive. So steel production was left alone untill the middle ages, when advances in smelting technology made it a viable economic option.

 

[The General]

Historically the Welsh it seems, were working with Steel before anyone else.

 

[ESpy]

How do i find the point of change, put it next to a compass or try and pick it up with a magnet ?

I use those magnetic pickup tools - Maplin sell them IIRC. Don't put it back in your pocket until you are sure it has cooled... :yikes:

I suppose there is no need to harden the tang so i can hold that to pass it in and out of the heat....

Hmph

I caught an episode of "ultimate weapons" at the weekend on satellite, all about the Samurai Sword, showing how they make em, how they put the Hamon on with using a thin layer of clay. They were using the box bellows or grand piano, exactly like Peter had at the meetup. But not in the sand , on the floor in one of those Japanese paper houses !!! :shock:

Not that I'm jealous or anything - I'm still sweeping sand out of the 110! Don't suppose anyone has a copy of that in a format I can read?

Those bellows are great. propel air in both pumping directions. That is how the Chinese has Steel 1500 Years before we did in the west ! :notworthy

And the valving is so simple, but works incredibly well. The volume of air that you can shove through the tuyere is incredible - don't remember if you saw the chunk of scaffold tube after I dismantled the forge, but it had melted...

I've still got some more work to do on the knives before hardening - thats what BB does :shock: Kind of puts my amateur efforts to shame.

Amateur = not getting paid for it

 

[Simon]

I use those magnetic pickup tools - Maplin sell them IIRC. Don't put it back in your pocket until you are sure it has cooled... :yikes:

Got one of these stuck to the frame of my forge

but used to use one of the magnets out of a heavy duty magnetic cupboard latch .. kind you can get in B&Q etc.

I suppose there is no need to harden the tang so i can hold that to pass it in and out of the heat....

Hmph

):