Blacksmith forging project thread idea (pic heavy)

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Finsihed another knife... #4 to be exact.

Getting better each time!. On this one I changed the tang/handle to have a higher cut where your finger would push up into the blade, and taperd the handle into the blade as well. It feels alot better, and I think Im gonna keep this change in the design.









The handle on this one is "Bloodwood" , sanded up to 2000grit and sealed with teak oil. I am in love with this wood! to bad the 2' strip in the pictures before cost $23.... the feel is so nice and the wieght on this one is balanced almost exactly where I want it. I used aluminium rod for this one for the pins and the colors just look awesome together!

Gonna make some smaller Paring Knives, and a Cleaver next. Hopefully in the next couple months I can develope a full set of kitchen knives all upcycled from the rasp!

thanks

JP

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Ok ,

Heres the tool list I promised:

I layed it out kinda like the Big Home improvement stores stock their products ...

Good.... will get the job done.

Better.... will do the job and last a while with correct care

Best..... if you have the funding$ by this, take care of it, and you will never need another one.

So this post is an opinion. It's based on my experiences with different brands and products. I have in no way used or seen every different version of each product out there so this list is a reference not a definitive brand requirement.

Forges -

I believe that for a person beginning with the forging arts a gas forge is the best way to go. Considering cost, longevity, space, and fuel resource availability you cant beat a gas forge.
Coal is nasty, and Coke forges will set you back $800 to $1500 depending on if you get an electric blower or not. plus, you need a place to burn coal/coke and your garage is not gonna work for that... sorry

NC Tool and Forgemaster make excellent gas forges. Forgemaster's are overpriced and not worth the price difference in my opinion. So for this list the NC tool copany forges have been selected.

Good -

Whisper Deluxe - basic gas forge, sidepass throughs for working longer stock, but no insulated door. This results in heat loss, basicly no forge welding ability, and additional fuel consumption

deluxe link- http://www.shop.nctoolco.com/product.sc ... goryId=121





Better -

Whisper Momma - great forge, insulated door with pass throughs, reaches welding temp, and is very efficient.

Momma link- http://www.shop.nctoolco.com/product.sc ... goryId=121




Best -

Low Boy - This is the best forge for the money! large/deep fire box, pass throughs, reached welding temp and beyond! is prefered by damascus metal workers. efficient and quick !

Low Boy link - http://www.shop.nctoolco.com/product.sc ... goryId=121




Bigger project smiths option -

A taller version of the low boy, so does give added ability for size of projects but sacrifices speed and efficiency...

Daddy link - http://www.shop.nctoolco.com/product.sc ... goryId=121



next is Anvils....

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Anvils

An anvil is kinda like a mans dog. You cant tell someone that you will!!! like "this one dog over the next". Instead we select the dog for what our needs and expectations are for it. You wouldnt herd cattle with a Yorkie and I wouldnt expect a lap dog to herd horses... SO if your planning on making pocket knives then a smaller 70lb anvil might be all you need, but if your planning on making sizeable projects then you will regret not spending the money on a sizable anvil.

My truck swing arm has a 100lb emerson bolted to it, and its the nicest anvil/tool I have ever owned. Its functionaly perfect for my skill level and daily work needs. The horns radious is beautiful and its so solid it feels like an anvil twice its size. On the other hand, my shop anvil is a 275lb 100yr old Peter Wright. Its huge, but course. The horn isnt perfect, the side corners arnt exact, it slopes a little bit etc. etc. etc... but when you need to beat some metal its beautiful. Its the linebacker of anvils, crude but solid as a rock.

My point is that you need to pick an anvil that will suit your style and future project expectations.

There is no Good, better, best for this.. if its the anvil for you , its the anvil for you.

some recommendations -

Emerson 100lb tradition.

Plain and Simple!!! no cheating with this thing! learn to use your horn, and learn to use the face because there are no handicaps built into it. This anvil will make you learn to forge, you dont have a choice...

linked below is the 100lb but they have several sizes.

Emerson link - http://emersonhorseshoe.net/anvils/28-1 ... ional.html



Scott Anvil Company -

This is a fairly new company and because of that you can still get their anvils at a very decent price. In 5 years this will be a $900-$1000 anvil. It's a great multi-purpose anvil. The dovetail is excellent for blacksmithing, and its specially designed round horn is exceptional. Instead of having the horn from a 100lb anvil, the Scott company copied the horn off a 250lb Kolswa ($2500 anvil) . Its almost exact in size so you get the big anvil features but in a moveable 100lb package.

scott link - http://www.stockhoffsonline.com/acatalo ... Anvil.html



Going Used -

When buying a used ebay, craigslist, or other sites anvils for sale... be picky!!! and demand lots of pictures. The corners/edges need to be clean and the face and horn need to have minimal to no chipping. When you look on ebay dont choke at the prices...most of those nice anvils are rare 100+year old anvils and are being purchased as collectors items. So be thrifty and diligent so you can find a good deal. NO cracks, NO big chips, and NO freshly painted used anvils. You cant see hirline cracks if the paint fills them in.

Peter Wright shop anvil - 275lb - used value in this condition is $500 - $700




next is hammers and tongs...

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Hammers

Your hammer is your friend so pick it wisely. There are hammers ranging from $30 - $250, and it just depends on what your expectations are. I have both a $60 rounding hammer and a $195 rounding hammer. I used them for different things. The expensive one is balanced perfectly, and its strike force moves twice the steel as the cheap hammer, but the cheap hammer is cheap and I dont cry everytime I miss the steel and chip the face...

If you decide to pursue the hobby you will need to buy a "few" other hammers to do different techniques with. Crosspien, Ball pien, and a small sledge will prove usefull. For this list though Im just focusing on the rounding hammer because its you main hammer %90 of the time.


Good -

Dimond tools 2 lb rounding hammer

Basic design, I own one...it was my starter hammer and I have nothing bad to say about it other than it feels heavy and bulky...

Dimaond tools hammer link - http://www.centaurforge.com/24-oz-Diamo ... nfo/60HAM/



Better -

NC Tool 2 lb rounding hammer - Good basic hammer with a slightly better balance than the diamond.


NC tools hammer link - http://www.nctoolco.com/cavalry_hammers.html




Best -

Jim Keith Tools -

The Cadillac of hammers. There are a few other guys that make hammers this good but I love Jim so he gets my money. Lives in Tucumcari, NM and is one of the greatest blacksmiths I know.

Jim Keith Tools link - http://jktoolscom.ipage.com/product_inf ... ducts_id=9

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Tongs -

Tongs are an extension of your smart hand... metal moves because of the tongs placement of the steel on the anvil. The hammer hand is just for power. There are as many different types of tongs as there is metal sizes and shapes. For the basics you need flat stock tongs. I recommend 1/8", 1/4", 5/16", 3/8" and 1/2" as your basic set. If thats to many to get at once then get the sizes of the metal you plan to work with on your first few projects.

Tongs wear out...and need to be maintained. The better the tong the better the lifespan. Also, its nice to feel like your holding something with a solid tool and not a weak pair of sticks.

Good -

Diamond brand -

basic as it gets. They dont actually sell multiple sizes. Your just supposed to heat the opening and hammer fit it to the size stock yor working with...It will get the job done but definatly not ideal.

Dimond tongs link - http://www.anvilbrand.com/DIAMOND-FIRET ... -P116.aspx




Better -

Mustad makes a good quality tool. All of there stuff is decent and is a definite indstry satndard for many of us. I learned with mustad tongs so there is no excuses...
My only complaint with them is the have a very blunt head so its difficult to scoop under things and I find myself constanly knocking things into the heart of the fire box...

Mustad link - http://www.anvilbrand.com/MUSTAD-516-TONGS--P423.aspx




Best -

Jim Keith tools

Sturdy, tough, well made, and my current tong of choice.



Jim Keith tools tong link - http://jktoolscom.ipage.com/product_inf ... ucts_id=14

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

The only other things i can think of are the quench bucket, some files, and a good vice.

The bigger the bucket the longer your water will stay cool and if you can build one a pedal vice is nice for hot steel because the heat transfers into the vice from the steel and can get a little tricky to looseen with the hot handle...

The Pedal Vice

This is one of the most usefull tools you can have in a shop. Especially if your working with objects that are to hot to hold, you need both hands to weld, or you want to have 360deg mobility when filing or working an object.

Here are some pictures of the Pedal vice, and I will try to be a simple as possible in the description. Its not a a hard project if you can weld and have access to some basic metal working tools/supplies. I apologize for the lower picture quality. My wife took the good camera on her trip and I had to use my phone...


Pedal Vice:




So lets start at the bottom and work our way up... The pedal is pretty straight forward. It bolts in as a lever hinge and attaches to the bottom of the shaft. By depressing the pedal you push the shaft upwards...



On the other side of the base plate an attachment point and turnbuckle hold the bottom of the spring mechanism... the turnbuckle allows you to adjust the tension of the springs to your preferd strength.




About half way up the shaft another attachment point connects the top of the springs. These are garage door springs. This particular one is one spring bent in half to make it extra strong...With the attachment at this point when the pedal is free the shaft is pulled to its lower base ...closing the jaws at the top.



This is the catch assist mounted to the upper portion of the shaft. In this picture the pedal is free and the springs have pulled it to its lowest position...



When the pedal is depressed the lever acts to push up the shaft and your foot overpowers the springs. The catch assit hits the opening of the upper shaft and stops the shaft from opening any further than your preset amount. Its not totaly necessary but its nice to not bottom out the pedal every time you depress it, and it also keeps some tension on the springs which in turn keep it from popping loose if slacked...



The pedal is depressed, the shaft is pushed up overpowering the springs, and the catch has limited the jaws to opening to this amount...



By letting loose the pedal the springs draw the shaft back down to the lower attachment point and the force of the springs tension keeps your object squeezed between the jaws...


This vices jaws were made with the curved shape of a horseshoe in mind, but the size and shape of the jaws could be modified to meet whatever needs you would like.

So thats the pedal vice! Build one for yourself and free up those hands!




Thanks, if there are any questions please ask and I will try to answer them..

JP


Here is a list of resources that you can find all of these listed items and tons more. Some of the site offer free shipping on large orders so if your gonna commit on buying 600lbs of stuff, free shipping is a huge savings...

The last listing is for Pieh Tool Company. They specializ in blacksmith related tools and have the largest selection for this forums uses. A huge library or books and about every tong, hammer, and jig you could need...

centaur forge - http://www.centaurforge.com

stockoffs - http://www.stockhoffsonline.com/

anvil brand - http://www.anvilbrand.com/

nc tool - http://www.nctoolco.com/

pieh tool comp - http://www.piehtoolco.com/



I hope this helps!

I apologize for my spelling and grammer. Im horrible to begin with, but ive been getting worse the later it gets.

Please let me know if I forgot anything or if you have any questions. I will answer them to the best of my knowledge.

Thanks
JP

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Ok, so I finally have a little time to get this post together. I'm in the middle of one of the busiest three week pushes Ive ever attempted with my business. If I can hold out I'm looking at 19 of 21 days over 12 hours work... needles to say Im tired and having to work the horseshow this weekend didnt help..

Here is the continuance of the previously started post from last week or whenever it was...:dunno:


Paring Knives:

So im working on some smaller paring knives this weekend, a mini cleaver/chopping knife, and a cool cutting board...

Im attempting to establish two different styles of the smaller knives. One with more of a fillet knife blade and the other with a more traditional flat ground wide blade...

I have forged the rasp down really thin for the paring knive blanks



I use the 4lb sledge to flatten everything out. The 2lb is used afterwards to flaten the best I can.



I cant draw! HA! but this is my idea of what a paring knife looks like with a couple cool handle designs...


I used the 4.5 inch wheel and my baldor to get the blanks cut out


My buddy Jarod shot this pic...Im pretty camera shy so this is a rare moment! Cool Picture though...





So about the last step...

Im really excited to announce that my mentor and good friend has sold me his Variable Speed 17" Meatal Band Saw by Grizzly tools. Its a 131" blade, 3 phase machiene, and will cut out a ton of time and cost from the blank making process.

Ive been breaking an average of 2 cut off wheels and exhausting a $5 ceramic belt on my baldor per knife. So thats about $10 in cost and at least 30 minutes in labor... basicly the waste has cost more than the actual materials...

I honestly couldnt afford this machiene...its way above my hobby shops pay grade, but he made me a stupid deal on the price and is going to let me trade most of the cost out for covering his horses when he is out of town..Truth is, I already cover his horses when he is out of town so this is win win... Im really feeling like this knife making could be a profitable side business, and if Im going to continue to work at it I need to become more efficient..This saw and the larger grinder I hope to get soon will be the key components of that success...


Im going to pick it up next week and cant wait to get it into the shop and ready to work. Its also going to be needed for one of my future projects. My plan is to learn to make forged roses and in order to start that I need to be able to cut out alot of thin sheet metal blanks... So its going to get used way more than it ever did at his shop... He got it for his own knife business but decided way early on to have his blades milled...lame.. Its basicly not been used for more than the occasional wood project since, and is essentialy brand new...

this is it!(well of picture from the catolog) unbelievable its actually gonna be at the shop soon!



The Cutting Board:

The other project Im working on is making a cutting board. My neighbor is a retired finish carpenter and he makes some amazing stuff. He had a scrap bin full of little 2'' and 3" sections of nice hardwoods. I asked if I could have them instead of him throwing them in the trash so I could make a cutting board..

I cut them all with the table saw and tried my best to get good stright sides... I got a tip from my neighbor ... in order to keep it from getting cut up I needed to use the top/end grain of the wood...

Glued them together after putting the "puzzle" in order...



After it dried I cut the extras off and ended up here...



I still need to sand it..(A LOT!!!) to get the surface totally even. I also had a couple small gaps that will need to be filled as well...

If you missed the post on the specific cutting board debacle and recovery please check it out... the link is below:

Cutting board link...
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/show ... p?t=202160





Ok so back to the paring knives...

These are the cut and rough ground blanks


I use the belt sander and work my way from 80 grit up to 320grit...
Its a matter of being patient and observing the shape and flatness of the ground surface. Each pass needs to adapt to the imperfections of the last..



Here they are after completing the 120grit run...


back to it with 220


check for the "flow" and "taper" of the blades surface. Any shelfs or ridges will impead the fluidness of the cut so I pay attention to how the belt is actully hitting the blade and work from the thick top of the blade down to the cutting edge.


after the 220 run...


after the 320 run... the cutting edge is really getting fine

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

At this point I temper them. Ive found that its best to do it at this stage because instead of after the high grit polishing because removing the surface bluing can be rough on the finish.

So heating the forge with the bar stck shelves i placed inside as racks


The racks caused a problem...They didnt tansfer the heat equally and I didnt get a even temper...


So I decided to try to make a jig to solve this problem
I used two pieces of bar stock and some bailing wire to make a vice for the blanks to sit in. I could then insert the bar stock into the side pass and the blade floated in the middle of the forge box . becasue there was no contact on the blade it heated evenly...


Side note:
I am super excited about the information I learned about tempering and hardening today from my mentor. Basicly what I have been doing is fine as a generic attempt but its not good enough to consistantly produce these knives at a even quality level. The rasp are a blended high carbon steel which is why no one can tell me what specific type they are. Basicly air hardening and low temp tempering will do the trick but I need to chage how i do it.. I will make a post about this specificly later once I have all the details.. Generally though they need to be baked 2-3 times at 450deg after forging and hardening. This is good news because I can use my wifes oven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yes!


Back to the knives:

So the final sanding and buffing was done and i cut out the handle blanks


epoxy, drill, rivit, sand, oil, etc.etc.etc.
and they turned out very nice. I couldnt be happier with this first run of the smaller knives...


Fillet style blade, thin paduke wood handle with aluminium pins. The idea for this knife was to be "sleek" and have crisp hard edges to it to match the blade...



Traditional paring knife blade. I went with a thick Bloodwood handle with a single copper pin. This thing feels great in your hand. Its beefy enough for guys like myself to use even though its a smaller knife. My hands dont like to bend and grab much once I stop working for the day, and my short fat fingers need some mass to hold on to.






The Mini Cleaver was an attempt to create a heavier chopping knife. Plus I really wanted to drill that big hole that cleavers have in the front tip of the blade.

Its the same process as before just with a differently shaped blank and the tang has been left fairly thick..

I went with the ZebraWood handle and 1/4"aluminium rod...I thought the beefy knife should have a beefy looking handle and pins... its unfortunatly not the best knife Ive made as far as finish. I wanted it to be a little courser and rough forged looking, but I fell into the cracks of not enough to be rough and to much to be clean... so it just looks weird to me...



So here are the last three completed knives..


So to date these are the four different designs from my Utility/kitchen knife set also including the cutting board...




The plan now is to streamline the process and get an online store built to sell the finished knives and cutting boards as custom orders.

Instead of trying to make a stack of each it will be easier for people to order the knife...select thier wood, pins, and blade stlyles, and then build them to order...The cutting boards are going to be partnerd with my neighbor untill I get the woodworking down though.

My photos are not quite up to par for the level I want for the store so Im am trading with a local photographer... a couple knives for a full shoot.... seems fair...She has total liberty with the only instruction to "just make them look really good" :thumbup:

Shes making what she is calling "food Porn" with them... guess we will see just how sexy the knives will be coupled with some nice foody photographs.


So thats where im at currently with Dog House Forge... Once the band saw is up and running I hope to start learning to forge the roses and flowers. That should be a fun skill to learn and I will definatly keep the photo log of the process... The truning jig is still in the works as well but its on hold untill I can get a little more free time...


Also: I have an instagram account now...This is a big deal for me because I am really not into the facebook or other social sites...If you want to see more horseshoe builds and Farrier work please feel free to check it out. Its mostly snapshots from my work day and the horse hooves Im really happy with at the days end...

Instagram id:

@Doghouseforge

Thanks a bunch and if you have any questions or concerns please feel free to ask!

JP

have a lucky week!

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Home Made Forge


On the garage Journal Forum where the Main Dog House Forge Blcksmithing Journal is posted, one of the members asked about building their own gas forge. I looked and found these photos from a few years ago and posted for his reference, I realize no one here has asked for homemade gas forges but I thought you guys would dig it as well.

Thanks

JP

This was my first and only attemp a building a forge.

My Uncle built the shell for me out of 18ga steel. I know that probably seems thin for a forge but with the quality of the insulation and fire brick you dont need it much thicker than that.

This was a sucess and I think it would work well in someones shop but at the time all I had was my work trailer and the constant jarring killed this thing in no time flat. However, as a shop forge it would have worked pretty well. My only critique is that my uncle built it twice as tall as my drawing called for....I never really asked him..he did it for free and has helped me more than I can remember so I just took it in stride and worked with it..


The Dog House;) Forge ..forge..



The door was attached by plug welding the hinges.


The handle is cut out of an old rasp (lol, guess I used them alot) and the box itself mesured 12'' X 14'' . It was supposed to be 9"x14"... The extra height was the killer in the end.


Inside used 1" ceramic insulation boarding (double walled) ...so 2 layers for a total of 2" thick. Since any hardware you use to fasten it to the shell will just burn up and away you have to get creative with how you place it. I used the side boards to hold in the rear section under pressure and the ceramic brick to put pressure on the sides. The bricks themselves are heavy enough to stay down s there is no need to secure done but i di make a retaining plate to weld across the front after all the peices of the puxzzle were in place.
The boarding and refractory brick can be purchased from "superior brick and refractory supply of Tampa"...



the retaining plate is along the bottom edge...


The pass through was cut out and used a 1/4 inch plate inset...this was not thick enough and I recommend using cast iron if possible,..


The holes for the venturies were cut out ann I used a series of different plumbing pipe to assemble the venturies. I modled them after the frge i was using at the time, and I have know idea how to measure and asses for lenght and width.. the base of the venturies was welded onto the top of the housing.. (be sure and grind off the zinc if you use galvanized pipe)



Mounted it to a swing arm


worked really nice.. held heat decent, and got shoes hot, was was to inefficent to reach welding temp...If I had a third venture it probably would have been sufficent but teo was just not enough...



So I hope that gives you some ideas for your own build... Just make sure you get the correctly rated cearmic board and bricks..The entire thing cost about $200 to build if you count the steel cost. Most of that is in the Boards, 2 4'x4'x1'' sheets was about $140 and the bricks were $5 a piece.

Ths does not inclue the cost of the regulator and hoses. Plus, I robbed an old forge for the injectors so they would have to be assembled as well.

I would guess that it would cost about $350 to build and alot of time, travel/shipping, and you have to work with protective everything when you are cuting the boarding...If my opiniion counts on this I would tell you to save up an extra week/month and buy a professionaly made one. Its just to specific of a tool to estimate on and hope its all balanced to run and not just explode. :thumbup:





Thanks

JP

[serehill]

Totally Good read thanks JP

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Totally Good read thanks JP

Thanks buddy,

Just FYI... The jeeps tag expires at the end of August and when it does its coming almost completly apart...for a while... including the engine! So, you better be availble for questions...


JP

[rocklaurence]

Wow! How long did it take you to learn those tricks/skills. I don't remember that in shop

[serehill]

Totally Good read thanks JP

Thanks buddy,

Just FYI... The jeeps tag expires at the end of August and when it does its coming almost completly apart...for a while... including the engine! So, you better be availble for questions...


JP

I would not miss it for anything. right in the middle of one.

Hey I want one of you knives name your price .

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Custom Pintels for hanging antique doors on a fancy chicken coup

A client from my Farrier Service asked if I could fabricte some new pintels for her chicken coups vintage front doors.. The catch was she needed them to look like they were as old as the doors if possible and be "heavy" in the design aspect..

The coup was built from cedar and reclaimed wood so some Faux Wrought Iron Pintel Hangers would look better than the simple bolt or screw in types availble at the store.


These doors were heavy and the female portion of the hangers was only 1/2" so I was concerned about the weight on such small stock.. To help this and add some design I cut 3" x 5" plates from 1/8" thick sheet, drilled them for 1/2 lag screws and hammer finished the tops to make them look good and worn.

Its not a very complicated job but heres the process:

I aplogize that this post used mostly phone pics instead of the good camera..I will try to remeber it in the future.




Because I dont have alot of fabrication tools I needed to use what was available to achieve the strongest results... My welder is a cheap HF stick and although it claims to be up for weding the thicker material I have found it cant really penatrate anything.

So Included in this process is what I have learned to overcome this issue untill I save up enough to get the shop welder I need.

To begin my helper and I cut post and bases for the pintels


Using the vice I tacked them together in order to make the next step possible.. With a decent welder this would be "the step" and you could just weld the peices together but I needed to go a little further to get complete penetration.






Hot metal will make the crappy welder into a good welder...or well it at least will alow the crappy welder to penatrate like a good welder..Crappy is as crappy is I guess...

So all the pintel post got a little heat put on them



with a nice red heat the metal blends together like butter


So afterwards I reheated and quenched to re-harden the steel and then used the grinders to clean up the seems and make the outside edges rounded for a more pleasing appearence.


With those finished, I hammer forged the steel plate sections just as I did in the previous wrought iron replication post...


The next step was to create a repeatable jig system so I could get all the intels at perpendicular angels to the backing plates... My helper Laura actually came up with the 3/8" bar stock and clamp idea and it spaced them perfectly.


just as before the pieces were tack welded and heated before the completed welds were made




welded and very solid...again the peices were heated and quenched to reharden the steel



The hammer forged back plates looked good and old but the pintels themselves looked really new so the 4.5" grinder and a flap disk roughed them up nicely


Pilot holes were drilled. Before Im corrected for my WD-40 lube I normally have 3in1 cutting fluid but was out so wd-40 came to the rescue.


(because of the uneven surface I use a center punch to set the starting locations this keeps the drill bit from skating on the uneven surface)



The 1/2'' holes were finished and the piece was put back in the fire to be brushed... This heat was alowed to cool down naturaly during the brushing. It helps to bring a bit of flexability to the peice but still keep the strength we have added during the many hardening quenches


Brush and more brush


Coated with a good, thick layer of Hoof packing oil


After cooling completly I wiped the excess oil away and double checked that they all stayed straight during the process.


Not to shabby and sturdy to boot!

And here is the nicest Chicken Coup Ever Built


She was supposed to take a close up for me but I will get one and add it after I do theie barn next week.


Stuff like this is fun and easy...the client was happy and I actually charged someone for something I made outside of the Farrier Buisness.. $20 per pintel and she comissioned a BIG! chandler for her entry way... Its got to be completly made from recycled and reclaimed materials... Im stoked about the job and will post the process as I get each phase done.


Thanks for checking it out and as always feel free to ask questions, correct bad habits, or offer advice for making life easier in the future..

JP

[rocklaurence]

Dude! Do you ever shoe horses? I'll see ya all on Sunday

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Dude! Do you ever shoe horses? I'll see ya all on Sunday

I have 278 horses on my book... and thats a very full load for any farrier, but... Im lucky to have a pretty amazing helper to cut the load down so I can piddle with art, blacksmithing, picking, and jeeps. If and when she goes out on her own I will be screwed and not be able to do as much side work as I like. You'll get to meet laura this weekend.. One tough chick... The kind that has random dana 60's lying around her garage. LOL

So usually rain days and weekends are fun times.


Tomorrows the big day!

JP

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

Knife Making Updates

New tempering process and grinding lessons



Got to work on a couple more knives this weekend. They turned out really nice, and the grinding process is starting to get easier. The Tempering process has also evolved quite a bit since the first blade was forged so I thought a technical update would be viable.

Its not something you would think of or realize untill your in the middle of making a knife blade but the sides of the blade have to be ground not only equally thick but the angles of the blade needs to be the same from the top of the blade all the way to the cutting edge. Its hard because its not easy to see such a minute difference. What I've discovered is that if its not spot on you will only be able to get one edge sharp... That meaning that when you check it with your thumb it will be razor sharp one direction and feel dull in the other. no matter how many times you re-run the dull side it wont take and edge, and when you use the knife it pulls to the sharp side instead of cutting straight...

By lining up the edges at the same angle so that they meet uniformly at the cutting edge you can sharpen the combined point instead of just one side and in turn the knife will cut in both directions... Just something to ponder and work on in the future...

Another new update is with my tempering process.
I have adopted this process from the advice of my mentor(he builds some of the nicest Hoof Knives in our industry), and while it seemed a little overkill I cant convey to you the difference it made in both the process and finished product..

Before i was doing the "estimated" forge tempering based on color and was running the tempering after the grinding was finished. The knives in my home have stayed sharp and durable so it must have worked to some extent to soften the blade enough to have some flex and alow the hone to touch up the blade... BUT... as i am learning I didnt understand the actual reasoning behind the tempering and with my blinders looking only forward to the end result I missed some important reasons why tempering is valuble not only at the finish but also before the process even really begins..

The new formula is as follows:

1. Heat and forge the rasp into flattend , level blanks
2. After final heat allow the blanks to cool naturally and air harden slowly
3. Bake the blanks at 425 deg for 1 hour in the oven (using an internal thermometer to assure temp not the display)
4. Allow to cool in the oven completly
5. cut out blade pattern on the Band saw at very low speed 200fpm and 18tpi...(108" blade so temp buildup is minimum)
6. Proceed to grinding, cooling in water after every other pass or so.
7. Grind through grits to final edge at 800grit dry
8. Bake finished blades 2 full cycles in the oven at 425deg for 1.5hours allowing to cool completly in between cycles.
9. wet sand and polish blade to finish

So thats the new formula...the early tempering after initial forging is really the biggest noticable change. The band saw didnt have to work nearly as hard to cut the tool steel, and the grinding was noticably easier and quicker.

The finished blades have more flex than before and took the final edge easier. (some of the sharpening changes were because the grinding has improved)

In all the knives spent 7.5hours in my wifes oven...this was not ok with her. :thumbup: but it did get me the green light to buy a used oven to keep at the shop for stuff like this. YES!!!

So the final step is re-hardening the cutting edge and it's under experimentation. One the two knives I made this weekend one was re-sharpened at 400, 600, and 800 grit after the final tempering process. It was not cooled during this step and the edge was allowed to get very hot. After the final pass at 800grit I dipped the bottom 1/4" of the blade in mineral oil from the tip to the butt. This oil cooling could possibly be the best way to reharden the cutting edge. Since its out of my budget to buy a "rockwell Hardness" tester; usage and monitoring the blades ability to maintain the edge and its ability to be resharpened (or not) will provide more needed info.

The other blade was left untreated at the cutting edge with a uniform tempering to see if it holds up to usage and resharpening.. Im kinda using it as a controll for future experimentation.


So thats the technical stuff. I realze that folks like pictures and finished products, but just in case someone is trying this stuff on their own I want you to be up to date with the process behind the photographs.

So here are this weekends finished knives. Started on friday mid afternoon and all the steps were completed around 6pm this evening...Patients is being forced upon me...










So you might notice the cool new handle design... the idea came from the process of gluing the Cutting boards together. I decided to try it with lots of scrap pieces and thanks to the new band saw re-sawing is a real possibility. The grizzly ate my glued cube like swiss cheese. (2800fpm is scary and exhilarating at the same time!)










and then cut and sand just like its any other piece of handle wood. I used brass pins on the Padauk handle and copper pins on the mixed wood. Cant really see it in this picture but the copper really looks great!




So thanks for checking it out and I hope you guys arnt totally bored by the heady stuff.

As always let me know if you have any questions or if you have a better way to accomplish something Ive been working on.

Thanks and have a great week

JP

[ScottsMojo]

What adhesive are you using for the glue lam handles?

[Florida83FSJCherokee]

What adhesive are you using for the glue lam handles?

Titebond III Ultimate

I honestly think regular titebond would be strong enough but since the handles need to be washable I went waterproof .

Thanks

JP

The wood to metal applications are done with a 5000lb gel epoxy

[ScottsMojo]

What adhesive are you using for the glue lam handles?

Titebond III Ultimate

I honestly think regular titebond would be strong enough but since the handles need to be washable I went waterproof .

Thanks

JP

The wood to metal applications are done with a 5000lb gel epoxy

I think the regular Titebond II would suffice, and its FDA approved for indirect contact with food, which is important if you are selling your knives. I use Titebond II to glue up cutting boards and I have not had any issue with delamination.

Titebond III is also FDA approved, but I think it costs more and in the long run that adds up.