/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Yes glad the thread is back. I am going to be getting setup soon and I love seeing all the different feedback and general advice.

Wanting to get into stainless but why does every SS require a cryo temper? I'm apprehensive of having a dry ice and alcohol vat in my shop.

>>1497142
Is there a certain metal you should use for kitchen knifes or do you have to put something special on the blade after forging?

>>1497297
Stainless steels should be used. High Carbon is not particularly great for kitchen knives.

>>1497167
Cryo is good for three reasons:
>scavenges 1-2 HRC
>very high amounts of wear resistance
>some amount more toughness and edge holding
That's for anything which counts as steel, your old lump of 1070 or some alphanumerical super steel, they'll all get some advantages from a dip in the nitrogen. CO2+Acetone baths I've never quite been sold on as they're technically a shallow cryo and you're not really getting the full value there of going through an extra step, time and the expenses. Sure its cheaper than liquid N, but its also really not as good, you want that -200C or lower to really covert the remaining martensite. There's quite a lot of material on cryo treatments as they fell off the back of race engine technology for forged internals, gears and other stuff so its not completely alien technology.

>>1497297
Depends on the end user to be honest, if they're not going to look after their tools then a semi stainless or full stainless is really the only things that survive, but I still move quite a few into the profession kitchen users which are A2 and they really appreciate the edge holding over any kind of special care. They really only need to be cleaned and well dried at the end of the day to keep any minor rust away, for storage use mineral oil.
In terms of what you can put on a carbon/low stain resistant steel, Diamond Like Carbon Coating (DLC) is fairly much the premium coating for knives, (like cryo treatments it fell off the back of the motorsport and engineering industrial processes) Its also fairly pricey, but if someone wants the best then they can spend the dollars.
Bluing is still ok, but not huge amounts of corrosion resistance, most of the paint on and bake stuff is next to worthless on most types of knives and just doesn't hold up over time.

I just finished these two.

big one - 190mm blade
small one - 100 mm
rwl 34 , 2.5 mm thick


The guy that commissioned them wanted a santoku with comfortable handle that will last long time , so I chose g10. I made some holes on the tang but still, it's pretty heavy - 240 grams for the big one and 95 for the small one. The balance on the big one is just behind the heel.

After some reading I figured out that a straight handle similar to the japanese knives is one of the most comfortable and practical handles for a kitchen knife. I don't know if i'm right , I tested it and it feels nice , but i'm not a profesional cook , so who knows.

It's the last time I am making kitchen knife ,except if it's for me or for a friend ,or if they pay really good. It takes alot of belts to grind so much surface and to finish it nicely. Also if I make a mistake it's realy hard to fix. It also warped during tempering (quenched between aluminum plates) and I had to grind it straight.

I hope that the guy will appreciate the steel and will be able to sharpen it.

Shop heater crapped out on me but this is my next one once I fix the heating issue.

First two knives and my current project. Blank on current project is done and I tried to harden it but couldn't hold the temperature.
A little frustrated.
Next up is a hidden tang knife.
Makes me want to get a forge going because the stock removal method is such a waste of steel. Sadly Anvils are nowhere to be found here. Gonna try and get my hands on a piece of railroad track.

>>1498023
$100 or less option for you.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07G2NLK2V

https://smile.amazon.com/Harbor-Freight-Tools-Propane-Burners/dp/B0026CJ8GW (but get it at HF, with 20% it's $20).

Carve out an opening in one fire brick in the back (outside with a respirator and gloves, it's like carving styrofoam, so you can shape it with a flathead if you need to) for the flat torch head in the back.

If I cover the opening of this, it gets up to at least 1950 degrees. Open, it takes and holds 80CrV2 at non-magnetic (1560). It ain't pretty, but it works.

>>1498023
> the stock removal method is such a waste of steel.

As a medieval historian, all I can say is, steel is cheap, time isnt, unlike the past where time was cheap and the materials valuable - so work efficiently.

Personally, I do minimal forgework - smack in the shoulders for tangs, put in any curvature I need ( making it pre-curved helps to counter plunge downward if you're making single-edged blades like seaxes, bowies etc, in homogeneous steels) and of course, any pattern-welding. but otherwise, profiling and the likes is entirely hogged out with a 36 grit cubitronII, and it takes less time, and less physical damage health-wise.

>>1497980
Think with kitchen knives the handles tend to be simple because they get used in a variety of handling styles during the course of food prep. So the simplicity there tends to lend itself to that, rather than locking into just 1-2 preferential grips with a more complicated style of handle. Results there are great though, G10 is sometimes a bit of a no-brainer for kitchen knives as its comfy, non porous and will survive damn near anything
What steel?

>>1498038
Forging is a young fellas game, smashes up your wrists, messes your shoulder joints up and all manner of tendon buggery.
Working on a 9" bowie commission for an old family friend, raindrop pattern welded out of 1095-15N20 and it's just about damn near fucking killed me physically

>>1497580
Is stainless harder to work with or heat treat? I used to weld it but I don't know anything about forging it.

>>1498172
In some ways I find it easier to use the high chromium metals and stainless over the carbon steels as the stainless is very much a modern material which basically fell off the back of the industrial revolution- meaning its well standardised, reasonably high quality control and well documented. What that means for material engineering is basically follow the manufacturers instructions and you're golden, it'll work every time, if you follow the instructions exactly every time.
The biggie deal for home hackers is that stainless (and some of the more specialist tool steels) tend to require-
>comparatively high temperatures starting at 980 to 1200C
>multiple, lengthy tempering cycles, usually minimum of 2 x 2hr, most benefit from a 3rd and they all love a bit of cryo in between tempers
>precision temperatures +/-20C with a dedicated soak time of anywhere between 20-40min depending on the exact material/thickness and temperature
>atmosphere deprived high temps using tool wrap, vacuum furnace or an ATP coating

So prior to say, 1990's to make good stainless steel knives you where looking at some fairly expensive, hard to get equipment and it wasn't really until the early 2010's that stuff like affordable, precision kilns wasn't really in the bracket to be seen in most countries around the world and the mainline, high capacity industrial complex tended to have the sole dominion of the market. Course being mass produced, meant that most where just wham, bam, products which became infamous for their ability to get blunt after a few swipes and never quite got the love needed to bring out the most in the metal.
So SS became a byword for 'fucking rubbish' amongst knife-people simply because it was hard to find one that wasn't. If you're willing to make the leap to get the gear, spend the time leaning the ins and outs its quite cool, but you can't forge it and you can't make it on a budget

I recommend any knife maker gets themselves a thermometer + thermocouple though

>>1498068

the steel is RWL34 and the things you are saying sound logical. Thanks.

>>1498204
ok cool thanks for the info

I need some advice, I am trying to acquire my first anvil and the guy closest to me that has a couple sent me the following prices. 76 lb Hay budden for $350, a 98 lb Mousehole for $500, and a 90 lb Riss Meehan missing a hardy hole for $250. are these decent prices or should I look elsewhere?

>>1498517
Fuck Forged in Fire for ruining the Anvil market. It used to be you could buy an anvil for scrap value before that fucking show.

That said, those aren't terrible prices. A 114# anvil on my local Craigslist is going for $1000.

Just make sure to do the ball bearing bounce test to make sure it hasn't been in a barn fire.

>>1498524
Yeah it's ridiculous how expensive even a railroad track one is over $100 in my area but I'll be sure to get a ball bearing and test them out before buying one

>>1498524
The only pristine one he seems to have is this one for 500 it is 100lb and sets on a 100lb stand

>>1498536
>$5 a pound
Oof. Glad I got mine at $3 a pound. With the stand for $500? I guess that's not terrible as long as it passes the bearing test, but I'd still try to talk him down a bit (cash is King) or get him to throw in some tongs and maybe a hammer.

>>1498543
Yeah he has a bunch of anvils apparently and other misc tools, it doesn't really help that I'm new to all this either

>>1498543
This is a 90 lb one already on a stand it just doesn't have a hardy hole but its $250

>>1498551
Should I be worried that it also seems that he keeps all these outside 24/7

>>1498536
That is a cast iron body with hardened steel plate. It won't ring like a wrought anvil (IMO a feature not a bug) but supposedly, the plate will tend to want to chip off the cast iron body. The price is possibly kind of high for that anvil given the poorer reputation that it has (It is on the lower end of "true" anvils, as opposed to stuff like the HF garbage which should not be considered a real anvil). Anvil pricing is SUPER locality dependent though. Generally, in the USA, the further west you go, the higher the price. Basically, the blacksmith shop stopped being very prevalent once full industrialization and machine tools started being a thing, making it both easier to get new product from a large centralized manufactory, and changing the emphasis to mass manufactured home goods. This took to around the end of the 1800's for this process to really dwindle down the blacksmith trade. If your state had a low population at or before this point in history, there won't be many anvils lying around. I'm sure the old industrial areas like the rust belt has anvils lying around willy nilly.

>>1498551
I'd skip this one. The edges have been so ground that it would be very difficult to use. Lack of a hardy and prichard is also bad. Both are very important to the versatility of an anvil.

>>1498551
This one is a bad choice.
>>1498596
As long as it passes a ball bearing test, weather exposure won't be an issue for you. Wire wheel the surface rust off and it should be good to go.

>>1498732
I thought it looked too round and thanks for the info I'm in VA like right on the coast so idk what the anvil scene would be like in my area, there is colonial williamsburg nearby so I know there are at least a couple of blacksmiths around here

>>1498934
You probably have a pretty good chance of snatching one at a fair price. Virginia, though not heavily industrialized like the rust belt or New England, at least was populated long before the end of the blacksmith shop. Every town, village, and farm required metal implements. Larger plantations had their own shops even (Thomas Jefferson had a "nailery" at Monticello, a manufactory for nails with many workers (slaves in this case) with many anvils mass producing nails).

On a side note. One way to kind of tell if an anvil is a cast iron body or wrought iron body is the markings. Generally, forged bodies then have the markings stamped into (indented letters) and cast bodies had the letters cut into the pattern mold, and thus create raised letters on the body. This is not foolproof of course. The second thing is that due to the shock damping properties of cast iron, they generally do not ring, even with a true hard plate face. This looses some of the romance of forging on an anvil, but it is way less noisy, so I see this as kind of a user preference thing. Proper tight mounting of an anvil will also reduce the ring on a wrought anvil quite a bit from a free standing anvil.

This guy >>1498740 brings up a good point. For one, there are anvils out there that are just cast iron completely with no hard face. This is extremely bad since it will immediately deform when struck even lightly, and also be prone to cracking and chipping as cast iron tends to do. Testing the bounce of a ball bearing is a quick and easy way to check this. It will detect if the face has a hardened plate at all, or if it formerly had a hardened plate that has since lost it's hardness. There have been many an anvil that has been in a shop fire, where the heat treatment of the face has been destroyed.

>>1497580
Just out of curiosity because I want to do some knife making. I have access to liquid nitrogen and if I really want; liquid helium, is this something that is worth it to a first timer or is it just another risk to ruin your blade if it goes wrong

>>1498960
Put it this way, its a lower risk than the actual quenching the blade.
The slightly riskier option is doing the quench, wait until room temp and 24h in liq N, then tempering cycles. The low/no risk is the quench-temper, cryo for 24h and then temper again. Just be a little bit careful between moving the knife to its cooling rack and try to avoid rough handling in between stages until its at least room temp.

Both are fairly well documented and if you haven't figured it out, there's a fair bit of reading and research when it comes to knives! :)
Give it a go and see if its worth your while, time, cost and effort, experimenting with new steels, techniques and heat treats is all part of the fun

>>1498941
Wow thanks for all the info I really appreciate it

>>1497297
Iron with carbon and maybe some other metal in small amounts in it. you can buy it as so called "steel"

>>1497987
ah i recognize that hilt design Pukko anon is at it again

Guys I have a friend giving me unlimited 2 inch thick insulwool and unlimited firebricks of any shape and size, what the fuck kind of forge should I make with these?

>>1499933
Lucky bastard. Wear a mask and gloves when cutting that shit, friendo. Forge type depends on if you're looking to be gas or electric and what size your projects are.

>>1499933
In addition to what >>1499944 said. You also need to seal or harden the wool if you use that, or it will continuously release little fibers into the air (either that or wear a mask forever, which is not worth it). You should find out if the firebrick is the soft type or the hard type. AFAIK, the soft type is the only kind that is insulating. It is cut-able with an old hacksaw blade pretty easily (it is soft enough for you to press your fingernail into). IMO, if it is the soft kind, I'd just make the whole thing out of that mortared together with refractory cement. I went the Kaowool route but it requires maintenance to keep the sealing laying of stuff intact (I don't know if the stuff really soaks into the interior effectively or not). It just is a source of paranoia for me anyway. It might be nothing but it bugs me in my mind.

>>1499948
Yeah, the soft stuff ("insulating fire brick") insulates/reflects heat while the heavy brick just takes the heat. ISF is the best option for a forge. >>1498029 's "It ain't pretty but works" forge is a simple but effective build.

>>1497980
>>1498341
They look well crafted, and the steel sounds like it has some good characteristics. I think I would love using those knives (except I am not a fan of santoku).

I just ordered ziricote wood for a knife
hope it will turnout nice

pic related , it's the larger knife already ground it after the pic but still needs more polish

this is a little off topic but may fit

Anyone know a good source for blank (kitchen) blades?

just want to start with making handles to some nice blank blades, read somewhere that blanks of vg-10 steel would be a good start, there are some on ebay and such but the types and forms are limited

Where is a good place online to order steel and handle wood?

I discovered something recently that some of you may like to use for your wood handles. There's an invasive,thorny, ornamental shrub called, "Japanese Barberry," (Berberis thunbergii.) It doesn't grow very thick, but the wood is pretty hard when seasoned. The neat thing about it is the wood is bright yellow and UV reactive (pic).

After lots of googling it seems most woodworkers only use it for inlays. The bushes are really easy to spot since they are usually reddish/purplish and have bright red berries in the fall/winter.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Japanese+Barberry&tbm=isch

Another thing is that in forests that have barberry there are more ticks than those without barberry. So, getting rid of the invasive plants is a good idea for a few reasons.

>>1500880
It should be noted that the yellow color is brighter in direct sunlight. That image was in LED light (top) and UV flashlight (bottom).

>>1500883
Nice

>>1500880
>223 KB
> I discovered
nice shit i should check my woods for luminiscence

>>1500810
wow, that's spooky I've got half a dozen paring knives to heat treat tomorrow almost that exact same profile as your larger, sweeping blade there.
(except they're much smaller of course!)
Ziricote has always intrigued me with its sapwood-hearwood contrast and one day I was thinking about making a knife with it, probably a hamon or one of my bi-metal monsters to have sort of a matching contrast effect between the two materials. Its frigging hard to find here though so I've not imported any

>>1499167
Heat treated the blade for it today and it's on its second temper right now (80CrV2) and did the basic profiling of the wood.

I had an issue with my propane tanks valve freezing shut on the furnace today, so I eventually put it a tub of hot water so I could finish the damn heat treat.

Also, preview of part of my next knife. This one is going to have a "Finnish Black Metal" motif to it (maybe a skull pommel made from antler) for a person who loves Black Metal. Bloodwood, red/black spacers, African Blackwood, spacers again, Bloodwood again.

>>1500880
Me again. While I'm not currently working on a knife, I did find that I wanted to keep the saw dust from a whistle project for later use, because of the wood's UV properties. Here's what the stuff looks like. The upper image has an oak dowel rod laying across it for comparison. Bottom image is the dust collected in a baggie with a WIP project (whistle) on it.

From one bush, I should have enough material for many inlays for knife handles. It is easier to work with and softer than I first realized. It may be worth stabilizing if you have the gear for it.

>>1501114
And this is how the new blank came out after drying overnight. Very satisfied with the look of this blank. It will probably be attached to a 110 mm puukko with ricasso.

>>1501831
That will look nice. What fixative do you use?

I know it is more about the job you are doing at hand, but what style do you find more useful for day-to-day jobs? Heel or no heel on the knife? (top no heel, bottom with heel)

>>1502035
Thanks. I use Devcon 2.5 ton epoxy. This will have a hidden tang that will be burn fitted and epoxied.

>>1502121
I have some Devcon 2 Ton epoxy that I use for various things. For laminating wood I figured I'd use Tightbond for wood stuff though.

>>1502128
I use tightbond to make the pine scabbards in the sheathes, but that bloodwood and blackwood is such a tight grain, I figured epoxy was a better option.

>>1502132
So long as it isn't bending, flexing, or taking on enough water to swell it will be just fine. Titebond allows for movement. Devcon tends to crack. People who make laminated bows use Titebond for the most part. As far as the grain goes, it doesn't really matter. Just prep the surfaces with sandpaper as the fixatives direct on the bottles.

>>1502039
Yeah its really about the task and tool for the job, lot of the smaller, generic utility stuff like opening boxes, cutting rope, whittling and all that. Just a small knife with no heel does the job best at least for me. When it comes to something a bit more involved like processing material/food off a work surface the heel and knuckle clearance between the handle-knife edge is a bit more valuable as it lets you use more of the total knifes edge without mashing a finger into the surface.
Handle ergo is also important if you're doing a lot of work in one sitting, got to remember that human-tool interface! :)

>>1502121
If you're doing a lot of burn through, maybe time to come up with just a standard, generic tang shape for your spurdo shanks you use on every knife. That way you can just heat that puppy up yellow-hot and blast through handles with no fussing, Well, no more fussing that someone running around with 900C hot steel should have to worry about!

>>1502337
Imagine if there was a knife that had a blade you could move up and down then lock into place. Then it would have a heel or no heel depending on the locking position.

>>1502337
I have a common cut for the tang of my Spurdö Shanks (I'm trademarking this). I also tend make the tip of the tang into beveled blade too assist the burn-fit.

>>1502355
Its do-able, but having something thats mechanically strong and doesn't look like a dogs breakfast after running down a long, windy path of madness, tool throwing, bad words and lots of prototypes in the "art bin" will be another matter.

>>1502358
I actually bought a lump of the old 80crv the other day for a decent price as I was wandering through placing an order for other stuff. Going to give the N690 a trial run and see how it goes
Don't rightly know exactly what I'm going to do with it just yet as I've been busy finishing off an order, but thinking about making some kind of big arse, ugly cleaver or chopper.

>>1497142
This is the first knife I've made. It's alright, but was getting chips out of the edge when I was initially sharpening it (with one of those handheld sharpeners with two pieces of grit crossed in a "v" shape. Could that just be damascus steel delaminating?

>>1502374
>handheld sharpeners with two pieces of grit crossed in a "v" shape.
Ah the old Knifefucker 9000
Yeah throw it in the bin, those pull through sharpeners are rubbish unless the steel is really soft

>>1502374
>>1502375
Yeah, those turn a smooth edge into an RNG serrated edge.

>>1502370
Most of the Finnish puukko makers use 80CrV2 in their high carbon puukko (Laurin Metalli, Puronvarsi, Jäärvenpää, et al) so that's why I use it. I find a three minute soak at non-magnetic and 140 F canola oil harden it just fine. 380 F on my oven takes it to the desired straw color for temper.

>>1502370
I stacked some stuff on one of my knives' handle that has a heel. The added material is the same amount needed to hide the heel. It doesn't feel too bad. Though, the taller the heel is the more material there would be and the taller the handle. So, a chef's knife would probably be clunky to use, but a simple camp knife would be doable without much fuss.

The rear hole through the handle would be the hinged for the blade and the two forward holes would be for locking it into either position. The locks themselves could be fitted with N52 magnets at the end of the hole in the opposite side and a steel rod dropped onto them. To change positions, you just pull the rod out, move the handle, and replace the rod in the other hole. If you don't want to use a magnet (imagine the metal swarf getting all over it from other projects), the rod can be grooved and leaf springs put in place for friction fitting.

>>1502379
It has vast amounts of toughness and resistance to edge deformation, so I was looking more at the heavy impact properties for something big and gronky that'll blast through a beef bone or frozen chicken. I've used it in the past and generally fallen back on O1 for similar uses which has better wear resistance and can get a tiny bit harder, but will sometimes chip out if you're not careful on the thermocycles.

>>1502389
Yeah the thing I was thinking is some kind of screw-in with a big fat M12 thread into different position and maybe a lock to pin-stop it in the correct orientation and stop it wiggling
Like everything, there's a compromise somewhere

>>1498536
All SC anvils are cast with a steel plate on top. If there's a forged steel anvil there, go for it instead of the SC. Even in shitty shape, if a forged steel anvil passes the ball bearing test you can fill weld, grind, sand the edges and surfaces back into usable shape. Search up some videos, it isn't difficult to do.

>>1502407
I'm not a farrier and don't know anything about it but that looks like it would be pretty handy for one.

>>1502358
>Spurdö Shanks (I'm trademarking this)
Long as you remember us poor dudes when you're rich and famous

Anyway, finally got around to photos of the last project before it gets sent on its way to a new owner.
I extremely rarely do bowies, never do tactical stuff, maybe 1-10 is a utility/bush knife and most of my stuff is kitchen gear... then its a blue moon if I do pattern welded stuff because its too much damn work. But a long time friend of the family wanted one and its sort of hard to say no.
So about 8 layers of 1095 and 15N20, folded twice, drilled all up and down, mashed to death for the raindrop pattern and surface ground (its good to have friends with a spare 6 tonnes of industrial equipment you can borrow- on short notice no less!) Used the customers design + material requests, a few tweeks of my own. A260 brass and this really old lump of African Wenge I had lying around for years that I didn't want to cut up, has a gun-stock oil finish, blade got a fairly shallow etch, then I blued it, ran a fine 2000 grit + light polish over the surface

>>1502481
Fantastic, dude. I'm saving up my puukko monies for some sort of anvil and building a 3 or 4 burner forge so I can start hammering my own steel. I think a high contrast Damascus would look neat on a puukko.

>>1502481
Awesome pattern! Looks amazing!

Since I'm still looking for an anvil that's not too insanely overpriced, what do y'all think about having one like this to start out with? He said everything is made with Railroad tie plates and spikes.

>>1502490
>>1502532
Thanks fellas, its a little 'busy' for my tastes but what I'm getting paid for and after a bit of steel wool, tidying up and a wax polish over the handle to even it out its lustre, at a point I'm happy with the product.
Just as a word of warning with Wenge, always wear a respirator and gloves.The dust will irritate eyes and lungs, splinters can go septic very quickly so its a bit treacherous. Getting 1095 sharped up is always a joy though, so fucking easy to get it up to that 'oh shid, be careful' sharpness really quickly.

>>1502634
Basically with stuff like that if you keep the work piece small to say 3-6" blades and give the surface a bit of love to get rid of any pitting, they do work. Slightly fancier versions you can also get from farriers shops called a "Striking Anvil", these work great for small stuff you just need a flat surface for and no curved surfaces, plus they don't cost anywhere near the full amount an anvil does + the hardy hole is great for mounting chisels, punches and other stuff in there like a planishing stake.
Still if you ain't got nothing, use what you can get

>>1502490
i think a middle constrast feather damast would be ebst for a pukko, maybe with a cutting steel insert for edge

>>1502634
How cheap is cheap? Also, I dunno how well that base will work for you. It will tend to want to rock on you (highly annoying) unless you can widen the base. If it is cheap enough I'd consider it.

>>1502641
>>1502813
He is selling them for $40 I'm not sure if they are premade or made to an order though because he says he can do both, but I only want to start out small anyways so I guess I'll get this and work my way up to a better anvil. Thanks for all the advice guys I really appreciate it.

>>1502641
Not the guy you answered, but what do you think of this idea? I'm thinking about getting the 55# anvil from HF, which I know is basically pot metal, getting a half inch plate of 1080/90, cutting it size, get it heat treated (be like $15 for me) and then welding it to the anvil (after grinding the surface level, of course).
Is this a feasible option?

>>1502828
I have seen a couple of people do that but the issue is when you weld the hard plate in there can be a small gap between the plate and the anvil causing a loss of energy when hammering and a lot more work on your part. I'm not the anon you're replying to btw.

>>1502828
AFAIK, normally anvil faces are mid carbon steels, like 4140 and such, HT to the low 40HRC. Probably for impact resistance to prevent chipping.

>>1502828
Problem with the cheapo anvils is that the material really isn't very good for welding, I believe that they're some kind of cast iron
If they're iron, you'd need to heat the whole anvil up to about 250C, get your 4140 or 1018 surface >>1502898 recommends and then use an EN55 electrode- these are comparatively expensive
If they're cast steel, same heat, same striking surface and then use a 7018 electrode, but at least they're cheap.

After that, into a kiln at 450-500C for an hour, then leave it there overnight to stress relief so the welds don't pop due to the thermocycle expanding/contracting too suddenly
Then ramp up to critical austenising temps for the hardenable steel and dunk that whole red hot nightmare into oild... lots of oil and may god rest your soul if it catches on fire or explodes
Temper it back in the kiln
This kind of madness is why anvils cost a lot, a good one has a lot of relatively precise engineering in them regarding material and heat treatments.

In reality, all do-able, but how much you spend, risk to life and limb its sort of something you'd have to figure out. The cheapest you can probably do is just go find a foot length of mild steel that's about 2"/50mm thick, few inches wide and tap some holes in the bottom of it so you can mount that to a bench, saw horse or some kind of stand, you're really not likely to wear it out or dent it too much in a hurry either just beating on it with manly man arms and a hammer. Thats known as an ASO- anvil shaped object and for small pieces they work great for how much they cost and will tide you over until something better comes along.

>>1502996
Or you can just use a hardfacing rod and grind it smooth afterwards.

>>1502039
For most tasks I prefer a knife without a large heel. On the other hand, I tend to use knives with a significant heel and no bolster more because they are easier to sharpen and, if they are ground the way I like them, can take a lot more sharpening before having to be reground.

>>1502996
It's well above 40HRC.
I spent a lot of money on my Kanca anvil from a blacksmith, and it came with a certificate that had a diagram of the anvil and points along the face/horns with the specific HRC reading at each position. Mine has points over 60HRC, which is pretty cool.

From the site of the place I bought it from:
>"Following independent testing we are pleased to confirm that the quality of the drop forged anvils had an average inferred hardness of 59HRC on the edges and faces and 53HRC on the horns. The face and horns of the bigger Refflinghaus anvils are guaranteed to be at least 59HR"

>>1502898
>>1502996
It's well above 40HRC.
I spent a lot of money on my Kanca anvil from a blacksmith, and it came with a certificate that had a diagram of the anvil and points along the face/horns with the specific HRC reading at each position. Mine has points over 60HRC, which is pretty cool.

From the site of the place I bought it from:
>"Following independent testing we are pleased to confirm that the quality of the drop forged anvils had an average inferred hardness of 59HRC on the edges and faces and 53HRC on the horns. The face and horns of the bigger Refflinghaus anvils are guaranteed to be at least 59HR"

>>1502898

A good anvil should be well above 40HRC.
I bought a Kanca anvil from a blacksmith, and it came with a certificate that had a diagram of the anvil and points along the face/horns with the specific HRC reading at each position (kinda like this picture I found online but not the same). Mine has one corner reading at 62HRC, which is pretty cool.

From the place I bought it from:
>"Following independent testing we are pleased to confirm that the quality of the drop forged anvils had an average inferred hardness of 59HRC on the edges and faces and 53HRC on the horns. The face and horns of the bigger Refflinghaus anvils are guaranteed to be at least 59HR"

>>1502634
Alright guys bought one of these striking anvils, it was only $40 and it had a surprisingly large plate, the only issue is it comes up to my knees I'm thinking of just prying the railroad spikes out that are holding it and putting it on a higher log. What would y'all recommend?

>>1503631
I'd just put the log on top of a base made out of 4 x 4s on the end grain.

Ok strike anvil guy again, what would be the easiest way other than using an angle grinder to get this thing smoother? Or should I just keep going the way I am?

Finally had a chance to get back in the shop. Stupid holidays ruin everything.

>>1504124
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about it. You'd be surprised about how much it doesn't matter. The scale will have far more impact on the surface quality than the minor imperfections on that face. It looks like there are relatively smooth sections you can just aim for when you are nearing the final shape.

a commission that is nearly finished, just needs a bit more finish work, sheath and sharpening

>>1504297
closeup of the window breaker on the back

Im not sure this is exactly what you guys meant by "knife making" but I am a semi professional (not really but I make a little bit more than beer and tool money) wood worker and recently my buddy asked me to make a new handle for his old knife. Made a beautiful handle out of an old piece of walnut burl I had laying around from another project and it made his old pos knife look like a million bucks. Since then I have been toying with the idea of putting handles on premade knife blanks and putting them up for sale.

The problem I'm facing is that I don't know fuck all about the knife industry. All the blanks I can find seem to be in they "okay but not great" catagory as far as steel goes (according to google searching, i really have no idea). I don't really have a problem with this if they will sell, but in order to get my time/money I would have to put a decent price tag on it because good looking lumber isn't exactly cheap. Throwing a $50 handle on a $20 blade seems wrong, but if people just buy knifes to use as expensive paperweights it might be okay. In short I guess I am asking if a so/so blade with a very nice handle would sell, and if not where should I be looking for high quality blades?

>>1504307
Don't buy "blanks." Buy steel you can treat and temper and stock removal your own designs.

>>1504316

But then I have to buy tools that I can work it with. Apart from 6 tools all my shit is hand work. I don't even have a bench grinder. I just want to throw beautiful handles on knifes actually turning barstock into a proper blade is far outside my ability level.

>>1504307
want to to the same thing, i saw someone doing it on imgur recently who actually then sells them, which i dont want to but anyway

the guy used vg-10 steel blanks but didnt cite a source
been looking around but only found some on ebay which didnt look bad but not really satisfying

>>1504297


Looks good and sturdy. I only have two critiques - the handle is too "square" , I would break these edges much more. The finish on the blade looks a bit coarse , like 120p maybe , but I might be wrong. Anyways good job. Show the sheath when you finish it.

>>1504307

Most of the knife guys don't like these hybrids - custom handle/mass produced blade. Maybe you can find a guy who makes blades and do co-op with him.

>>1504297
Pretty good so far, what materials and steel did you use?

>>1504323
If you can put a decent handle on a knife the rest of it sort of works itself out. Thing with stock blanks and the like is you're sort of restricting yourself to whatever parameters are there instead of being able to put your own ideas into it as much.
Other thing to look at is maybe getting a whole heap of blanks cut out of a sheet with a laser or waterjet, just putting some bevels on them with a cheap 1x30 belt grinder + jig and then sending them off to be heat treated. Personally I don't as it takes the control out of it and I don't want the chance of an apprentice chewing on anything I put my name to, but each to their own and what makes them happy.

>>1504369
>the handle is too "square"

This was on purpose. The handle near the spine is rounded, so its not too square and the customer didn't want finger grooves like pic related so I was trying something new. It fits well in my hand but I may be biased

>The finish on the blade looks a bit coarse
You got a good eye, it's finished at 220 grit which is also on purpose. Customer wanted to keep it grippy so I did my best to keep at as even as possible at that low grit. Right now it feels like a wood handled steak knife, so kinda grippy.

>>1504373
Brown canvas, black micarta handle scales (polishes completely black as you can see) 1095 steel and stainless pins

>>1504369
>the handle is too "square"

This was on purpose.The handle near the spine is rounded, so its not too square and the customer didn't want finger grooves like pic related so I was trying something new. It fits well in my hand but I may be biased

>The finish on the blade looks a bit coarse
Its surfaced finished but I left the quench/tempering scale on it instead of scraping it off just because I like it better. It also think it obfuscates scratches better and I expect my blades to be used.

>>1504373
Brown canvas, black micarta handle scales (polishes completely black as you can see) 1095 steel and stainless pins

>>1504323
You can make blanks from just using a hacksaw, files, sandpaper and a portable drill.

You can make a bevel grinder from 20 dollars of materials and a double-cut bastard mill file.

Its much more satisfying than just buying blanks and you can change your patterns and steel to suit the customer. There is a guy in my area that does just this, hand tools for everything and charges ludicrous amounts of money for them.

>>1504262
Ok cool, I just ordered my forge so I am getting pretty stoked about finally getting started on bladesmithing

>>1504441

I already have a drill press an angle grinder and a belt sander. I guess I will go pick up a cheap bench grinder some steel drilling bits and some A2 next time I have to head up to the city.

>>1504541
The Harbor Freight 1 x 30 grinder/sander is really good for a budget option. With the 25% off coupon, it works out to about $50. I have had the same one for 2 years now and used it for stock removal until I built my 2 x 72 last summer. Watch a few youtube vids on how to modify it (true the crown on the wheels, get the tensioner to work right) and it will last. If you plan on using a bevel jig (you can make one with wood and a $1 hinge, and it's a good way to accurately recreate bevel angles), just mount a long piece of plywood to the work surface and wax it.

The belts are insanely cheap, too. 40 grit ceramics are like $3 for a two pack.

>>1504438
>Brown canvas, black micarta handle scales
Wow damn it finished up really impressive, I was thinking either a really high grade of ebony or a plastic but for micarta to come out like that is great

>>1504629
I am going to be using it for most of my stuff for that reason and more. It also does not scratch in my kydex sheaths and is less abrasive than G10 when I'm shaping it so its easier on my band saw and belt grinder.

So I pulled the trigger and bought this forge since I'm still starting out. My question is what is the rigidiser that everyone uses? I usually see people spray their forge with a blue liquid where do I get that from? Or is there something at a Home Depot type store I could use?

Hey, I have a friend who owns a massive factory getting me limitless firebrick in any shape or size I need.. what kind of forge should I build?

>>1504674
I've often thought about making some of it up in a press with layers of cloth + resin and seeing what I can come up with. it can be quite pricey to buy compared to G10 so that's mostly what I've been using lately.

>>1504775
Its a mix of amorphous silica (30%) and water (70%) you squirt all over the wool.
You can buy the silica and make it yourself, but make sure you read up on the hazardous materials sheet before having much to do with it.

>>1504854
Most people just make up a square steel frame out of bracket, weld it together to fit the bricks into

>>1504438
well i usualy find the scale too brittle, if i want a lasting coating i do it with linseed oil , it gets a think black coat that is pretty resistant

>>1504201
prety strong curve in the bakc of the handle,
overall ncie, but isn't that bevel still a bit rough?

>>1502374
get a grinding stone, or pin wet sanding paper to a very even surface,
do start with 240 if there are no larger breakouts , and go higher to atleast 600 but ideally 1200 or so

>>1501105
got the wood but only form the heartwood the very light outer wood is very soft i read, , i want the theme of the knife to be dynamic, so i will try to choose the sides with the most dynamic pattern of the wood.
idk if i should place some leater or metal as liner between wood and steel.... i will probably use epoxy and simple rod pins for the attachement

>>1504903
Now that YOU mention it, fuck, it is.

>>1505046
you mean the grind or the back of the handle?
i think it looks a bit off for such a long handle
can go good for some smaller ones

>>1504902
I used a scotch brite belt to get the loose stuff off and you can see the result. The rest will either slowly come off with use or will have to be sanded off with an actual abrasive.

>>1505299

very interesting result i actualy like it, might try it too

How'd I do lads? This will be my first real knife, aside from a buck 110 and a bunch of Opinels. I almost grabbed a piece of 1095 flat stock and went that route, but I figure'd I can always do that with the next one. Plan on staining the handle dark and back sanding a couple times, then BLO capped with tru oil.

>>1505622
I love curly maple. If you dissolve some steel wool in distilled vinegar and brush it on, it makes the curl pop (but greys the wood so you need to stain it).

>>1505629
Thanks for the tip anon, I'll try that out and post the results. I have a medium-dark water stain I plan on using it so that works out well.

>>1505622
pls show how it went
also i would be very very sad if i bought blade blanks, as making the actualy blade is the most fun part the attaching of the handle scale always troubles me..

>>1505683
I'll take a bunch of pics and post them here when it's done, hoping to get it finished before Christmas.

>also i would be very very sad if i bought blade blanks
I went back and forth on that for almost a week before I ordered the blanks. I have access to a full machine shop and am no stranger when it comes to shaping metal, but I would have to build a kiln to heat treat it. I'll have more time for that earlier next year, so maybe I'll take what I learn with this Condor and apply it to that.
My primary concern with this build is shaping the handle correctly. I'm going for something like the one on the right.

>>1505693
fitting the scales is probably much easier at a machined propper blanks
when i do it on my handmade knifes, it's usualy a pain to proppery attach them. because i lack a drill press and then my handdrilled hols are not straint and so on

>>1505704
>i lack a drill press
Seriously, find a $40 bench top one on CL, the're a godsend when doing scale work.

Do you really need wood drill bits for scale work or will a sharp regular drill bit work?

>>1505713
would recommend wood bits a lot

>>1505709
in germany tools are more expansive in the us, will still try to get one that is not rubbish

>>1505709
Yeah even the wobbliest, cheapest piece of shit drill press is better than eye-balling it with a damn hand drill. Most don't have enough run-out to seriously damage or fuck anything up in a major way, nearly all of them though are gutless on power

>>1505713
If you've got them, use them. They centre and cut a lot better in softer materials (micarta, G10, dead trees)
Otherwise I do most of my stuff with regular generic bits, only real turd with those is they tend to clog up full of wood goo and just burn their way through unless you're careful and brush the gunk out of the channels.

>>1505709
I believe your Lidl drill press is comparable to a Harbor Freight press and if you look at some "tune up" vids on YouTube, you can tune it up to be worth the Euros. You'll honestly be glad you got a press, I swear.

>>1505746
>LIDL DRILL PRESS
usualy the discounter only sell those stuff during action idk never trust them on tools

>>1505740
https://www.bauhaus.info/tischbohrmaschinen/scheppach-tischbohrmaschine-dp-16vl/p/25145968?gclid=CjwKCAiAlvnfBRA1EiwAVOEgfPKPHaOvjtQbpa40rNZoReuWEfouc-MhgrO5M5uso3-y1i8avF0fZRoCHAAQAvD_BwE&s_kwcid=AL!5677!3!69168920101!!!g!302087883079!&pla_prpaid=302087883079&ef_id=CjwKCAiAlvnfBRA1EiwAVOEgfPKPHaOvjtQbpa40rNZoReuWEfouc-MhgrO5M5uso3-y1i8avF0fZRoCHAAQAvD_BwE:G:s&pla_adgrid=18381777181&pla_campid=225980461&pla_prch=online&pla_prid=25145968&cid=PSEGoo225980461_18381777181&pla_adt=pla

thinkin bout this one looks nice and ahs a laser visor

>>1505299
>>1504297
>>1504369
Its done.

>>1505792
closeup of the sheath mount and belt loop

>>1505792
>>1505797
Very nice. I've been wetforming this all evening.

>>1505809
I wish I could do leather but I don't have the patience, and there is a sick leatherworker in my area that I wan't to support.

>>1505812
And I wish I could do Kydex, so it balances out. :P

I like leatherworking. Saddle stitching while listening to music is Zen to me.

>>1505837
desu kydex is just like stock removal except faster to make, faster to shape, and doesn't wear out my abrasives and saws.

I prefer podcasts and hand sanding.

>>1505809
looks wet af
nice spiral work anon

>>1505837
yes best thing to do during winter eavening is leather work

I bought my first set of tongs and plan on making my other sets, what are the best common types that you would recommend to make?

>>1506112
start with flats , when you can this maybe try to get a matrix to hammer a pattern into the toungs bites

>>1506114
ok I bought a pair of flat jaw ones I guess ill make another or at least the ones I think are called wolf jaw with a flat one that fits over it?

>>1506322
look on youtube for videos showing how to make wold jaws they are pretty hand and the tonge i used most often

>>1506325
ok cool will do

>>1504775
So this forge finally came and its time to rigidize it with the powder it came with. Should I also rigidize the insulation where the burners go in at or just the insulation on the inside of the forge?

>>1506655
Just to clarify the instructions are kind of unclear on what to do it just says mix the stuff with water and spray then let it set 24hrs.

Everything has arrived except for the brass pin stock :D

>>1507234
damn neve rgot myself tung oil, ik if it is even named like that in germany

Me and a friend of mine have been toying around of the idea of starting a Knife making business. Were not expecting to make millions off of it and hell the idea may never actually come to fruition but we can at least say we tried. We have a rough outline of a business model ie selling decent quality knives for a reasonable price online. we've worked out all the tools we would need ( anvil, bench grinder, belt sander, angle grinder etc.) althought we would primarily be doing stock removal. I was just wondering if you guys had any advice

>>1505809
this site has ruined my eyes because all i could see from the thumbnail was a uncircumcised penis

>>1507619
I think you need to look at what the competition for your product would be, there's vast quantities of decent quality knives out there in most countries- now keeping in mind I'm also including the mindfucking crazy amounts that will come out of places like China that are for all intents and purposes 'decent' as a product = cost. Just from a consumer viewpoint you also have to consider what the average user considers 'decent' and its a much different idea than what a knife maker has, its different from what an autistic pocket knife collector has and its also vastly different across generations of tool users, home cooks and process workers.
Once you've figured out what the target consumer is, I'd look at a process of meeting expectations + cost, then aiming to deliver exceptional service + product that exceeds their expectations = because that's really the only thing which will really determine the next steps.
>Materials
>Ease of sharpening
>Maintenance
>Appearance

Problem is that Joe Average has been spoilt by 30 years of mass produced shit which for the most part is disposable junk, but it actually works for how much they pay for it and thus consider it decent. Even if its a barely hardened lump of 420SS that has bevels like an axe and ergo for an alien species. The fact mass production has become more competitive with each other has resulted in better products over the last few years in order to cater to people sick of rubbish, but its really only raised the bar a little bit higher for the backyard knife maker.

>tl:dr don't give up your day job!
Only real advice is find your consumer target, then aim to hit that with their expectations commensurate with your skill levels at production

>>1507651
actualy laws in certain countrys make it even harder to even start officialy selling knifes on the side

>>1507310
I've never used it either. Supposedly it is similar to Boiled Lindseed oil, except it takes a little longer to dry, is more waterproof and dries a little harder.
It smells like fresh roasted nuts. I'm almost tempted to taste it.

>>1507913
LICK IT PLS AND TELL

>>1507920
Just did, put a couple drops on a spoon and tasted it.
Tung oil tastes like exactly like peanut oil, but it coats your mouth as if you got Vaseline in there or something.
6/10 not bad

>>1507936
maybe we shoudl try to use peanut oil with vaseline as an additive?
maybe that's the secret formular?
testing anon

>>1507942
thanks for testing*

>>1507936
>put a couple drops on a spoon and tasted it.
Start making any final arrangements, anon.

>>1507960
>He uses Google, instead of Bing.

>>1507960
never thought i would push one over the edge on /diy/ always thought it would be on /pol/ or such...

>>1507960
So should I stop eating the fries I just cooked in it?

>>1507972
no pls proceed
look if there is a woodworking general they may help with the casket

>>1507982
>they may help with the casket
I have a ton of pallet wood to contribute.

>>1507984
nice another case of /diy/ being helpful for home projects

>>1507982
I don't mean to let you down anon, but only the nut itself is toxic.

>>1507986
so tung oil is made from a nut?? there is a tung nut and a tung tree and a tung plant and tung leafe and a tung wood and so on?
everyday you learn

>>1507987
Yep, it's native to China.

>>1507986
>I don't mean to let you down anon, but only the nut itself is toxic.
but look how effective the bait was.
>>1507962
>>1507968
>>1507972
>>1507982
>>1507984
>>1507985

>>1507987
>so tung oil is made from a nut?
No.
It's made from the seeds inside the nut.
LOTS of tung oil trees are grown is the South of the USA.

>>1507995
So your sayin' it's really 'tung oil tree nut seed oil'? insted of 'tung oil'

>>1507997
fucking mislabeling gotta sue them!

Huh, so my throat is sore and feels kind of tight. Probably a coincidence.

>>1508001
>my throat is sore and feels kind of tight.
a sip of bleach so cure that right up

so just the one accidental suicide and one of 4chan slowest boards takes up speed, human nature strikes again as it seems

>>1508010
Just wait until /diy/ discovers the fact Danish oil likes to spontaneously combust on cotton rags.

Do any of you sell these things and if so how do I get started with that,I need some extra money to feed my raging substance abuse

>>1508047
>>1508047
>danish oil can combust
ok i am looking to get a load of it

>>1508103
well for the first time you gotta put a lot of money into it, and you will work your ass of if you want to snort anything at all
not gonna make you a quick buck except you sell absolute junk overpriced to idiots.
at which point this market is alreay oversaturated by the chinese massproduced shitknifes everyone uses

>>1508047
>Danish oil likes to spontaneously combust on cotton rags
also: linseed oil

>>1508116
i know it but mine sadly never did :c

>>1508103
I'm not Walter Sorells, but repeatable designs that are actually quality is my key. I have a website and also post them on Ebay and that directs business to me.

>>1508121
where are you (country) and how much are cou making /put out?

>>1508136
I'm in the US but ship internationally (where legal, that is). I make enough to live.

>>1508146
>i am not walter sorrels
i fucking hate his videos for the video style
i know some stuff is actualy helpful but i just hate his style his voice idk

also yeah in the US taxes are low enough i guess toi survive in germany you would need to so many licenses and pay for em that i can't afford to get a legal permission to sell my knifes because some stupid gild laws from the 15th century

>>1508152
I used Sorells as an example because his knives sell for double what mine do.

>>1508155
i know , how much take you for one? i try to take no more and close to 10 bucks per work hour
i use the moeny for the coal and other surplies and the rest goes itno my car

>>1508159
I think I round down to about $12 and hour and it also depends on what materials I use. I keep 50% for my income of each knife and 50% is used to upgrade or buy new equipment, material and shop consumables.

>>1508164
seems very similiar to my stuff

>>1507759
Varies from state to state here, for the most part as long as I don't sell knives to U18's without a parental permission no one gives a damn. That's a fairly stupid law really as I grew up with various hunting, pocket and fishing knives and somehow managed not to murder anyone with them. Wouldn't exactly say I'm an even tempered person either and I was even worse as a teenager!

About the only other fucky laws which get in the way are in regards to trench knives, knuckle dusters, gravity or spring assisted knives, butterfly knives and... ninja stars
The ninja massacres of the civilian population where apparently so bad here they've specifically made it so no free man will have to fear a sharpened piece of oriental metal flying out of nowhere and killing them. Making them illegal to sell, manufacture and use will surely stop those ninjas.
>I could rail against it, but frankly I'm just past the point of giving a fuck about pointing out bureaucratic retardation

>>1508152
>i can't afford to get a legal permission to sell my knifes because some stupid gild laws from the 15th century
Ok I won't complain again about how retarded governments are, some people have it worse

>>1508180
Just as a quick aside to retarded governments- whats the legalities of selling 'art' that is possibly in the form of a knife?
Thinking that if its art and just happens to be made, marketed and sold as an artwork about mans fucking stupidity to man, made out of hardened steel it could be a work around

>>1508181
germny fucking police when they search your house for jack shit like posting memes in a closed fb group, they even will even get pic related as a "weapon" besides your usual everyday opinel knife and your civtorinox swiss knife
no joke this literaly happened and was shown as weapon finding ina news article related to a house searchin and ti was an official pic ffrom police

>>1508186
Arrests and fines are big money.

>>1508186
Usually thats a real desperation move by cops, they go in, spend taxes on searches, subpoenas and warrants to fuck with someone- they got nothing and 'have to' make basically anything stick before they're held accountable for wasting time, money and the court system's hours in a day.
Basically anyone in that position needs a lawyer of some sort, get them in and pound the cops arseholes with them. It might cost a bit, but they will get fucked extra hard by a higher level- which is essentially the government.

Cops are paid to enforce laws, not 'make them up'

>>1508191
well they also dragged out gas pistol and toybows so yeah germany is at fuckign retardaton level. i mean i can built a primitive gun in my basement anytime. i can even built crossbows ligally and wark around with it because laws are retarded

>>1508191
in germany well fuck that law is already history.
we do not even have constition that was promised to us, to vote on after reunification.
and those things are legal too have it is all amde up they literaly take your wall building tools

Here's a chip carving knife I made a few moments ago. It only took an hour to get this far. I'm using JB Weld to affix the tang into the burned in hole. Yes, I haven't finished the edge and it has lovely wavy lines from the sanding drum I used to shape it. I didn't anneal it and just kept it cool on the wet cloth. The metal is from an old broken 70 year old crosscut saw.

I haven't finished the handle's sanding and tool mark removing. The handle is American Sycamore. The blade is 1 inch long.

>>1508198
interesting, hoüpe the edge is strong enough to keep sharp. good woodworking tools need a finde adge that also hols up long

>>1508202
It should be fine. I have a few other knives from that steel. One I used every single day and it keeps sharp for a very long time even with wood. Only one did I screw up trying to keep it cool and it annealed slightly, but still holds an edge well enough. I'll probably get around to retreating it someday.

>>1507234
The good ol' condor, I bought one of those blanks a while ago

>>1508180
>Varies from state to state

I live in central Arkansas. I'm 75.
About sixty years ago I went to the local hardware store with the cash to buy a 22 cal. revolver.
I pointed to it in the case and said,"I'd like to buy that pistol."
The man behind the counter asked,"Aren't you (named my dad)'s boy?"
"Yes sir, and my uncle is (gave the name of my uncle who they knew)."
Hands me the gun and says,"That'll be fifteen dollars. Do you need some shells for it?"

>my, how time has changed everything...

>>1508198
Looks like it will be as tough as a mule.

>>1508218
keked

>>1508216
this sounds so wholesome

>>1508216
I find it difficult to object to background checks and FFL transfers. This is how it used to be. The clerk didn't sell it to the mentally ill boy, and he knew who all his customers were.

Now you go no facebook and get a phone number and some guy you've never heard of gives you a gun.

>>1508216
I'm 45 and grew up in central NSW
30 years ago I could take my .22 magnum rifle to school on Fridays, leave it with the vice principle and go out to a mates farm on the weekend shooting bunnies, roos and foxes. Carry it in a case on the bus out there and one one even looked twice.
Now that's probably classed as a 'terrorist incident' and I'd be shot by the cops! But we didn't shoot or stab each other at school back then because it was just a dick thing to do, there was terrible consequences- so you just didn't do that kind of thing.

Fairly sure ninja stars where probably right out though even back then though, mostly because we didn't really know what a ninja was
I'm sure our ignorance in such things was the reason so many got killed by the ninjas.

>>1508218
lol It is based on flexcut's chip carving knives. Only more suited to my hand.

>>1508216
Yeah, that's how it was for me back in the day.

>>1508223
In the day and age of 3D printing working weapons, I think background checks are preposterous.

>inb4 background checks for 3D printer sales

Let's discuss, "rat-tail tangs."

How do you affix your rat-tail tangs? I've been push fitting them by first drilling a hole in the work piece to make sure it is aligned properly. Then using a second piece of metal that is shaped like the rat-tail, getting it red hot and jamming it into the solid wood handle. Then I use epoxy (JB Weld or Devcon 2-ton) to affix it solidly. The rat-tails I use are long wedges instead of long rectangles.

I prefer the angle since It can better flow into curves as the blade begins where the hilt is. The rectangle shapes lend themselves more to 90 degree corners that I see as major stress points. The only thing I'm a little concerned with is the longevity of the epoxies when using them with thin flexible blades. I only use rat-tail tangs on small-bladed wood working tools and use full tang with wood scales on full knives.

>pic related, but not mine

>>1508408
Also, I consider full knives or oversized knives with a threaded rod welded to them as rat tails the epitome of bad knife design.

>>1508408
I drill mine, then heat the tip of the rat tail with a torch (careful to not muck the tempering of the blade) and burn fit. I also put groves in the rat tail to give it extra surfaces for the epoxy.

Why would anyone ever use epoxy for handles when you can just heat up the end of the tang and upset it to make a a tight fit?

>Try to get a little bit of s30v for making a singular knife
>Only sold in 36" lengths.
I don't know what I expected. Anyone know where to get, say, 8" of 3/32s stock of different fancy stainless steels? Or is it one of those things that you gotta order lots of it?

>>1508533
Nevermind, found some. Now I just gotta choose between some retardly hard to sharpen steel that I don't have the equipment for or a more boring steel.

>>1508408
I prefer to channel cut a hidden tang into wooden scales

>>1508533
Jantz sells it in smaller lengths

>>1508547
Twice the price as Alpha.

>>1508533
>>1508536
Final question before I fuck off with these basic bitch things. Does anyone know anyone I can hire to heat treat Vanax as a one off? Probably'll cost an arm and a leg, but I sure as hell can't do it myself.

>>1508570
Find a tool maker/machine shop in your area. They will usually be willing to throw a knife in for you when they do a treatment of their own stuff for $5-$30.

>>1508576
I very much doubt a machine shop near me would know how to temper Vanax to be honest. It's not exactly a common steel.

>>1508408
I cheat and use all-thread and drill and tap a matching endcap.

>>1508469
I've been thinking about making scores along the tang using a massive grit sanding drum.

>>1508198
Well, I finished the edge as much as I want. I just used a triangle file to get a bit convex on a single side with an ever so slight back bevel. Then sandpaper up to 1500 grit. There's only a bit of tool marks left on the tight side on the heal, but I'm for function so that doesn't bother me.

Here's the first item I did as a quick test on some softer black cherry. This thing is scary sharp and is doing chip detail pretty well. It is REALLY nice having this much control over a blade. It beats trying to do this with a pocket knife by a mile.

>>1508834
My 1 x 30 does a fine job on the slack belt portion grooving both axis of the tang.

Hey guys I finally got everything set up and started to make my first knife. I know it's a meme knife but the guy I bought my strike anvil from gabe me a couple for free.

>>1508905
a couple of railroad spikes that is

>>1504905
I just love that pale grey-charcoal contrast, its really unique timber.
>liner between wood and steel.
Generally I'll put at least a thin, 0.5mm bit of G10 on them as sort of a way of stabilising them and having at least 1 flat surface somewhere on the whole debacle. Just found that it helps prevent warping during temperature/humidity changes and is an impermeable layer between steel and timber so if any moisture sneaks under there its not going to fester as much. Brass, bronze and copper also make nice liners if you've got some sheet of it around. Titanium and 300 series SS works real well too and adds a lot of stability, but you'll be in for some fun times trying to cut it, I swear I've been sitting on these half-mil titanium liners for a year now and after doing one a long time ago just threw that shit in the art bin. Fucking crazy white sparks all over the place and it takes no shit from grinders.

Been working on these thicc boys for last week or so, they where going to be paring knives but I figured out the little shits just too thick and went instead for some old timey sabre grind final bevels which aren't insanely sharp. They'll shave hairs ok, but they'll do as cheap, small fish-game, outdoor fuck-arounds for someone. They also passed the 'fucking idiot' test as I had them clamped up on the table and one of them had like 2 x half kg clamps hanging on it, fell off the bench and went bam right into my concrete floor tip first.
>well fuck my life face
Huge chip out of the concrete, tips fine, no cracks, no bends... wew!

>>1508905
Good job for a 1st go. The spikes are good for practice and cheap enough you're not going to bust a budget on more expensive metal.

Here's a roughing knife, for wood carving, I've been working on this morning. The edge is 1 7/8' long. This is after tempering it. It went a bit to far and uneven, but everything feel flexible enough. I've already filed it some since this image and it is starting to look like something other than a bad knife. Though, that divot on just near the tip is giving me trouble.

Does anyone have experience in using a toaster oven for tempering? I have a few of them and an oven thermometer. I figured I'd need to put a blank between some thermal mass so the on/off cycle of the heating elements doesn't overheat it and it can instead heat more evenly.

I spent most of the morning with scrap metal pieces from the same old saw blade trying to get some skill hardening and tempering with only a small blow torch. Not ideal.

>>1509013
They look pretty good. They make me wish I had a better workshop to do stuff.

>>1509201
Nearly finished. Until tomorrow.

>>1509013
Thanks I just forged another one today I have trouble getting the bevel forged in so I am still working on that part.

Has anyone here actually made a living off knifemaking, and how hard is it?

>>1509372
There was a local guy here, in the 1980s, who made a living off making custom knives. My brother bought a few from him, mostly as gifts for work buddies. Evidently, the damn things were pretty expensive. He did forging and stock removal. The only one I remember was a hatchet knife made from a circular saw blade.

As with everything, the hardest part is making the sale and being known so people will buy your products.

>>1509372
It's tough to start, I got lucky that there is a Mom and Pop hunting shop by my place and they knew me by name from going in there. I still had a day job and the owner let me put knives out on consignment. He couldn't keep them on the shelves at first but things eventually slowed to where most of my sales happened at the start of fishing and deer seasons. I expanded to the web, social media presence is critical (have a Twit, FB, Insta and YT channel) and hired a professional photographer to make some really nice photos for the company website and had her teach me effective light box techniques.

I make enough to live off of but I don't have a mortgage or car payment. Either one of those would make me tighten my belt. Consider doing custom leather stuff as a side biz.

>>1509201
>Does anyone have experience in using a toaster oven for tempering?

I'm jumping in with both feet. 450F in the toaster oven. The foil is just to buffer it from getting blasted when the overhead heating elements kick on...

>>1509507
let me know how that goes I don't think the wife is gonna let me temper in our range in the kitchen.

I'm not a knife maker. I don't even try. I do follow these threads though.
I have a Vernon Hicks single blade folding 'pocket knife'.
I also have a single blade Fred Duvall folder.
When growing up I hunted with my uncle on property owned by Vernon Hicks' dad. Vernon was usually out there hunting too. Later in life, Vernon decided to move into 'town' (pop 400) and rented a house from that same uncle of mine.
He built a very small shop next to the house he was renting and did his knife work in there. He and I both worked for Teletype Corp. in Little Rock at the time so he could have been doing some of his heat-treatment there. I really don't know but having those temperature controlled ovens and furnaces there sure would have tempted me if I was making a knife.
I did a lot of black-oxide on weapons and a few gold plated triggers for myself.
Vernon died some years back and I realized I'd never gotten a knife from him. My brother picked one up from his wife since she was selling his last stuff. He presented it to me.

Fred Duvall does beautiful work but he almost never builds anything any more. He has several things promised to my son and I've been waiting years for him to put a handle (scales) on a really nice spatula of mine.

My cousin, Bud Richards still makes beautiful knives. He does some fantastic wood carving too. (still married to his high-school sweetheart). He's my age so he walks (briskly) every morning for exercise. I see him occasionally and honk the horn as I'm going in for my day job. He walks early and I go in late so I don't see him that often. The last time I was at his shop he showed me a piece of mammoth ivory he was pretty pleased to have. It was a hunk half the size of my forearm so I'm sure he's made a few beauties using it.

Y'all carry on. Just wanted to let you know some people follow these threads with no intention of ever making a knife. Just enjoy seeing the beauty of someone else's work.

>>1509533
>>1509507
Here's what it looks like to know. This is 2 hours at 450F in the toaster oven. There's just the barest hint of blue tint starting. I quenched it in water right out of the toaster oven. There's a little discoloration, but I think that's from the aluminum foil it was wrapped in. I'll whittle out a handle and push fit it tomorrow. For now, I'm off to bed.

>>1509547
Nice, maybe I'll pick up a cheap one then.

>>1509547
I had a more difficult time getting the hole burned into the handle this time for some reason. It required a lot more epoxy than I was expecting, but should be fine one it cures tomorrow. This is what it looks like right now.

>>1509548
I get mine from second hand stores for really cheap and use them for all manner of things. They are good for wood resin stabilizing.

>>1509759
looks useful - nice

>>1509938
It is a type of scorp or hook knife for making hollows in stuff like, but not limited to bowls, pipes, spoons, etc.

What are some reputable websites to order steel and such off of? Every website I go to seems like it was made by some kid and doesn't seem too secure.

>>1509201
>They make me wish I had a better workshop to do stuff.
Oh so do I. Basically you could sink 50k into a knife workshop and probably still be left wanting for something. Most of my tools are for mechanical and electrical work so there's not a huge amount left in the metalwork and tree molesting section, the fact I've got a kiln is simply fortune more than good management on my behalf and it's literally older than most people here!

Been dicking around with a new steel, some N690 Cobalt steel which falls somewhere between 440C and VG10, cuts and shapes beautifully, the heat treat seemed to go ok with what I've got and they turned out plenty hard enough. Nothing real serious here, just experimenting on them to see how it goes and so far I'm pretty pleased with them so I might order some more.

>>1509351
Bevels are pretty hard and for starting out the forge thick, grind thin is probably the easiest way to settle into it while you figure out the angles, the surface and how the steel moves. Different steels will also behave a little differently depending on their temperatures as well.
Think the hardest part is the self-criticism and basically being hard on yourself to make the best you can, but there's a learning curve and with hobbies its a marathon and not a sprint so don't go too hard on yourself

>>1510136
lol Those are probably old people sites.

>>1510167
Nice. My workshop is piled high with aluminum I need to melt down but I need to get a new torch and tank 1st.

I made a skew knife for wood carving this time around. I used the toaster oven to temper it and set it to 400 this time for 2 hours. You can't tell it from the photo, but it has the barest hint of straw gold color oxidation on it from that process.

Does anyone have a favorite file brand they use? I'll be getting bastard, triangle, and round files. I think my last file has given up the ghost. It feels more smooth than grippy now. I'll probably make a few blanks, but won't do anything with them until I get a new file set.

I'm steadily getting better. The toaster oven is turning out really well as a tempering oven. This pelican knife blank spent about 2.5 hours in it at around 425F. Instead of wrapping the blank with foil, I made a quonset hut shape over it just to block the top heating element's direct heat. That allowed good air flow and the oxidation this time is really pronounced and exactly what I was shooting for. I found a little used spot on the last file I have and was able to put a scandi grind on this blank. It isn't perfect, I need more freehand practice, but it is better than the rest. The edge is 2" long exactly.

The bottom left image is the old antique saw blade where I've been sourcing the blanks. I've made 8 knives out of it thus far. I've been using a single-speed 30k-rpm Dremel with 1.25" fiberglass reinforced cutting discs to cut out the blanks.

Finished up a rather stylized sheath.

>>1510681
That turned out rather well.

>>1510554
I fitted it with a handle, bit it is well seasoned sugar maple and twice as hard as the American sycamore I have. I'll have to work on removing the tool marks later.

>>1510685
Thanks. These sheaths require a lot of explanations to Americans, though.

>>1510690
Because of the Bowen knot ?

>>1510693
I know it as a hannunvaakuna, but the flared opening at the bottom for the drip hole confuses people.

>>1497306
Only if you are incapable of maintenance.

>>1498068
Lol so frail

>>1498068
>>1510721
Let the tool do the work for you. Use proper PPE. Work smarter, not harder.

Have the day off work today so thought I'd work on my knife a bit
>Sanded inside of scales flat
>Squared front edge
>Pins cut
>Scales drilled
Here's a pic of the initial test fit. Looks good so far. Have some old wrought iron nails soaking in some apple cider vinegar to make the curly maple pop as suggested earlier by an Anon.

>>1511020
>old wrought iron nails soaking in some apple cider vinegar
Test on a sample first. You may not like the graying of the wood, even if you stain it.

>>1511033
Roger that. Have you ever tried Aqua Fortis? Keep seeing it mentioned in woodworking forums when finishing curly maple gunstocks and fine furniture.

I love antique stores, thrift shops, and yard/garage sales. They have all the stock you could ever want for knife making. I got this little score for about $10. They range from 5inch to 10inch. There was one bi-metal I took out of the stack, but the rest are solid end-to-end. All of them seem to be about 0.1" (2.54mm). I really want to try making my own multi-blade folding pocket knife some day.

Stone honing block for my razor received some damage. I'm wondering if either it's good to go, should be tossed in the trash (it's around $20), or maybe needs a hit from a flattening stone (don't have one but I'd get one).

Couldn't find anything on google so I thought I'd ask /diy/ and lo and behold there's a thread about blades, hopefully there's someone with some know-how can share some insight. Novice with the straight blade and don't want to do anything stupid
1/2

>>1511156
2/3*

>>1511157
how necessary is a flattening stone? Seems that either not having it will start to cause problems, or that it's more of a 'specialized' tool than is really useful, only have 1 razor and hone it once every few weeks

>>1511162
See how thick those stones are? Get a flattening stone so you may get the full use out of your current stones. Otherwise, they will not be able to perform their function.

>>1511147
Well, I took the smallest saw blade and made this neck knife blank. I have some antler somewhere, if I can find it I'll probably make scales for the handle. I need to pick up some materials before I finish this completely. I was barely able to anneal the sawblade, but got it in the end. I annealed the blank more fully. It is rather small, even for a neck knife, but it will be used when hunting and it fits well in my hand with only the belly sticking out. That's enough work for tonight...

Hey, I I figure this is the best place to ask my questions since they're blacksmith related. I've started collecting axes. Mostly old ones that need restoration. But I want to start collecting show pieces. Anything with a non functional head design or nice work on the handle. Looking at mostly Norse inspired stuff for obvious reasons. My question is this. A lot of people are chopping down old axe heads to make what is functionally art. Should I buy these pieces or not support a business that destroyes existing items. I also want these axes to have some function in a practical way and I feel like a cut up axe head is going to have fucked up temper.

>>1511380
>tfw pitted rust marks just won't grind out

I found my box of deer antlers. I picked up some new files, wire brush, and brass rod. Here's the blank with mostly cleaned up, edge put on (20°-22°), and lanyard hole drilled (1/4"). Now, I need to cut up some antler for scales and get them fitted and drilled before tempering then sharpening.

>>1511677
Got a pic of those chopped down artistic ones? As for temper, you could heat treat them again to make sure they are properly hardened and tempered.

>>1511736
I just finished drilling the holes for the pins. The antler took forever to split because I don't have my band saw or even the scroll saw setup right now. I used a hacksaw, I don't recommend it. The blank is tempering in the toaster oven right now at 425F. After that is done, I'll clean it up, dress it then shape the antler scales to fit and so on, but that is for tomorrow.

>>1512021
Where a mask when sanding/cutting antler or bone, just to be safe.

>>1512028
Thank you for the heads up, but I tend to wear all the ppe, plus ventilate with a big fan even though it is about 10F outside.

>>1512035
I know how you feel. I have to do all my metal work and wood work in the garage, but I set up a leather and staining/clear coating station in the basement with a homemade exhaust hood venting into the chimney. It's ghetto, but at least the house doesn't reek of polyurethane and leather dyes.

>>1512049
That is nice. I made an exhaust hood for soldering and PCB work. It is a life saver.

>tfw buying a 1/8" brass rod and a new 1/8" drill bit only to find out the 1/8" drill bit is too big

I don't know what monkey is in charge of measuring shit, but 3/16" isn't 1/8". I didn't realize it until after the store closed. Luckily, many tool boxes later, I found a 1/8" bit hiding in a corner.

>>1512060
1/8" bits are literally the abused 19th century workhouse child labour of my garage.
Beaten, abused, broken and thrown out into the street after buying them by the dozen

>>1512195
Yeah, I stopped allowing people to use mine. They always break them in some manner. I try to buy bits I can sharpen when dull, but that can be difficult with such scant selection and bits having 3-4 angles. In fact the drill bit I bought was the only 1/8" drill bit in the entire store and seemingly the entire county. It had instructions on the back as to how to sharpen it. But, it looked like a masonry bit with that flange of metal around the tip. That was fine, but that tip made it 3/16" wide while the shaft was 1/8".

>>1512021
...I forgot to harden it and went to tempering it. lol I was up too late and being tired I skipped a step. At least I didn't epoxy anything. It has been hardened and is tempering yet again as I type.

>>1511020
What do you use for shaping the handle and pins?

How many of you use a tang liner and what is the material you use?

>>1512021

Do yall buy your pins offline or do you get them locally I cant seem to find any brass dowels anywhere near me, and have yall hear of using some type of bolt as a pin? Does it work better?

>>1512305
I guess there's a couple of carbide tipped bits out there for other things (harder metals mostly) most are masonry though and yeah they'll pop the width out. 1/8 is also about the limit of what I can see/sharpen by hand. Normally I'll just pop the $20-30 for regular HSS ones and get a dozen of them at once and gradually murder them over a few months.

>>1512760
There's Corby Bolts which use a step-drill to put on scales and can be quite useful for securing softer materials to metal as the step provides a bit more surface area to clamp down on. They do cost quite a bit more though.
Cutlery rivets are also a thing and usually run around the same price or a bit cheaper.

Generally for pin stock I just order in rods of 3mm or 1/8" for most of my stuff (primarily 304SS) and will have a bit of brass and copper for different bolsters. 3mm wire is also a decent pin stock as well if you can't find rods or dowels of the metal you want.
NB there are different types of brass as well and they do colour differently over time, C26000 cartridge brass will look a bit different to say a 36000 machining brass, so match the metals

Done. It fits in the hand in a few angles for skinning/fleshing hide and feels, "right."

So this is my third knife I've ever made, I already have the primary bevel hammered in and I will soon do the heat treat and grinding. What do yall think so far?

>>1513716
sorry about the picture size idk why it uploaded that big

>>1513716
It is better than the single knife I tried to forge before realizing what it was doing to the strike plate on my bench vise. lol So long as it is the general shape you want, you'll be able to grind it the rest of the way if you are not going to hammer it out anymore. It has potential thus far.

>>1512817
>1/8 is also about the limit of what I can see/sharpen by hand

I find sharpening the tiny ones is best done by hand, with it taped to a with a wood block which has the correct angle. Then rub it around some 300+grit sandpaper. It is really the only jig you need for most drill bit sharpening. One small block can have several angles on it.

I made this knife today from a broken pair of cheap scissors. It is an unknown stainless steel so I didn't do any heat treating. I used a Dremel to take remove most of the material from the edge. Then I used a couple files to get the rest of the way. The handle is made from the base of a Multiflora Rose (Rosa multiflora) bush. It had split when drying, all along one side all the way to the heart. So, I sawed the wood in two halves, sanded them flat, Dremel'd out the wider side of wood so the knife tang could fit. Then I make some indentations in the insides of both pieces of wood for JB Weld to hold. I epoxied everything up, wrapped it in string to get the pieces to fit evening and not skate around. Then I clamped it with a few C-clamps between Popsicle sticks.

JB Weld is pretty strong, but I don't know what kind of abuse this thing can take. The tang is only about 1 1/4" long at most, but it is well fitted and has a notch where the wood was carved to fill it. I think it will work well for moderate duty stuff.

I regret not having taken photos of the inside before epoxying them together.

Quick update before work on the Curly Maple Bushlore.
What do you think anons?

>>1513948
I really like that pattern, anon.

One note though. The staining process that happens on the end grain is what made for the problem with the stain around the holes for the pins. If you do another one of these, shape the scales to their final shape, stain them, and only after staining do you drill the holes for the pins. That way the holes won't have that streaking and they will look even more professional. I'm sure you can work out a method to hold the scales onto the tang for shaping. I recommend using a C-clamp with popsicle sticks to take the marring. Just use two of them and switch ends with them as needed for shaping.

QUESTION:

Has anyone here made a saw blade before? Like one similar to this one? What type of file did you use?

>>1513982
Have made similar. Use a triangular file, you'll have to angle it, but it makes sense once you do it.

>>1514015
Well, shit, that was super easy. It is all about spacing & a jig to refine it, but it doesn't take much time at all.

>>1513982
>>1514015
>>1514071
I'll have everyone know that finding search results for people making their own saw blades seems to be extremely difficult. Either no one is doing it or the "make knife from saw blade" results are pushing them dozens of pages back in the search results. I found 2 instances of people making an "ice saw", one was stock removal and looked good for the purpose of cutting ice and the other was forged and didn't look all that good. I didn't find a single result for someone making a saw intended for cutting wood.

This guide seems about as much as one needs to know about sharpening the teeth to the correct angles. From there you need to know the spacing of the teeth to get everything correct. Like the ones shown in >>1514071 seem to be too close together to get points and maintain both teeth sides the same height.

I think once you make the jigs and get everything correct with a few scrap tries it should be pretty easy to do.

>>1514097
If you search hand saw sharpening you'll probably get lots more hits, then you'll have to work backwards a little for the initial layout, but in essence you're doing a shitload of sharpening.

>>1514114
Good tip. While it is lots of sharpening, if you have the metal annealed properly, the work is really quick. On that thin metal I found I had to check depth every few strokes to make sure it wasn't going to quickly.

I was thinking of making a holder for the file so the holder could slide across a wood block that's clamped on the and the angle will be perfect every time.

>>1513980
Thanks for the tip anon. This was literally my first time every working with wood, so it's all been a learning experience. I will definitely heed your advice on the next knife though.

I decided the vinegar/steel wool stain was not to my liking and have sanded it all off and restained with a walnut stain. After staining I then sanded with 400 grit to reveal the curls. Just put it's first coat of tung oil on before this pic was taken.
The grain is absolutely beautiful and has a 3D effect in real life. The camera doesn't do it justice.

>>1514164
Yeah I'm sure it will look great in person.

>>1512307
>What do you use for shaping the handle and pins?
For rough shaping I used a grinder with a 60 grit flap wheel. From there I smooth it up with an aggressive file, before switching to progressively finer sandpaper.
I'm pretty pleased with how it came out although I wish I'd carved a palm swell into the scales before I epoxied them.

>>1514328
I've been using the wood carving knives I made of all subsequent handles and lots and lots of sandpaper. I use a Dremel with various bits to do various jobs hen I think my filing efforts might botch it up too much or to correct a botched job.

>>1514097
I've made serrated bread knives in the past, but never really made the leap to an actual saw blade as there really wasn't anything I could feasibly do with one that was worth the time/money.
What I have thought about recently was making a hunters trousse with a small bone/horn saw on it for work in the field making whole animals into smaller bits of animal, so I'll keep that it mind. My original thought was just to do some serrations with a triangular diamond file and a fairly tight pitch of about 12-15 points per inch (think thats how they're measured) so its kind of like a hacksaw blade... a very classy hacksaw!

Finished up one of the N690 blades with a wire-wrap handle (304SS and Brass)
Not inordinately happy with the ability to polish N690, it does get 'fairly shiny' but not the true mirror finish I was thinking of.it getting, but that may just be down to what I've got to work with rather than the steel itself. For a little workhorse knife anyway it doesn't matter if its a mirror, some gronk will just bin it in a washtub and scratch it to shit!
What I was happy with though was the stain resistance, basically no rust even when abused to shit, swimming in all kinds of nasty crap in my workshop, left for a couple of days wet and abused and it simply just doesn't give a fuck.
It also gets scalpel sharp, like outrageously keen to the point you'll fillet yourself doing the arm hair test- doesn't hold it for ages like some other steels but it sharpens/re-hones very easily as well.

So, I'd call it a 'compromised success'
Some good points, an excellent point and a couple of not-great but ok points in there

>>1514564

Aren't you concerned about dirt getting between the wires ? It will be hard to clean. Also what is under the wire? Also isnt the knife too heavy with this wraping ?

On the other hand It realy looks cool and I think it will provide nice traction with the hand.

>>1514639
Its a tiny bit heavier than a G10 handled, hidden tang knife: which is essentially what it is underneath the wire. Just some 5mm G10 shaped to suit and the wire run over the top of it, I also run a thin coat of epoxy, with black ink in it over the whole wrap and then clean off the excess with some light sanding, bit of wire-wheel on the grinder and then a polish. That sort of helps stop anything from sneaking down between the strands and makes sure nothings going to wander around.

Do have some fine titanium wire squirreled away I might use next time to knock a bit of the weight off, but its pretty bomb-proof for the most part and will have a fairly long service time. One of the few hand made knives that would survive a dishwasher trip... not that it should, but it could

>>1500880
>japanese barberry
That's the same bush that produces goji berries. It's closely related to the Oregon grape. Would be interesting to do UV tests on that as well.

>>1514564
>wire-wrap handle

That's a neat and novel knife, anon.

>>1514639
>too heavy

Anon, you need to lift more.

>>1514695
http://eattheplanet.org/japanese-barberry-invasive-winter-fruit/

Interesting info. However, it isn't goji berry. Goji is Lycium barbarum or Lycium chinense while the Japanese Barberry is Berberis thunbergii. I've been shining my UV flashlight around various woods now in search of something else, but no luck.

One thing I found was the UV level of the Japanese Barberry is reduced and darkened when heated. I boiled a test piece in some how wax to remove water and stabilize it. It is waterproof, but not as reactive to UV and darker in color instead of nice and bright yellow. I played around with it quite a bit, but the only real project I did was to make a tiny ear piecing whistle and lots of scrap & sawdust.

>>1514705
>Berberis thunbergii
Fuck me, I thought it was the same bush as goji for years! Turns out goji berries indeed come from boxthorn, which are Solanaceae, while Berberis and Mahonia are both Berberidaceae.

>>1497306
My best kitchen knives are high carbon steel. They turn black with patina when you take care of them properly. They shouldn't rust unless you do something you shouldn't like get the wood handles wet a lot. You can either force patina or let if develop naturally over time.

Blarg! This is the ugliest knife I've made since that one time I hammered out a railroad spike while drunk. However, it is highly effective against its main enemy, apples! The hard part was making the blade concave. I first tried hammering it around a rod, but that was not the right idea. Instead I ended up hammering it into the crevice of the open jaws of my largest bench vice. The ball peen on the hammer was perfect for getting to the desired curve. In hind sight I should have sanded it down all shiny before hammering. Oh well. Now it has tiger stripe patina. Annealing, hardening, and tempering all went very well. I messed up a bit with the file when making the edges. At least sharpening is super easy. Both sides can be sharpened by laying it dome-side up on a stone or sandpaper and doing circles. I can sharpen both edge of the blade at the same time doing that.

In case you have not guessed, this is an apple coring knife which removes the core with a twist of the wrist. I can also peel with it easily. It is much longer than store versions and is able to reach all the way through even the largest of apples I've seen. The blade is 4.5" long and 5/8" wide and doubled edged.

>>1515118
It looks like ass m8

>>1515120
The process was more difficult than I imagined, but I think I could make a much better one the 2nd/3rd time around. Not that I'm going to make another for a while since it was only an experiment.

Pic related was my first attempt at blacksmithing way back in the day

>>1515118
Hey nice work man. It's ugly as sin but they look difficult to do well

>>1515443
Thanks. Yeah, I need a swage block to do it correctly. Then it'd be easy as cake to do.

>>1515279
That's a lot better than I did. Mine was too cold, due to terrible setup. I need to make a better setup and build an outdoor shed to house it.

>>1515448
We made a wood framed shop with tin walling. Whatever you do i reccomend something that can be easily ventilated and/or cooled, and has power run to it for lights and machine tools. 3 burner propane forge+poorly ventilated shed=humid burning hell only tolerable on super cold days

>>1515644
Summer forging without AC simply can't be done most of the time here. Even at night. We have super high humidity and blistering heat. I do all my metal casting and stuff in the cool months and winter.

I've wanted to get into knife making and know basic stuff (steel types pretty much) any advice?

>>1514705
Yeah, its bit different, here's its twin but done with some of the leftover Wenge and brass I had from the bowie I did a while ago.
Little bit more conventional, really happy with how this turned out its a really pretty knife.

>>1515702
hehe, people ripping on me earlier about nearly dying making some pattern welded stuff... I will make a point that was done in 38C temperatures with no airconditioner
My other point would be that I got the motherfucker done and got paid for it!

>>1514705
Yeah, its bit different, here's its twin but done with some of the leftover Wenge and brass I had from the bowie I did a while ago.
Little bit more conventional, really happy with how this turned out its a really pretty knife.

>>1515702
hehe, people ripping on me earlier about nearly dying making some pattern welded stuff... I will make a point that was done in 36-37C temperatures with no airconditioner
My other point would be that I got the motherfucker done and got paid for it!

>>1516063
Which kind would you like to do? There's stock removal then there's forging. Stock removal is the simplest of the two and only requires a bit of heat treatment at most. No hammer and anvil needed and you work with steel that's already the thickness you want. Some people buy the steel bars or whatever to get the exact steel they want. Other people get old saw blades and make knives from that. Stock removal limits the creativity you can do. Like you can't make your own unique knife patterning, like you can with forge welding the stock, but you can buy stock that is patterned.

My advice is to work with some stock removal first and learn to heat treat the metal. Then move onto forging if you still like doing it.

>>1516069
That looks pretty good.

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>>1504316