question about Jeremy's kiln brick setup

[madness522]

Jeremy I saw pics of your kiln brick and have a question. Do you just put the blank in the bottom of hole or do you have some type supports to lay the blade on so the heat flows freely around it or do you just hold it in the hole with tongs or something?

 

Originally posted by Jeremy:
Just a single kiln insulating brick with a few holes drilled into it for a small propane torch.
 
 
I used it with just one torch for a year, but got impatient with how long it took to heat stuff up (I made the chamber too big) so I added a second.

I have a box of the kiln insulating bricks I've been passing out to guys for a year now... want one?

[mastin03]

not to hijack, but where exactly would one find kiln insulating bricks? Ive only got one knife under my belt and im itchin for more, so this is a topic of interest

[Jeremy]

If you look at the bottom pic you'll see a piece of brick holding up the back of the tang.  The edge of the blade is resting on the bottom of the forge opening and the blade isn't touching anything else.  The flame isn't making direct contact with the blade.

With that set up it doesn't take long to bring a small blade up to its critical temp and there's a lot less risk of overheating the blade than when using a full-sized forge.  I'll watch it as it heats up, check it periodically with a magnet when I think it's approaching non-magnetic (calibrates my eye for determining when it reaches critical) then hold it with tongs until it reaches critical, sometimes working the blade through the flame to ensure an even heat.

I've given away dozens of those mini-forges in the last few years... it takes just a few minutes to make one.  I'm just about out of bricks now.

[Jeremy]

Kiln supply places have them, but you can buy them (and other refractory supplies) from Ellis Custom Knife Works

[madness522]

Thanks Jeremy I couldn't tell what was in there and I'm getting stuff ready to start building a knife or three.

[mwmwmb]

is that brick open ended?

[Jeremy]

Mickey, there's only the front opening and the torch holes (man, that almost sounds dirty).  The kiln insulating bricks are easy to work with.  I drill two large holes (with a hand brace   ) 3/4 of the way into the brick where I want the top and bottom of the chamber to be, then cut out the rest with a drywall saw.  Total time is under 5 minutes.