The Official 2007 TradGang Knife Swap **Time is UP!!**

[Mr.Vic]

What a learning thing for a beginner.. here's the second handle i did up on this knife . This one is osage. It still needs a lot of work to finish. Antler finger guard, inlays,and shealth.. What fun learning.

[LAR43]

Be careful Vic, you're gonna get hooked!!!    

Larry

[sticshooter]

It is a SICKNESS! REALLY IT IS!<><

[4runr]

That sure is some puurrtty yella wood there Mr. Vic.

[Gitnadoix]

Can us Canucks play..if so I'd like to get it on this, sound like fun. I have a few already but this is the incentive I need to make some new ones.

[robtattoo]

Originally posted by Gitnadoix:
Can us Canucks play..

Why not? Us Limeys are  :D

Nice knife Vic, looking good! Be real careful though, it's waaaay addictive this knifemaking    You'll never 'buy' another knife again!

[Mr.Vic]

Dang it guys Why didn't you tell me before i got started on this.. thanks alot. Here's the handle finished just needs last coat of finish and a shealth.

[dorris]

PRETTY SWEET MAN .

[RickD]

I have a friend that has taken me under his wing and has been showing me how to make knives..This is my 5 damascus knife that I`ve made..I`ll make another to trade in this knife swap..

 

[Caveman IL]

Nice job, Mr. Vic!! Cool damascus, RickD.
If I could figure out how to post pics, I'd put some up.  Old dogs, new tricks-?  Larry

[sticshooter]

Vic that looks great. ya did a great job matching up the antler to the osage. Rick you really like the D blades don't ya? They are nice and like what ya did with the antler.<><

[shootrmn]

I get to work hammering a blade or two since I just quit my job.

[Jeremy]

I spent some time Sunday (Saturday?) out in the shop and took a bunch of pics while messing around with three knives

Legal Disclaimer:       This is how I do it.  It's by no means the best way and probably not the safest way, but it works for me.  Proper safety equipment is a must for anything involving hot steel, sparks, grinding... pretty much everything involved in making a knife!
 
 Build Along  

I tried to keep them in order and except for the two picturtes showing me darkening the edge and scribing a line I did.  Start and the end and work your way back.

When I want to make a new knife design I normally sketch it out and then make a wooden template to see if I like how it feels.  That's the first pic - what I'm going for here.  I don't trust myself to forge real thin blades or complicated ones (like the guthook) so these will be stock reduction blades.  Both will be clay-cloated and etched and I'll show how I do that as well.

I trace the template out on the bar stock and cut it out with an abrasive cut-off blade in an OLD tablesaw (don't use one you actually like!!)  Then use a grinder and files to get it to shape.

To file the shoulders I bought a file jig recently, but before that I used a homemade one consisting of two pieces of hardened scrap steel.

I leave the edge about the thickness of a dime before hardening and tempering.  The extra will be removed during the final grind and is useful to have: helps prevent cracking/warping during the quench, enough 'sacrificial' steel that if you burn off some carbon during the heat you'll get down to good steel, thin steel cools very quickly - leaving it thicker gives you a little more time to get it from the forge to the quench medium.

Something people need to keep in mind: sharp corners and quencing hot steel in oil is a sure way to crack a blade.  Make sure all corners are rounded.

After cleaning them up after hardening I put 'em in the oven at 400F for an hour to draw back the temper.

This was done in the morning.  I would have done the final grind in the afternoon, but had to not make any noise b/c my wife was sleeping.  I'll get some more done this weekend and give an update.

Oh, the guthook blade is for a TradGanger who works two floors down from me.  I had his daughter in one of my bow hunter ed classes a few years back.  One is for the trade and then third blade I decided to do as an after thought.  I need a new neck knife, but it will probably go to the father of a friend who's being treated for cancer.

[Holm-Made]

This will be fun.  Count me in.  Chad

[Jeremy]

Time for the next bit.  After the blades come out of the oven (see the link in my last post) I go back to the 1x30" belt grinder and start doing the final grind.  Go slow and don't wear gloves.  Now isn't the time to overheat the blade and ruin the temper.  I start with 80 grit and move my way up to 600 grit, taking the time to get rid of all the grind marks from the previous grit.

After that I hand rub the blades out to 600 grit (normally I start with 400).  Here's the set up I use:
 
The sandpaper is wrapped around a piece of stiff phenolic.  I use a little bit of honing oil to keep the 600 grit paper from clogging and only rub in one direction.
Here's what it looks like when I'm done:
 
This gives a nice satin finish to the blade and is as far as I go with most knives, but if you went through the other pix you know I'm going to put a little lipstick on this pig.  The back of the blade was coated in fireplace mortar (rated to 3000 degrees) before I hardened it.  So the blade has a hard edge and a softer spine.  Now time to show the temperline off.

I etch the blades in a dilute acid mix (3 parts water to 1 part acid)  The acid is just from the local Radio Shack.
 
I do about a 30 second etch, then rinse it in water and wash it off real well with some soap and water (Irish Spring if you must know).  The key here is to neutralize the acid.  
At this point you'll notice the blade looks exactly to opposite of what I'm going after - the edge is much darker than the spine:
 

I use a metal polishing paste (Flitz or Semichrome will work) to clean up the blade.  The harder metal at the edge will release the oxides faster than the softer steel.  Rub blade with your fingers in a circular motion, being careful not to spend too much time in one area.
This is what you end up with:
 

That's it!  That's my secret, now you all know!  I do have to thank Terry Primos for explaining to me how to do the etch and polish to really show the temper line (hamon) off.  He's a phenominal bladesmith.

[LAR43]

Terry's one of the best! I hear he's stopped bladesmithing right now. It's a tough way to earn a living.
That rubbing out part is the bit I hate!!! Seems like it's never gonna end!

All kinds of techniques & "tricks" to finishing & adding patinas to the steel, iron etc. . .

Nice tute Jeremy!!

Where'd you get your filing jig? Mine's like your original, 2 pieces of hardened (brine quenched) steel w/ 2 bolts & lock nuts to hold everything tight.

Larry

[sticshooter]

Filing jig???? No one told me anything about no filing jig. I always wondered how you guys did that stuff. OK how do ya make one cheap? C'mon give it up guys. <><

[LAR43]

Frank, it's just a gizmo to help keep both sides of the step downs on a ricasso or tang even as you're filing them to shape.

Mine's just two pieces of 1/4" X 1 1/2" steel approx. 2 1/2" long. I drilled one & tapped the other to make a simple 2 piece flat clamp type thing that I put the annealed blade in & file anything that has to be the same on both sides of the blade, i.e the ricasso & tang shoulders. To harden it & make it "file proof" I  brought it up to critical (non magnetic) heat & quenched it in a solution called super quench. It's made up of water, salt, industrial strength soap (floor stripping strength)& Dawn dish liquid.
They're hard as all get out, files barely even scratch them.

I also use lock nuts to make sure the thing doesn't loosen up as I'm using it. Probably overkill here but I don't want to have to correct any filing or cutting boo - boo's at this stage of the process.

Simple stuff like that makes the work just a little easier.

Larry

[sticshooter]

Larry don't suppose ya can send a pic or two? But please only if and when you have time.<><

[LAR43]

Sure thing Frank, but I'll have to take 'em first!       Gimme a day or two.

Larry