Custom Guard ???

[Steve Milliet]

hey ya'll,

here's a question, do any of ya'll melt and pour metal into molds to make special guards??
OR do ya'll just heat / beat brass, nickel-silver, etc. into desired shape?

steve m

[cactusforge]

I forge iron guards to the shape I want, brass and nickle silver I file/grind to get there. Gib

[Linda]

I have a question that maybe I should direct to Jonathan Loose. I'm working on a large Norse style knife and have been carving the wax pieces for all of the embellishments which will be cast in sterling silver. I want to make the guard out of sterling silver in the same manner. This will be more of an art knife so I was wondering if there is a great tabboo or a general rule in the knifemakers world in what kinds of metals should and should not be used for knife guards. This is my first knife, and I'm having a lot of fun draw-filing the damascus blade and planning out the handle. I'll appreciate all comments and opinions on the subject.

Linda
In rainy San Jose, CA.

[whv]

there are any number of materials that have been used for knife fittings.
.
my take is that the more likely it is that the knife will be used, the more wear-resistant should be the materials/finish. for example, i don't care to spend my time with flitz or simichrome polishing soft brass to get rid of sheath wear. then again, an edc will get little care at all other than cleaning, lube and sharpening.
.
for a safe-queen, anything goes.

[Mike Hull]

Originally posted by Linda

so I was wondering if there is a great tabboo or a general rule in the knifemakers world in what kinds of metals should and should not be used for knife guards.
In rainy San Jose, CA.

Linda, you use whatever you want. It is your vision, your art, if you will. Personally, I think silver is great!

[Gary Mulkey]

Linda,

Another option that you might concider would be coin silver which would be more durable than sterling. If this would compromise the look that you're after then certainly use the sterling.

Gary

[Steve Milliet]

so, i guess that no one melts and pours brass and stuff for special guards OR heats/beats it into shape......
i've tried bending it, but it usually doesnt work that well.

[george tichbour]

Brass can be annealed for bending. Heat it with a propane torch until it acquires a blackish patina then air cool. It will be dead soft at this point. Bending or hammering will work harden it again. It can be annealed as many times as you have patience for.

Do not use acetylene for annealing brass.

[Steve Milliet]

thanks for the hint, i appreciate it.....

[Steve Milliet]

got to thinking (dangerous!!) propane is ok , right? also, after heating it and bending it, will it harden up on its own after its cool? or do i have to do somthing to it?

[Dementia]

i have carved a guard that was later cast in a special bronze that i wanted to try.

normally i find that the annealing and beating of brass and other such metals works fine for making up a guard ..
but in the instance that i am talking about, it just made more sense to cast it as it was quicker to carve all the detail that was present.

when i want to bend of shape a piece of brass i setup a little table of firebricks and place the brass ontop .. i play a propane flame over it until it takes that colour and then i just leave it to cool on the bricks.
when you start to play with it again it will start to work harden and soon you have to anneal it again...
anything will work harden the piece, whether it is hitting it with a hammer or bending it in the vice.
its a good idea that before altering the shape of the metal again that you anneal it again.

as it is easier to anneal it a few extra times than have to start again .. (ask how i know this)

hope this helps a little .....

D.

[J.Arthur Loose]

I don't know how I missed this thread for so long... Linda, if you're out there, sorry!

If you can bring casting into your skill-set you will find that it can make fitting guards / bolsters incredibly easy. You can do your fitting in wax rather than metal.

If you can sand-cast you can quickly carve a piece of wood or even styrofoam to get a very close approximation of your desired shape that requires very little clean-up.

I recommend Tim McCreight's book Practical Casting which is available in many book stores and through Amazon. It is a good introduction to the various processes of casting and has many cheap alternatives to expensive equipment.

[Linda]

Hi Jonathan,

Thanks for the information. I never thought of the sand casting idea, I'll have to try that sometime. I did model both the guard and bolster out of wax and cast them in sterling, they really turned out nice. I also did some photo-etched pieces in sterling from my artwork, they'll be set into the handle and sheath. My first knife is taking me longer than I had originally expected, but I'm learning through each process and really enjoying it. I'll probably have lots of other questions for you as I go. Thanks for your help.

Linda

[J.Arthur Loose]

Linda,

the thing I like about knives is the multitude of materials and techniques you get to play with... you'll be sorry you started.

George,

You can let brass air cool, but you can also heat to a medium red and quench as soon as the redness disappears.

What's the reasoning behind not using acetylene to anneal brass?

[Jamey Saunders]

Sorry to jump in on this thread so late, but I wanted to say that if you are going to cast brass, be careful. When brass becomes molten, the zinc in the metal will fume off, and from what I've heard, zinc poisioning isn't fun.

Many people who cast brass add pure zinc to the melt to replace what gets fumed off. Otherwise, the brass becomes brittle and flaky, and it's hard to machine.