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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #16  
Old 12-20-2012, 05:04 AM
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Crex Crex is offline
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Nahh....just jack up the roof of your garage and learn to stack real well!
No what you mean, never enough room.


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  #17  
Old 12-21-2012, 09:23 AM
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ckluftinger ckluftinger is offline
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Already did that...
I built an attic in the crawlspace above the garage when I first moved into the house. I may have to dig down next.

Here's another little tidbit about the history I mentioned earlier (if you care to read on - I know history is not everybody's cup of tea.)

The story about my home town getting burnt is not a hugely known fact, except in those parts of Bavaria (Swabia, really - which is part of Bavaria now, but was actually enemy territory then). It came from a book written by the late husband of my aunt back in the 50's. In order to gain a bit more perspective on Ferdinand, the Habsburgs and the 30 Years' War I did a bit more research:
As is the case today, back then governments were all about money. Even though kings and queens and emperors were fabulously wealthy and built themselves fantastic castles, in the end, they had to pay for it all somehow. Taxation was one way, and "expanding your tax base" by conquering and occupying other countries was a good way to secure extra cash. The "investment" needed for this was to raise an army and invade the others' countries. Of course, keeping an army on hand was an expensive undertaking, especially in peaceful times. Soldiers needed to be fed and housed, they needed uniforms and weapons, and worst of all, they needed to be occupied so they didn't get stupid ideas like revolting against the king or turning on the civilian population - happened all too often! So, what the royals did, just like many countries do today, they hired contractors in times of war whose job it was to raise the army, fight the war under the direction of the king, and deliver the results - occupied territory. In turn, they got to plunder, murder, rape and pillage to their hearts' content. The soldiers they hired were mostly mercenaries, often "rented" from another king ( a good way to offset the cost of keeping a standing army - just rent it out to whoever needs one!), and those who thought the grass was greener (or less blood-stained) on the other side of the battle field. Often soldiers would switch sides as their loyalty rested with whoever provided the better party. Their only motivation to go to war was the prospect of plunder, pillage and other indescribable activities. For this reason, these wars were exceptionally cruel and bloody. The two main "contractors" for Ferdinand were one Jean Tilly (Johan Tzerclaes), and one Albrecht von Wallenstein. These men had a core group of paid officers around them and the rest of their thousands of men were "hired hands". The war (by historians' measure) began with a spectacular assault on some Austrian officials in Prague (they got thrown out of an upper-story window) by Bohemian revolutionaries who wanted a protestant government over the Catholic Austrians. Now, as with any war, it's not one single incident which starts it, just like the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo didn't really start WW1. There are always long time underlying issues brewing and festering until some "powder keg" sets it off. At any rate, in May of 1618, these guys got thrown out the window, and that "officially" started a war which would last until 1648. Wallenstein and Tilly were not entirely popular with Ferdinand, and he never really trusted them (wonder why...), and eventually, when Wallenstein began to hold discussions with the French and Swedes behind Ferdinand's back, he was declared a traitor, and his arrest "dead or alive" was called for by the Imperial government. Wallenstein and some of his officers were assassinated in 1634... by the rest of his officers...
My home town of Kempten was divided into a Catholic and a protestant section, at times strictly kept apart by a wall. The Catholic part had a well-known cloister whose benefactor and patron was Hildegard, the wife of Karl V. The other side (my side, so to speak) was the protestant part of the town which was supported by the Swedes when they invaded Swabia, and later stormed by the imperialists and the Catholic Bavarians. According to the history, the Imperial Hordes did not differentiate between the two parts, and burnt it all...

"Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it" - Winston Churchill

Chris


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  #18  
Old 12-21-2012, 08:01 PM
Bowman Bowman is offline
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Very interesting... Thanks Chris. Once again, a beautiful job on the knife.
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  #19  
Old 12-22-2012, 07:59 PM
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Thanks, Bowman.
here's the knife "on the wall". It'll stay there until my boys develop an interest in their family's history, then I will take it down and tell them a story...



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  #20  
Old 12-22-2012, 10:07 PM
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Can-welded damascus

So, as promised, here is how I make my can-welded damascus. Steve Kelly showed us two years ago and I was intriegued by how simple it was, I HAD to try it. Now, this is by no means a tutorial, because I'm hardly qualified to dish out advice on making damascus; it's just what I do. So, feel free to add to it, and give me suggestions on how to do it better!

First, I make a "can". I use pipe or square tubing of about 1/16 or 3/64 wall thickness. Nothing too heavy, but strong enough to support the welded-on handle you'll see later. I weld on the bottom. It doesn't have to be pretty, but it needs to be air tight.



Next, I select a variety of steels: W1, mild rod, bar stock, broken hacksaw blades, etc. Steve says to use steels with similar expansion rates so it won't warp too much. I don't know what kind of steel hacksaw blades are made of, so this may actually not be a good practice. It's worked so far, though..
I clean all parts with acetone before I stack them into my can.



I stack them somewhat evenly into the can, alternating mild steel with the high carbon stuff.


Then I fill the gaps with a mixture of powdered 1095 and powdered nickel (50/50). You really have to tap it in well so you don't get any air gaps. I rap the can onto the bench, and tap the sides with a small hammer until no more will go in.


Once it's full to the top, run a straight edge across it before you weld on the lid.


After I weld the top on, I drill a 1/8 inch hole off to one side. It will get some WD40 in it later...


Now I weld on a long handle so I can put it into the forge. I use a 1/2 inch square piece of mild stock. A pipe works, too.


My handle has a "flag" at the end so I can tell which way the can is oriented, if this makes a difference - depends on the pattern.


Now it's time to squirt a bit of WD40 into the hole. It will burn off in the forge, consuming any remaining oxygen in the can. The can-welding process can only work if there is absolutely no oxygen left in the can. That's the premise on which MIG welders work. The oxygen makes the surface of the steel - well, oxydize - before it reaches welding temperature, and this oxydation prevents the steel surfaces from joining.


Time to get some HEAT! I reverse my shop vac and make it blow into the burner of my forge to produce enough heat to bring this package to welding temperature. You'll notice when it's hot enough when the entire block is an even yellow-orange color, the surface looks like it has white frost on it, and sparks fly off it when you hit it with a hammer. Apparently you should be able to feel the steel vibrate and "sing" to you at that point, but I can't say I have experienced it yet. My forge is able to bring a 1 1/2 inch by 5 inch square can to welding temp, but no more. I tried a 2 inch tube, but I couldn't "chase the shadows" out of it entirely. Needless to say the weld didn't "take".
More to follow, because I'm out of room...


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  #21  
Old 12-22-2012, 10:14 PM
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ckluftinger ckluftinger is offline
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second installment

Now we're cooking with water!


I hammer the package down by about 50%, gently, and not hitting too hard. really all you want to do at this point is for the weld to take. The can will buckle, and the seams will eventually split, but that's okay. You'll grind off the outermost layer anyway.


Hammer more, inspect the package, and re-weld the handle if it looks like it will fall off. Once I get it down to about 1/2 inch, I put it into my bench-top hydraulic press. This will press the billet into a wave pattern. If you don't have a press, there are two other ways you can get this wave pattern: let the billet cool to "handling" temperature and lay out each side in 1/2 inch strips at 90 degrees to the handle. Make sure the other side is off-set half way between each section from the top side. Using an angle grinder, grind straight grooves across the billet, about 1/4 of the thickness into the billet. Do one side, then turn over and do the other side. The grooves on the other side should fall half way between each of two grooves you just did. They should not meet at the same location (I hope this makes sense...)
The other option is to forge the billet against the edge of the anvil, making alternate grooves on each side of the billet so you get the same zig-zag pattern.


This is how it looks coming out of the press. I just made another die which has the ribs closer together for a tighter ladder pattern.


Now I let the piece cool to room temperature. I use the angle grinder to grind off the "hills" on both sides, grind off the left overs of the can from the edges and the ends. I dip it into ferric chloride to see the beginnings of the pattern. This is a 7x2x1/2 billet, which should make me two knives, maybe a couple of guards, too. The tip, you can see, didn't take well, so i will have to chop it off. the rest looks good, though and with more forging and shaping more of the pattern will come out - I hope...
If you ground the grooves into the billet instead of pressing them in, don't grind off the "hills", because you would be back at the beginning. You would reheat the billet and forge it straight, pressing the "hills" down to the same thickness as the grooved parts (make sense??)


So, that's how I do it. Doesn't mean it's the best or only way to do it, and I would love to get some feed back! for example - does the steel really "sing" to you?? I get the whole "chasing of the shadows" bit, but if the steel sings, I'm obviously tonedeaf...

Happy Holidays to all!

Chris


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  #22  
Old 12-23-2012, 05:32 AM
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Crex Crex is offline
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Thanks Chris. Very imformative, anyone who has learned to do basic forge welding should be able to accomplish the "can" stuff if they pay attention to your explination carefully. Appreciate your sharing the technique.
I've got some round tubing I've been meaning to pack and try out. Sounds like a post Christmas project.
Who are you getting your powdered 1095 from?
You didn't mention it per say, but the mix of nickle actually helps attain a better solid weld. That's why the old 15n20 and L6 sawblades work so well in layered damascus.
Thanks again.

??Who made your press? Tonnage? Any other specs?


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  #23  
Old 12-23-2012, 06:55 AM
huntforlife huntforlife is offline
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Chris that is a great looking piece. Very nice work!


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  #24  
Old 12-23-2012, 10:38 PM
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Thanks, Zen. My two boys (nine and seven) are awestruck with my knives which makes me as a dad very proud. i hope they will develop an appreciation for this as art, and I hope they will treasure a few of my pieces in the years to come.
Carl, I got the 1095 form Kelly Kupples in Yakima. I haven't found anyone in Canada yet who can supply it, and Kelly can't ship it across the border. Seems to make the customs guys nervous. I had him ship it to my aunt in Seattle and I went down to pick it up last summer. Yes, I should have mentioned the reason for the nickel. I didn't know the part about helping in the welding, but I do know it makes your pattern more interesting because the nickel won't etch with FeCl, leaving interesting bright ridges on your blade. Thanks for pointing it out - Do you think I should go heavier on the nickel?
Oh, and the press was my own design and build. It's a 12 ton hydraulic jack, some 2x3x1/4 channel, a couple of garden gate springs, a bit of welding, cutting and bolting...and voila, "Lil' Squeeze" became an addition to my shop. I make my own dies (4x4x1/4 plate, with whatever welded onto it) and so far I have used it mostly for pressing the ladder pattern into damascus. It works, if you don't expect to press an entire 3x3 inch block into a half-inch billet.


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