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  #1  
Old 10-13-2007, 07:57 PM
SmokinSoldier SmokinSoldier is offline
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Meteorite

So I was thinking about melting down a iron meteorite into an ingot and making a knife. This seemed the most feasible way of crafting myself a fixed blade meteorite knife at a reasonable price. But I'm not sure, of the available meteorite composites, what type of meteorite would be the best to use for this. Or even if smelting it down would be the best way to go about this.
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  #2  
Old 10-13-2007, 09:18 PM
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There's a Johnny Cash song I heard recently about a guy who worked in an auto factory, and over the years brought home miscellaneous parts until, after about 20 years on the job, he finally had enough parts to build himself a car. I supposed to him it seemed like the most feasible way to get a car at a reasonable price.

I don't mean to be flippant, but upon reading your post, I think the only way that your idea could be feasible and inexpensive is if you are an experienced bladesmith who already has forging equipment and the knowledge to take on such an experiment.

Otherwise, you could be spending thousands of $$$ on equipment to be able to make a knife that you could have spent a few hundred on.
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  #3  
Old 10-13-2007, 09:55 PM
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I'd love to have some 5160 or similar steel sandwiched 'san mai' style between some meteorite slabs. That way I know the edge would be good blade stock.


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  #4  
Old 10-15-2007, 08:42 AM
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This path leads to things such as trying kits, getting a couple DVD?s & books, a new tool here & there, and then suddenly a couple years later your wondering where your garage went...

This is how I got suckered into it, except it was kitchen knives for me.

As for using the meteorite it would depend on what type it is. If it is a stony one it won't be of any use in the blade. If it is a solid metal one and you melt it down you will lose one on nature's few patterned steels. I think of meteorites as natural damascus. A better use would be like Andy mentioned or as bolsters of a knife. It would make a killer bolster on say one of the folding kit knives from KnifeKits.com .

Hope this helps,
Jim


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  #5  
Old 10-15-2007, 10:05 AM
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Do you have a meteorite?If not you may want to price one first.I think they are a little on the pricey side.


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  #6  
Old 10-15-2007, 01:09 PM
SmokinSoldier SmokinSoldier is offline
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after getting flamed by the first response I was a little hesitant to come back and check out all of the new and useful replies.

Andrew while I do think that you are probably right about using steel stock core to make sure that the knife is rigid enough, I do feel it would take away from the spirit of the project.

Drac, I do realize that meteorites are patterned that's why I feel it would be a shame to smelt one down, do you think the crystallization and hardening of the meteorite would make it to hard to work with?

ranger1, No I do not have the meteorite yet. They are relatively easy to come by though and are not crazy expensive. This is also why I asked what type of meteorite would be best to acquire for the project. I was thinking a iron nickel ataxite meteorite.
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  #7  
Old 10-15-2007, 01:48 PM
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Actually he wasn't flaming you. He is correct on the facts. I have a very small shop in comparison to a lot of people & I have over a couple thousand in it. It is true that you can do a lot with a torch and a couple of files but is that the sort of knife you want? There are some masters out there that can make an award winning knife with no power tools but these men are just that masters.

Before you would be ready to work something like a laminate blade out of meteorite you would need a lot of practice on making blades. I did a quick Google of slabs of meteorite & most of the pieces where running well over $500 for pieces I would call bolster size. Most were far too small for a blade even slicing them up & using them like mosaic damascus blades. You would not want to jump into that level of material without feeling comfortable with your tools.

If you want to learn bladesmithing with a final goal of this knife go for it but keep in mind it will be a long road with a lot of work and probably a lot of money (much more than having a blade made) but those of us here have found it a fun & rewarding journey.

Jim


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  #8  
Old 10-15-2007, 03:05 PM
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Alot of these answers are in the presumption that you are a beginning bladesmith.A meteorite blade is a complex undertaking.Judging from what I have read.If you are an experianced smith,ignor me.Sometimes the people here sound a little brash.It's an honesty thing that seems to go on and helps us to become better at what we do.I would read all I could about forgeing a meteorite blade.Most of the meteorite blades I have seen were damascus type or San-Mai. Iron and nichol would be great but you would have to check the carbon content and its edge holding ability.I say go for it. Just don't do like I did and think about forgeing depleted uranium.The people here saved my life.


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  #9  
Old 10-15-2007, 05:21 PM
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Soldier,

Among those responding to you here are at least two other former soldiers (myself included) and a sailor. I'm not sure about Nate. Maybe he was a legionaire.

Seriously though, we only wish to help, not dash your plans.

To go back to your original question; melting an iron meteorite down would make it look like regular iron. You would know it's still meterite--you could still say that when you show it off, but it would look like a chunch of iron. If you are cool with that, someone here can talk you through it. The problems associated with that, since you did ask if that was the best aproach, would be not knowing if it has enough carbon to be hardened. There is also the issue of equipment. You haven't explained what kind of work you are tooled up for, but melting steel takes a very hot forge, as well as a whole list of other tools.

If your goal is make a knife from 100% meterite (to maintain the spirit as you say), then I would suggest finding a good slab of all metal meterite and carefully grinding it to shape. The pattern will be unphased, so it will retain that 'WOW' factor when people look at it. If you intend to make this a 'working' knife actually capable of cutting things, you can test a small chuck of it first by heat treating it to see if it is hardenable or having it chemically analyzed by a lab before you invest too much time and money.

Personally, I think I'd like a steel knife with a full handle made from meteorite so it is visable even when it's in the sheath! If you find some good specimens, give me a head's up brother!

Good luck my friend!


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  #10  
Old 10-15-2007, 09:34 PM
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SmokinSoldier,

My intention wasn't to "flame" your question, though I was a bit abrupt. We get newbies here that come and go (I'm a newbie that is still here after a couple of years). A lot of times, the newbies start asking questions about knifemaking, and the people here are terrific about giving them advice. A lot of times we get questions, and we have no idea about the skills that the person has who is asking the question.

Here, and on some of the other forums I visit, we occasionally get a question from someone who likes a certain style of knife, or of a certain material like damascus, etc., but doesn't want to pay out the price asked by a custom maker. They truly do not realize the skill involved in making the knife, the years of experience that has been invested, and in many cases, the thousands of dollars in equipment, belts, materials, etc., that is expended. They usually ask their question in the form, "How can I make this knife at a reasonable cost?" etc.

I guess my post was really to ask you, "Do you know what you are getting yourself into?"

If you don't, then you have a long expensive road ahead if you see this project through to the end. Expensive in time to get the skills, and the cost of moderately good equipment will probably exceed that of a very good custom knife.

If you do know what you are getting into, then we can probably assume you have some knifemaking/forging skill, have some equipment, and the road ahead will be a little shorter and a little less expensive than it could be.

Like Andy said, I'm not trying to dash your plans, just trying to give you a wake up call if you are a total novice to knifemaking.

Nathan
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  #11  
Old 10-15-2007, 11:54 PM
SmokinSoldier SmokinSoldier is offline
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http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:...ew/forge02.jpg

This would be similar to the forge I have available readily. My dad was a horseshoer and smithing the shoes took quite a bit of equipment. I have made a couple of blades from old files the was just going to scrap. while they are not display quality I find some beauty in some of the cruder aspects of the blades. I do have a better quality forge available for a short period of time making a slab. I am just out to make something for me that I find acceptable and useful all at the same time. it would just get light use. I have found a place that does lab test on all meteorites before selling them so I could find the carbon content easily. I know I am probably going to get a few people asking why I would toss a decent chunk of money at something like this and not have the product be a display quality piece, but hey I'm a hopeless eccentric.

[edit] sorry for any grammar or punctuation. . . . or any regard for sentence structure, but I just got off work
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  #12  
Old 10-16-2007, 02:33 AM
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Excellent! Now we have an idea of where you're at in the craft!

I'd be very carefull about hammering on meteorite. The natural patterns in the blade would be contorted and possibly washed out if too much forging took place. The harsh, angular look of the crystal structure is what makes meteorite..., well..., meteorite.

As I alluded to earlier, I'd just find a piece with the correct carbon content and the size to be surface ground into a flat bar of the desired thickness and then 'sculpt' the blade from that. The pattern will be completely as the merciless universe created it. Heat treat the whole blade evenly for a uniform finish and perhaps etch with FC to really make the pattern pop! ...but that's me.

Dang! Now you've got me wanting to make one! Maybe you should post the website of this place that sells lab-tested meteroites for others to benefit. The sharing of knowledge is tradition around here after all.


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  #13  
Old 10-16-2007, 07:03 AM
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Why do I smell another KITH coming???Do you know the info that could come from such an endever?It could be endless.


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  #14  
Old 10-16-2007, 07:52 AM
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Andrew Garrett Andrew Garrett is offline
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-evil grin creeps across his face-


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  #15  
Old 10-16-2007, 12:32 PM
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Just how big a meteorite do you need to make a blade?From what I've seen on the web,its a little pricey.


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