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From my experience, along with what the experts have written, 1095 can be oil hardened in thinner sections but you can expect the autohamon effect... I get a a little autohamon quenching 1095 in parks#50, and a lot in warmed canola. From my experiments, agitation during the quench is extremely important with shallow hardening steels. Plunge it into the oil, and use a slicing motion, waving the blade back and forth but NOT side to side until the blade has cooled to black. Pull it out, check for warps and quickly straighten as needed, then back into the oil until it's cool enough to handle... Then wipe clean and into the tempering oven.

Something Wicked This Way Comes.... Wicked pretty much describes this one on several different levels.. Blade is a three core Twist/Counter twist outters with a interrupted twist centre. SS HT foil and 1045 for the cores.. The edge is 1070/ Getting the tip to "work" took some serious T&E but I finally got it to the right shape and curve. The curved fuller was a real bear to do but I managed to get it done by using a shorter fullering set in my fly press.. Recurved blades are a real challenge sometimes..especially when they are as long as this one is ..33" thereabouts. Some of my fossil Boz Taurus ivory with bronze studs and bolster/pommel plate complete the little bugger.... I call, it my Scimayagatana..a cross between a scimitar, yataghan and a katana... I dunno what I was thinking..just got another wild hare and just went with it.. and this is what came of that.. OK..my mind works in odd ways sometimes ...well more like usually... This blade wants to cut and follow through is smooth and very "powerful" due to the centre of gravity being so "forward" due to that recurved section.. So here it is...in all its Wickedness... Now I got to figure out what to do for a sheath...the hits just keep on a comin'... JPH

I have a couple of questions that might get things started. 1) Do you have access to gas fuels like propane? 2) Can we see a picture of the forge you are using? 3) What kind of access do you have to electricity? 4) Smiths world wide have built mechanical powerhammers, have you looked at those designs? Or, are you aware of them at all? I agree with Alan, this is an important and worthwhile project. My first impulse is to pack a bag and get on a plane. A more reasoned thought is that perhaps as you get some momentum on the project, bringing one (or more) of you here might give better results. I'm sure seeing what smiths have already been able to accomplish and having a better understanding of the limitations of your own environment, you could adapt some of our tools to your shop. As a quick thought (and be advised, I have not had my morning coffee yet) Treadle hammer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_PQSxM82cU Shop built power hammer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tPTLwmxsWc This thread about small jack presses https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/9932-my-mini-hydraulic-press/ Waste oil forges, burning used motor oil I think you've come to the right place, I really hope we can help you, and not just for the opportunity to teach, but also for the treasure trove of knowledge your master smith represents. Good Luck Geoff

Yesterday I had an old man in his 80's turn up on my door. He was a knife collector, and his son had bought him one of my knives a couple of years back. He mentioned that he'd been a blacksmith and a wood turner, and we sat and shot the shit for a couple of hours, while his wife listened very patiently. He bought another small knife, and enquired about commissioning a dirk. When I explained I usually had a lead time of 6 months for large pieces, he looked a bit crestfallen. Turns out he was diagnosed with terminal cancer at the end of last year. So now I'm making a dirk, and everything else is on hold until I'm done. Today I got a 11 1/2" 1095 blade roughed out, and a handle turned from walnut...

While I was at The ICCE Show, I promised Doug Ritter a knife for "Knife Rights". Charles Turnage was generous enough to donate some beautiful mastodon ivory for the hilt. I decided to make a mosaic Bowie with a frame tang and curved partial pommel wrap. I haven't decided if I will inlay the ivory or not. Here's my start on the steel: Hope you enjoy this WIP. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. I'll try to keep you updated on my progress.

Hi, I am not sure if this is the right forum for my queries. If not pardon me. Well, first of, I am not a blacksmith/blade smith. However I have been entrusted with a project to revive the dying art of traditional sword and knife making in Bhutan (a small himalayan kingdom). It is not just preserving the art but also to promote as a viable livelihood. The last of the master craftsman is in his 80s. The attempt is being made to train some younger folks to take up the craft. However, to do it in a traditional way, the younger folks are not interested. It is considered dirty, physically exhaustive. Therefore, to make it appealing to younger folks, we would like to mechanize certain processes of production. 1. Require technical advice in adopting and using efficient forge. Traditionally and currently we use charcoal forge. 2. Advice in using mechanical/ pneumatic forge hammer. Currently it is manually done, engaging two persons for forge hammering. 3. The art of making sword with laminated still is sort of lost now. I would like to seek your technical expertise to revive this as well. We have initiated the project in a modest way with 5 learners through sort of apprenticeship under the only existing master artisan in a 4 X 6 mtrs workshop. We are also thinking about possibility of engaging an expert to help us in mechanizing the essential processes and train the user in proper handling of the tools. That way, we may also require expert advice in designing a proper production house subsequently. I am the project manager acting as the defacto expert, in absence of any, in the field of managing a iron craft project. Any kind of expert advice and opinion will be helpful and to initiate further collaboration. Help. Karma about_sword.pdf

Is that what you call one of them there "trapeze-a-zoidial" type shape thingies?

That looks great! I like the blade/handle angle, and the patina. Looks like a good chopper.

Hi All Damascus Bowie 120 layer 1095, O1 and 15N20 Snakewood handle, sterling silver fittings Iron an nickle damascus guard. Total length 36 cm, blade 22.5 cm Richard

No need to be in a big city to source materials. 1st you normally have to buy in large quantities, 25 feet for ceramic blanket, 55 # for castable refractories and Plistix or Metrikote. I sell small quantities like you would need to build a gas forge at affordable prices. I ship all over the world.. Check out the Build a Gas Forge and Ribbon Burner attachments on the Forge Supplies page at www.WayneCoeArtistBlacksmith.com. Let me know if I can help you. I prefer contact by e-mail. Wayne

Speaking as a southern redneck (one who hates country/western, though), big is good. Shiny or dark isn't as important, it just has to be impressively big and well made. And it's your call, but personally "tactical tanto" doesn't do it. I know lots of folks love them, though. I think whatever design you choose, just do it to the best of your abilities and then some. Think of the cause, not the object.

I don't know of a guide and I only have three fixed speeds, but generally on steel you start at the highest speed you have, then use lower speeds for finish grinding and post-heat treat grinding. The really low speeds are good for handle work and non-metals that burn easily. The belt manufacturers will have suggested speeds. The ceramic belts, for instance, do best at super-high speed and pressure. They will actually glaze and stop cutting if you run them too slow or without enough pressure on the steel. Aluminum oxide is the opposite.

Get a spray bottle of water and get the wool moist with that and the cement will stick better

Devin, For once I'm going to stick my neck out and disagree with the advice that you've been given here. Firstly, 1095 is not a steel for beginners. It is far too finicky on the heat treat. You have but .4 seconds to get it from 1475 to below the pearlite nose and you won't do that with canola oil, heated to 120 or not. If you really want to stay with 1095, buy some Park's 50. Otherwise go to a more forgiving steel like 1084 or 5160 which will quench just fine in canola oil. Whatever steel that you decide on using, try to stay with it until you know it inside & out. If you switch steels constantly, you will never know why one of your blades doesn't perform like your others and it's because they all H/T differently. [Make at least 50 blades of the same steel before going on to other steels.]

Actually, 1095 doesn't need to go too much over nonmagnetic. That'll just give you grain growth. About 50 degrees hotter is all you need, and then as fast as possible into hot canola.

Not completely straight, but the tip needs to be lower. Here you can see one of the stone mould casts in the mould, where you can see how much the tip curls up after hammering out the edge:

I think there are too many variables for a ratio. Your grind angle, your handle material, and pin weight. To be honest you could probably just guess and it will get you close. I would just do whats pleasing to my eye. I would taper it down to 1/16" maybe. Or a hair bigger. Balance won't matter so much on a blade this small, most people making knives like these probably don't even give balance a second thought. I have never done a distal taper on a blade like this myself, I did tactical knives for a while when I started out, so it was ok if they were ugly. Then I jumped head first into the japanese knives wich have a hidden tang. So, I'm no expert, just saying how I would handle this. If we're lucky someone who knows a little more about it will come along and shed more light

I would definitely taper in both directions. Yes for weight, balance and function, but more so for looks. Personally, I can't stand knives that look like a bar of steel with a bevels ground in, and some wood slapped on. Tapering both the blade and the tang is far more aesthetically pleasing.

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