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Our cutlery set is from Shefield so good blades but the handles have been showing the ravages of time and the other day I decided to see if a new look would back from looking a bit rough so I had some acrylic that I had used for other handles that I did a trial on one knife and it worked well so went ahead and got the rest in the clamps for the night The bolster is marked on to the face of the handle after drilling the hole and using a air driven pencil grinder with a carbide tapered burr to inset the bolster they are in the clamps and ready for

Ask and you shall receive Using scraps of stuff - Non-Ferrous: fittings, alloys, patinas - Bladesmith's Forum Board

Heating Pop the crucible into the forge. You want to be able to get upwards of 1850 for nickel-silver. When the metal collapses and looks like it has melted, turn off the forge and carefully remove the crucible to a flat stable surface to cool. Use a graphite rod to push the surface down into the molten metal below. When you cannot push the graphite rod into the bar, it has solidified enough to remove it from the crucible. Grab the crucible with some tongs and bang it upside down on the anvil surface. It should pop right out. Quickly take

In another thread, I mentioned using old scraps of non-Fe material to cast new bars, either of the same alloy or creating a mixture of alloys. I make a few different alloys in my shop this way. I have made Shibuichi, a form of red bronze, and some other stuff that just looks like pale bronze. Preparation work: If you are cheap like me, you probably have a can of small bits of various metals hanging around the shop. Here I have separated out a bunch of nickel-silver pieces. If you will be mixing different alloys to try some new combination, you will nee

Brass might wear a little faster than the bearing bronze, but we are talking a slip-joint here, not a flipper that people will open and close incessantly I did a few with tool steel bushings as well. I used A2 so I wouldn't have to oil quench it thinking that gentle heating with a torch an cooling on a fire brick would reduce warping. However, I would think even Namibia would have some sort of drill rod available. The fit to the pivot pin is not the critical part. The pin swells to lock into the bushing anyway. The important part is the fit between the blade and th

Jerrod, the foil is just folded over at the corners and the steel box is literally tack welded together. I have never had any leaks. I have spilled some stuff out into the forge though.....

What tremendous, and well appreciated help you have been on this matter, Alan. Thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge with all that are eager to listen and learn, myself included... I have always tried to take the more challenging path in life, I guess cause I'll be forced to learn, which is up there in the top 3, for me, of the best things about life. Even though I rarely panhandle for free wisdom, there are days, when you just get stumped... It's refreshing and humbling to finally peruse this forum of such gifted artists and feel comfortable at being clueless about so much of t

Excellent !!

I forgot to mention this- There is a reason that the ink is still on the bolsters until after I peen the pivot. Years ago, in another hobby, I was taught a way to keep pins from "Ghosting". Basically, once the hole has been reamed to size, you want nothing to touch the surface, or edge of the hole until the pin is in place. The idea is for the edge to remains a crisp as possible to minimize any gap that can form. I don't know how important that really is in this situation where I am mushrooming the pin to fit into a tapered hole. However, old habits die hard, and it doesn't hur

Those are stamped, usually hot.

Thanks for everyone’s input. Brian, I love being able to call the items I will find, my toys!! No longer will it be a ‘tool box’, but ‘toy box’ will take precedence! Budgeting and practice sounds about right. I like the idea of making a dozen knives before I go further. Thank you for that!!! And I’m so very happy to have had an opportunity in my area to practice the craft and take part in the madness. Bill, thank you for the resources, I’ve been doing a lot of research on where to find anvils and I’ve found that asking everyone you encounter, even random people at gas stations, is the b

Thanks, guys. I bought a piece from Don Abbott of this site...............................only my old fingers missed a key and gave him the wrong mailing address...................so it was "un-deliverable". It'll soon be on it's way back to me........if the weather lets up.

Dropped off a 6" fillet knife to a buddy of mine that owns a bait shop. He lked it so much he immediately asked for as many more as I could bring him. Also wanted 4" and 5" versions. We're on the fire department together and are going to split the proceeds 25%/25% with the other half being donated to the firefighters association. It'll cover my materials and start to get my name out there. I went back to the shop, made some templates, and started getting a bit more organized. My fun little hobby is starting to get serious.