Doug Lester

Great job, Wes. I especially like the way that you did the guard. The copper and the acid blued steel really flow together. Also, is that lizard leather that you inlayed into the sheath? Brian, the way that I did the rust bluing is to suspend the part above muratic acid in a sealed container and allowed a layer of rust to build up. I then brushed it with a brass brush, a copper brush should also work, and returned it to the container to build up some more rust until I'm happy with the level of rust. I then boil it in water to turn the part black. Just remember that you're working with an acid and wear proper safety equipment. There is another solution two parts of three are hydrogen peroxide and table salt. I don't recall the third. Maybe someone could supply the formula. As I understand this solution speeds up the rust formation considerably. Whichever solution that you use you will have to apply a resist to any part that you don't want to have rust form on. That can be an etching resist from an arts supply house or clear fingernail polish on smaller parts. Doug

Get a can and fill it with builders sand or something like it. Then just fill that with water until it's just above the level of the sand. That way it will support the blade as you work. Doug

Is there anything on the pan that says if it needs to be coated with clay? Doug

When I was in the Navy stationed at Portsmouth, Va Naval Hospital blood bank we had some regulars with hemachromatosis and polycythemia who had to come in for a regular blood letting. We would just draw a fat donor unit (regulations wouldn't allow us to use the blood as a donation) until their blood indicies returned to normal. Doug

I'm glad that the accident was not all that serious and led to a diagnosis of something serious. I suppose that he's going to have to go in for some blood letting. Doug

It might be ok for a kitchen slicer but I would have to agree that it's a bit on the thin side for a working knife. Doug

One thing to consider when making hot work tools. The heat from the steel that you are working on will draw the temper in your tools so hardening and tempering the tool may just be spinning your wheel. Even unhardened the hot work tool will be harder than the hot steel you're working on. Doug

I would think that O-1 is a little too hardenable to make a good hamon though you could see what you could produce with edge hardening. Simpler steels like 1075, W1, or 1095 would make better hamons especially if they have a lower manganese content. Doug

My experience is that a 1/4" hole will be just a smidge too small for 1/4" pin stock. You could get a metric or a letter drill bit that is just a little larger than 0.250" or ream out the hole just a little with a burr on a rotary tool. Same with other sizes of holes and pins of the same nominal size. Doug

MAPP gas comes in the yellow containers and burns a little hotter than propane. Propane will work though. Doug

Use a fire brick and the propane or MAPP torch with tongs, anvil, and a hammer. You can get a good book on Makume gane from Amazon but the cheapest are in the $45-$55 range and from there they go sharply higher but they will list compatible metals and methods of patination. Doug

I would say that you did a good job for your first leather sheath. Doug

Good luck. It's hard to beat the price point when the steel's free but "tool steel" takes in a lot of territory and may lead to a lot of hair pulling to try to get a blade made from it. Doug

Didn't think of that not having used the product. It does distract from what is otherwise not a bad looking knife. Doug

Not bad. It looks like you got the fuller straight in the center of the blade and lined up with the tip. It looks like there is a ridge that starts next to the fuller and extends to near the point that is off center. What went on there? I think that a hidden tang with a separate guard would have looked better than the full tang with scales and an integral guard. Overall it's a pretty good effort and the only way you will get better is to make more daggers. Doug