Doug Lester

Another thing that you could try is a brine solution. It breaks up the vapor jacket that can cause uneven quenching. Still another thing is a fast quenching oil like Parks #50. It's a bit on the pricey side but it is designed for shallow hardening steels. Also a deeper hardening steel like 8760 and warm canola oil might give better results. Despite what you might read in some books, 1095 is not really a beginner's steel. Doug

At least your heart was in the right place. Good on ya. Doug

Nice looking piece of horn there. Doug

SANDING horn has a nasty smell, I can't imagine burning it in. Doug

I've done it with a drill press. I made a jig that is nothing but a board with a hole drilled in the middle and then one drill right near the edge. The hole in the middle is used to punch flat leather and the one at the edge is used for folded leather so that the edge of the sheath can be laid flat. Doug

Just an aside, does metal fume fever include heavy metal poisoning that one can get from welding without a respirator or working with molten lead? Doug

I'm glad that I'm not the only one who is totally lost. Doug

If you are dealing with burning oil, like a quench tank full of burning. do not use water. I you think that the tank of oil is burning high wait until you spray it with that garden hose. Smither it with a lid or cover it in dirt or use CO2. Doug.

Nice little piece of work for the ladies of the evening to protect themselves from some rough customers. Outstanding work. Doug

As mentioned, sun light will play heck with forging and especially heat treating. My forge building is an open air shed with lattice panels over the windows. Even at that I like to do my heat treating after sunset.. Doug

Looking good, Geoff. Will be happy to see it finished. Doug

And Cutler was such an appropriate name for someone who makes knives. Doug

Keep trying. You will get it worked out. Doug

Todd Cutler did about a 20 minute video where he made a leather knife sheath from scratch with some simple tooling. He stated that the middle age sheath makers didn't do a better job because he wasn't going to get anything for the added work. I think that if more leather sheaths had survived more would have looked "good enough". Doug

I recommend infrared filtering protective eye glasses for working with a forge. I'm wondering that if I had used them more I wouldn't be facing cataract surgery next month but it's at the point of having the surgery or going blind. Wish me luck. Doug