auggie

Oh the bubbles are all through the layers as i found out while doing the shape and polish

Dragon im using bondo fiberglass resin and brushing it on each layer ,i made a wooden 1/2 form lined with aluminum foil and parchmemt paper then i am putting a ten pound weight on top. miles thank you for that info i was unaware that i could thin down the resin safely. and doug i will have to look into that. thank you all for taking your time to answer my questions

Thank you miles thats a good idea with the sander but the resin i'm using only gives me about 12 minutes til it begins to set up so im brushing it on.would dipping the paper be a better technique? Other then the bubbles and my wrinkled parchment paper i think it work out.

I'm using um i will call them slide clamps for their name escapes me but they do screw down so yes.i was thinking of trying a vacuum seal bag for that simple easy to get amd just hook up to the shop vac

So i have been attempting to make micarta to be usrd as handles. aside from simple newbie mistakes i have a couple questions, first i am getting air bubles i would like to not have them and i believe I am NOT squeezing tight enough on the clamps but can i go over it with fresh resin to fill in the holes. This would bring up a second question , can you put down wet layers after the one before is dry? has anyone attempted this before i imagine this to be the case but wanted to ask anyway. Here are a few pics of what i have going rite now polished up a pice off the end just to see how it will look thanks in advance

Not sure if they ship outside the u.s. but i use mcmaster-car for alot of my stock unless someone knows more about them but give em a shot

If i may ask what about cedar? ive used it a bit and aside from cracking if its not seasond properly i kinda like the 2 tone look u get from it, thoughts on this.

I have taken the advice given her and did some cleaning up of both the blade and handles and it does look alot better and even tho the pattern is a little less visible i like it a hole lot more,here are some picturesthe handle is just loose pinned in place so i can see how it will look i attempted filing a bit of a design into the top of the tang but was not sure about how it would turn out and since this is 1 big leaning project i said what the hey!...

I feel as tho sketching will be a big part of the craft .i aam REALLY bad at drawing so this may hurt me a little but gonna bite the billet here and begin drawing up my next piece. thank you guys alot! i think i kinda knew it was going to be inevitable just needed to hear it from outside sources.again thanks to each of you for taking your precious time to lend a hand

Thank u miles for that little comparison it saved me from asking and searching.and Gezell i like your veiw on draw it and ignore it lol,i have yet to light up da forge with anything more than a piece of metal and a a desire to create something. but i guess im off to the local artists supply house today.thsnk you all so much for the input i greatly appreciate you taking your time to answer my post

Thank you for that insight,i never considered the idea of equalization between the different metals when heated,but again i was only doing this for like a month when i attempted it, and i was working with what was just lying around so.and i guess it would be considered a practice knife since my goal was only to see if i could do it.I only did two other forge welds before that and was simply curious as to to the if and how.again thank you all for your help and encouragement on this i will reetch this one anyway jusy for the practice.I already started to clean up my lines and will be cleaning up handles in the next day or so, i will post some pics here soon.

Every bit of info i can get is helpful so yes your rambling helped me greatly , haha.as far as the metals i used a low carbon from home depo (i have seen some posts here describing the varied alloy contents) and a piece i cut from an old 275 gallon oil tank and a piece of mystery metal, this was about 6 or so knives in with 0 knowledge of any kind so forgive my inability to give a better description of the metal.oh!! thank you,almost forgot after my rambling

Yeah i'm sure i'm a full blown addict at this point. since relocating back to the sunshine state i have been looking to switch from coal to propane .... it's all over but the cryin now

I'm removing the handle actually i did already it was just pinned on no epoy so real easy.going to clean them up and try to improve the whole thing after everyones advice, so i just repeat the same process I used the first or should i do something different this time? i belive it was 5 to1 white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide heated up to just before it boiled

Indeed! I know i never should have let 1 mistake become 3.it will be a little for the next piece,i just moved and need to find a place to set up shop again but i will.if i may ask, is it possible to etch this piece still?