Eric Morgan

Yeah... it happens though I guess. I’ll be more careful next time with this material, cause i don’t know if it was maybe forging too cold that did it, the quench, taking too long to get it into the temper, or existing stresses... But I guess that’s true of most reclaimed material failures in knifemaking...

Maybe I still had internal issues in the steel, after all... I was looking at the blade with a coworker last night, and noticed a hairline crack in the spine So, this morning when I got home from work I used that flaw, and my not particularly caring much for the blade to tang transition, to break the blade to see the grain structure. Ive attached a pic, lemme know what you guys think. I think it’s not too bad, the grain seems reasonably fine to my inexperienced eye at least

Lovely

Oh that’s gorgeous

I didn’t anneal or normalize the two I forged, but I did make sure to let em soak for a few minutes to make sure they were up to temp all the way through... could’ve helped avoid that scenario maybe

I’ll have to try that next time around... they really don’t like moving under a hand hammer at first

Wow, I’d hate to think about hand hammering a 3.5” ball bearing

Use whatever tools you like! I only used a hand hammer, but that’s only because that’s all I have for now... I think round stock could work too, just would have to use less than an inch to have the same volume

So I had taken apart a huge ball bearing awhile back that had a bunch of 1.030” bearings... I've had these things on my workbench for a while now and wondered whether they’d make a knife or not, so I spark tested on, it sparked like majorly high carbon steel. I forged one flat, did a quick normalization, and then quenched it in oil. I tried bending it, and it broke like glass. Whatever the steel is, it’s pretty tough, and gets hard as glass. Anyway, today I set out to see what I could come up with. I didn’t really have a plan in my head, and just kinda went with it until I started to see a tiny skinner/neck knife-ish profile shaping up. The first pic (why does the editor screw up the order of the pics) is 80 grit off the grinder (I had to come in for a bit and rehydrate) The second pic is 90% as-forged. I had straightened the spine and touched up a bit on the edge on the grinder. Finally, the last pic is post heat treat at a worn out 120 grit belt finish. It has a 2-1/8” blade that’s ~1-5/16” wide at its widest. It’s .20” thick at the tiny little ricasso, and distally tapers to .125” where the bevels meet the upper edge. Let me know what you guys think... and I’d love to see what you guys could come up with using similar materials

Thought about this thread as I was driving by this small outcropping today... had to go back and take a pic.

Yeah, even if it takes a couple minutes for the blade to come up to temp, that’s still a very low price to pay to avoid overheating the blade. Plus, I’d imagine you’re less likely to develop warps heating more gradually. (I don’t know that for sure, but it seems logical to me)

I’d end up getting it all wonky

Thanks Jeremy! I forged it to keep it square on the sides, then ground the top and bottom to get it back square... Thanks Chris!

Now, I’m far far far from an expert, but you don’t normalize your blade in sand or any other insulating material, that’s more of a rough ‘anneal’. Normalizing in still air should give you better results. Maybe one of these guys will verify what I’m saying, but I’m pretty sure I’m right.

I’m interested as well, as I have seen a couple burls on my property while mushroom foraging.

A quick google search showed that some examples of that species have a pleasant wavy pattern to the grain. I saw that it’s called Swamp Mahogany often, so I’d imagine it should work and finish similarly to true mahogany

Gorgeous!

That oughta look very nice when done!

Still have a lot of grinding to do to clean this up, but I got the face welded on and the eye drifted today. Here is my very first hammer, and even though it’s not perfect yet, I’m as proud as a peacock lol. The eye isn’t quite square, but I can straighten that up with files. The second pic for some reason makes it look much more out of center than it truly is... it’s mostly just a slight twist that I have to correct

I’m sure we can work something out

I like it a bunch

6” blade, differentially hardened in warm Canola Oil. Flamed maple scales with Danish Oil finish. I hand sanded up to 320 and etched in instant coffee and white vinegar. It came out blotchy this time for some reason, even though I thoroughly degreased and cleaned the blade. The first etching gave it a nice, even grey appearance. The guy the knife is going to had came over to the house and said he liked the look, but if you guys have any advice for evening the etch out, I’d surely appreciate it. I tried lightly brushing it off every little bit, as I thought that would even it out, but I suppose not...

Thank you sir

Hey guys, I’m hoping to get back to working on this hammer again this week, and haven’t really been able to find a definitive answer on how thick of a high carbon face is appropriate... I have 1/4” stock, but I’m not sure if it’s thick enough

Very nice! And I second what Alan said... I’m getting ready to build a grinder myself, and inspiration is always appreciated lol