Joshua States

Brian & Charles: I guess the answer is what the specifications and content are. Not all W-2 is created equally or with the exact same composition. I don't personally know where Aldo (NJ Steel Baron) or AKS or Knifemaker's Supply get their W-2 from. Some blade smiths like Don Hanson or Ray Rybar spent the serious money to have some made to their specific formulae within very tight tolerances. These batches are well known for their high quality, consistent performance and most of all, their ability to produce vibrant Hamon. This could be fable and myth, but I like mythology, so there. I'm one of those guys that really likes to experiment with different materials and I'm willing to lay out some serious money, if I think the material has more desirable attributes. Case in point. I had tried other W-1 and W-2 steels that were commercially available, but once I started forging Ray's ingot, I was impressed with the way this stuff behaved under the hammer and the results were formidable. This and this. The second link doesn't show the Hamon very well, but better pics of it are available in the Graveyard of Broken Dreams thread (link inside It Lives!) and it is really quite pretty n real life. Using Ray's W-2 is a joy and I still have a bit left, but I wanted to grab some of Don's if I could, just to see whether it lived up to the fable. I was hoping to hear from someone on the forum who had used Don's W-2 and could vouch for it, but nobody did. There's a post just above this one from a fella named Patrick and he seems to have quite a bit of Don's W-2. He never said how well it worked for him either.

I wasn't actually asking if anyone was interested in buying them from me, I was more wondering if the price sounded reasonable. But for you JJ, I'd sell you one, but it looks like this guy has something very similar for less money, but I think he wants to sell 3 at a time.

Thanks for the pics Jim. I've been bumping the FB post daily. Hopefully, we can get you back to work soon. You are of no use to anyone staring at an empty shell building!

That really depends. All money really is, at it's most basic level, is a standard measurement of value for products and services. So if you have item A that you say is worth $X and I have Item B that I say is also worth $X, and I want A and you want B, then we can meet an agreement in trade.

If someone told you that they had 3 of Don Hanson's W-2 rounds for sale, and they were about 8 inches long and 2.75 inches in diameter, and they purchased them from Don about 6 years ago, would you believe them? Would you pay $100 each for them?

I donated and shared to our FB page as well. Definitely get some T&A pics of your work up online. If you have some to post here, I can upload them to the FB post. If you give us 6 pics and we each upload 1 a day that will bump your presence each day we post a pic. That will keep the fund in constant exposure for a week.

I braze after HT because I usually harden and temper the tang and break the temper in the tang/ricasso area anyway. So the brazing bit doesn't hurt anything. I just clamp the blade in a pair of copper jaws and a wet rag to keep the heat from travelling into the blade area.

I am going to double down on this suggestion. I used to own the HF anvil and it was disappointing to use to say the least. You can even get the Old World anvil for $40 less if you skip the stake here. For that $65 + shipping for the HF anvil, you can get a quality tool for a little more.

Cadmium is one of those heavy metals that you do NOT want inside your body. You know that pink Himalayan salt? Yeah, that's cadmium giving it that color.....and the blue stuff? That's cobalt . Another toxic heavy metal you do not want to eat.

I finally did get a response from Bret. Seems he had a bad accident and has been out of service for a while.

Do not be shy. Putting your work out in front of those whose opinions you respect and trust and asking for honest critique and feedback is the surest way to learn and progress. I don't know how many daggers you have made, but this one looks pretty good. Most folks make a dagger and try to make it the same way they make a single edge blade, just trying to put two of them together back-to-back. That never looks right. The dagger is a different weapon. The long taper on this one shows that you "got it". It's difficult to tell from a couple of photos, but the proportions look right and I give extra points for lining up the width of the blade with the front of the handle and the subtle curve of the guard. Keep them coming Mike.

I am just flabbergasted. What a great project.

I told the owner where I was after an hour and I suggested removing the handle and putting a new one on. He asked hw much that would cost. I told him $100.

Man, this smells really really bad though.

I'm sorry it took so long to comment. I must have fainted and been asleep for the last few days............ Gents, I congratulate you both. That is an absolutely stunning work of the art. Exceptional mastery displayed.