Joshua States

I just got the pro-pics back from Philip Schrei Photography. He did an awesome job.

IMNSHO, the obsessive nature of relieving the tang to blade shoulders rounded is overblown. As Alan pointed out, none of the tools we use (grinders, files, scrapers, etc) actually leave a 90 degree corner. There is always a small radius in there.

Me as well. Then I did a layer count. 7 folds = 250+ layers

Desert ironwood is protected in the US, but not in Mexico. Most of the stuff you can buy is imported from south of the border. Around here, it's cheap. I got precut handle blocks, 5x2x1.5 for about $12 each the last time I bought some. It's beautiful when polished and the burls are mesmerizing.

Here you go. When I get around to putting fittings and a handle on it, I'll post in Show & Tell

I have nothing against the pattern. I just think it looks best on something with broader bevels.

Yeah that Osage handle is a really nice addition to a small and very servicable blade.

The beautiful thing about this choice is that you can use wrought iron, make a san-mai or Kobuse process, and forge a small EDC seax out of it.....

I picked this bar up a few days ago and decided to do something with it. Rough shaped Normalizing. Heat treated and gorund to 220. I probably could have gotten a little more blade out of this bar, but the tang end was a little sketchy. It sparks like HC steel and the edge is sitting around 58 HRC according to my hardness chisels.

I have a commission for a new dagger and the client wants, get this, raindrop pattern. OK. So I spent today forging a 1 inch square 300+ layer billet into a raindrop patterned bar. Three patterning cycles. These are from cycle 1. Finished rough bar ready to forge into the dagger blade.

Robb! Good to see you again. Very good to see this project back in the process. This is an awesome build.

It.....is....alive! It's alive! Go for it man. I love it.

Score! What's the weight?

How did I miss this? Epic. What a fantastic job on that.

How cool is this? I keep meaning to get back to the three big blades I have collecting dust in the shop, but things keep getting in the way. At least this way I can watch someone else do it!

Now you know how to stand it upright!

First I opened the valve with a fittig in it to let the last of the propane out. Then I spun the valve out of the tank. Then I let it sit in the yard for about 2 years to make sure the tank was entirely purged. (115 degree summer heat will do that) Every so often I would sniff the opening to see if there was any residual propane odor. When I was sufficiently sure there was no explosive hazard, I cut the top off. The ceramic blanket was inserted through the top and left long so it will fold over against the lid. The T-couple ports are just 3/8" holes dilled though the tank wall with a 1/2" square tube welded to the face over the hole. The t-couple slides into the tube until the grip on the end reaches the tube. The T-couple is only 8" long and 1/4" diameter

Depending on what type of rock you have and where the grain structure lies, drilling can either go smoothly, or be a disaster, My advice is to NOT use the hammer function on the drill (if it has one). Just use it like a regular drill with plenty of water, light pressure and go slowly. My wife uses local flagstone as bases for her artwork quite frequently. This is a sedimentary sandstone prone to fracturing along plate lines. Even drilling on edge we have managed to drill holes without fracturing the rock by taking it slow and just drilling raher than hammer-drilling.

I will have to schedule some viewing time

They do go through the small square tubes. When I originally cut the tubes to length, I forgot to account for an inch of ceramic blanket....... The tubes were still 1/2" too long. Now the tip of the probe extends about 1/4" past the ceramic blanket.

Now I have to figure out how to reduce the heat and hold a tempering cycle

This was something I hadn't realized until I got done with these first two melts. The first one was allowed to cool for an excessively long time, which I think led to the lack of visible carbide formations. Thanks for the science Jerrod!

In my crucible I am using crushed green glass for a slag/sealant/flux. This floats to the top in a melt, and this melt was no different. I had to break through the glass/slag layer before getting to this stuff at the bottom of the crucible. I am no expert on this by any means, and I certainly don't have the metallurgical savvy, but.... From what I have been able to learn from guys who have done this a lot, is the dendritic pattern type is largely dependent upon two things: 1. The amount of carbon 2. The amount and type of carbide forming elements (CFE) that are added to the melt. The patterning is really just excess carbon that hasn't been absorbed by the iron and is now locked in the cementite. Get enough carbon in the mix and get the temperature control just right, you can create a dendritic pattern. The CFE controls whether that pattern is linear (like in the second puck above) or more watery, like most wootz patterns we think of. CFE are things like Vanadium, Nobium, Titanium, etc. They combine with the Carbon and form carbides in the steel. The CFE molecules provide an anchor point for carbide formation and if you get the heat control just right, you can get that classic watery patterning in the steel. Now watch as Jerrod Miller corrects me on everything I got wrong.... The first puck has some CFE content. I threw in some of the cast iron buttons I made here. The second puck is just iron and charcoal.

I figured out the solution to the heat differential today. Well, I thought I had a solution and I tried it today. It worked like a charm too. First, make sure the temp probes are fully inserted. That helps. Second, add a vent stack out of the bottom of the chamber to draw the heat downward. That really helps. I got this to hold temp at ~1485* F on both temp probes within 3 degrees of each other consistantly.

It did not sell. Sales at this show were good for folks in the $100-$200 range. Hopefully, the show and the competition winners get in the magazines and generate some interest.