Gerhard Gerber

Well Bill, thank you again, will do! I've used synthetic material to make micarta (G10?) before, some good results, some bad, the resin seems to melt the material somewhat. I could definitely do with a wider choice in colours.

I used my messy method for a knife I'm busy with due to the guard/bolster going slightly onto the blade......BUT, for chef knives with a simple tang I'll be using your version of my method Thank you for sharing that in return I used the brushed mohair wool simply because, believe it or not that is the only real wool I can find in this town, the rest are all poly-something-or-other

I made a big quench tank which I will use again on occasion, but mostly I'm back to baking pans. I use a cheap multimeter with thermometer to check the oil temp, if it gets a bit high I just add some more cold oil......never treat more than 3 or 4 blades at a time so that works well enough.

Looks great Bill, I dare say you executed my idea better than I can, very happy to share considering everything I get back here What kind of wool (or material?) did you use?

I watched the latest episode last night, first round elimination was due to bad handle design, ditto for the previous episode IIRC. The competition has certainly kicked up a notch.......but last night I did find something to complain about - Beat the Judges episodes need to be at least an hour long My only complaint about the testing is the order of the tests, it does not make sense (for me) to do the cut test after the strength test which is likely to damage the edge......except if one blade takes no damage and aces the cut test, that makes it a clear winner.....except if it's KSO with and axe edge and not really a knife If the strength test will obviously be destructive no matter how good the steel/HT, just do it last.

Not sure where but I think it was a youtube video by a participant that gave some insight about the behind the scenes stuff, including wardrobe, which I found kinda funny. They have to make a viable TV show at the end of the day, which obviously comes with challenges. My biggest gripe for the first seasons was tempering was never shown or even mentioned, I'm sure they didn't hear me complain so I guess a lot of people remarked on that. In later seasons they mentioned each time the blades had been tempered, and even better with the new show that step is included. My hair stands up when I get the impression that a contestant is building a persona that would make them more likely to be brought back, too showbiz for my liking but unavoidable as the show grows I guess. Also recently watched a Q&A by Alec Steele and Will where they said they were unlikely to ever take part, I find that sad because they are very skilled young smiths, and those are my favourite winners. I believe there's more good than bad to the show, and any person who gets to the point where they heat up a piece of steel and beat it with a hammer should know the basics well enough to look around the BS, at best learn something, or at least be inspired. By the time you end up here it's too late for you anyway

I like it as well, they have plenty champions they can recycle and this improves the level of competition. My ambition of taking part in an international edition is dead, won't be able to make anything inside those time limits. @billyO I doubt you'd find a proper copy on youtube......and if you do it won't be up for long.

Pulled out the finger a bit on Saturday.... Rolled 2 wool micarta bolsters, sanded 3 blades, cut out profile of a smaller Kukri than my previous ones. Doesn't sound like much, but that was 9am-6pm......have to get myself in the shop weekday afternoons or nothing will ever get done....

So "about 8 pipe diameters" didn't work, still can't get it to burn outside the forge, and inside the forge the pulse jet effect is now permanent, couldn't tune it to burn evenly, noisier than ever. Do I go shorter in small steps? I'm starting to think there's something inherently wrong with the design, but it's a very close copy of the best burner I've seen in action, only real difference being that one used (what I think is called) a welding reducer for the venturi part.

I had a bit of an epiphany this weekend, put back my old improvised burners to get some forging working done, and realised the one thing I haven't tried is shorter pipes..... Thank you @timgunn for taking the time to explain, my English 2nd language finally caught up and now I have something to work with. 25mm pipe, there's a slight lip from the thread, ID measures 22mm but it should be 23mm cleaned up, so 184mm which is just more than half of the current length. The pipes are cheap so I can afford to play around a bit. I'm a bit obsessed with the blade I'm working on ATM but I'll make time this week for some more tuning. Thank you all very much!

Love your work John......still waiting for the day you make that diamond shaped handle

I was unable to upload some of the photos that might have clarified things a bit, also I forgot to mention the following: - Been testing with one burner and I've shortened the drilled out threaded rod that the brass bit goes into, so the nozzle is outside the threaded rod. - With this modification I'm able to adjust the position of the mig tip from right inside the down pipe to almost above rim of the venturi with no improvement. What is the ideal position? Do you think it might help to grind off the threads and smooth out the lower part of the threaded rod? I filed down the inside of the pipe and smoothed out that joint as much as possible. Best results have been with the choke down to about the position in the last photo. I'll admit, I tried to be systematic with the tests, but I have a very simple adjustable regulator, no flow sensor, and there was some frustration after 4 testing sessions burning lots of gas and no results......frustration is not the friend of logic. IIRC the result with the choke all the way up sounds like a pulse jet engine. This sounds important but you just went way over my head.......

Upload failed on the pics, let's try once upon a time....

So here are the long promised pics, my last effort was to add the elbow to get a longer down pipe, still could not get them to burn outside the forge, and inside the forge I got it tuned to burn steadily, eventually, but it's a piss poor little flame. I've considered halving one of the pipes, but because they don't burn outside the forge I can't see the point. Hopefully the photos make the basic construction clear, I currently have the 0.6mm nozzles installed, the initial 1.2mm and 0.8mm nozzles also in picture. My tool-up-or-die efforts of late have been expensive and unsuccessful, I've paid my buddy for his work, but I'm stumped by this problem. Hoping for some brilliant insights, but for the mean time the burners are on a heap with the equally unsuccessful platen I tried to build

I'm told the saying is "give my left nut" because that's the important one, but I don't need it anymore so I would gladly give it up to spend some time under Gary's tutelage

I'm not willing to criticize work I cannot at least equal, only thing that immediately bothered me was the length of the guard at the bottom. I learn from comparing my observations to those of more experienced persons, so thank you Geoff.

@Conner Michaux if you haven't seen it yet, That Works had a recent video covering exactly what your asking, hand tools only and a very interesting technique that I've never seen before.

My Samples include CruWear, S30V, S110V. Haven't used the latter 2 much but CruWear is impressive, like cutting ribs on the grid with minimal wear impressive.... I recently received a facebook message from a maker in Brazil wanting to know about my results with 14C28N. I reckon I've always had "good" results following Sandvik's recipe, but the last two I used @Garry Keown method with foil and that seems to have worked even better. Problem is this guy wasn't about "good" or "better" or "seems to", he was quoting Rockwell figures and mentioned a Durometer (which I just googled) so I'm way out of his league......

This is 52100 either side of some mild steel. Forge welding and forging out kept my busy 10am to 3pm on Saturday, does not include forging and grinding the pieces of 52100 into usable shape or prepping the billet. Some cracks developed while forging out the blade, so less than half is usable, but it's a result none the less. Learned a lot, won't bore you with the details since most of you long since paid these school fees, hopefully next time will be better

Just awesome Josh

First time I hear that, but it does make me feel a bit better My experience is limited to two sets of burners, both worked outside the forge so I thought that was like a minimum requirement... I'll post some pics as soon as I touch ground again (day job) and make a bit more effort to tune in the .6mm jets

Now I don't know anymore, fit the 0.6mm mig tips and no joy, still can't get them to burn outside the forge except with the choke completely closed, open the choke slightly and the flame runs out. Seems like a better result inside the forge, but I have to believe if they don't work outside, they're not really working yet. Wasn't expecting this, price wise I'd have been better off importing burners from South Africa

Last weekend we camped at an amazing site in the Khomas Hochland, and the long weekend before that a very pleasant birthday escape to the coast. Lockdown has mostly been lifted and since yesterday we can buy booze legally again.....except that the shops were emptied out during the AM. My employer has declared working from home the new normal, renovations have been stopped and they're giving up most of the office space we rent. Thanks to my support function I'm clearly picking up a lethargy (being kind) in many of my colleagues, and since I've only given my best to assist them, this is affecting me. Did some soul searching and close as I can come to an answer, I feel like I'm fouling my home (small flat) with my work. My "workshop" is a garage 5 steps from my front door, and I haven't been in there in two weeks. Juxtaposed with the knowledge I should be thankful for having a job at full pay through all this.

Hi Ross I was wondering when you were going to show these here We're both doing this thing without many of the resources available in other parts of the world, but much more so in your case. I'm constantly amazed by your progress, and IMO the folders are an even bigger step forward than a sword, well done!