Larry Pyne

Thanks Billy. I bought a different pair of tongs that will definitely help with holding bars at an angle to hit on the edge and horn. I've been doing everything with a pair of wolf jaw tongs and I have thrown a lot of billets out of the tongs. To avoid me catching everything on fire, including myself, I have been doing everything flat which takes much longer than using the horn. Forging should be quicker and easier with a pair of tongs that can actually hold the billet haha!

That's awesome! I really like this one. Great work man!

It does but the problem is holding with the tongs that I have. I dont have a welder so I cant weld a piece of rebar onto the billet. On one of the HD special pieces of steel I cut an extra piece to hold onto but I still had problems keeping the billet under control on the horn. Just holding it flat while using the fuller tool was much easier to manage with the tools/tongs that I have. During the last welding attempt I think I did figure out a way to cut one of the pieces to make the billet manageable on the horn with a pair of tongs that I have now and I think I can avoid throwing the billet and catching something on fire haha!

Holy crap! My 5 layer was around 2" x 4ish" stacks. I didnt heat it to welding temps after I thought it was welded, it just took me many heats to get the bar drawn out and shaped to the blade. Also, some days I was working it past my exhaustion point so I had several heats that I could have avoided if I had just taken a break. Eventually my light bulb went off and I saw my fuller tool on the floor and started using that to draw out the bar. Definitely should have been using that way earlier on. Another lesson learned there.

Thanks for all the advise everyone. I REALLY appreciate it! I went for round 3 with a stack of 1095/HD special/80CRV2/HD Special/1095 and got it to weld. I forged out a blade expecting it to blow up in the quench but it didn't. I had to heat it so many times to forge out the blade that I basically lost all of the 1095 outer layers. The 80CRV2 core didn't stay perfectly straight but the weld did hold up. Even though the blade isn't really usable, I am very happy that I finally got it! I'll try again with some longer bars so I don't have to hammer so much next time and hopefully keep the core true. I'm also not going to use HD special steel for the next try. Thank you again everyone! The advise has helped me tremendously! I'll post some pics once I get another blade forged out!

Thanks Geoff! I definitely had big billowy flames. I'll open up and see if I can get that snappy flame before I try again. Seems like I should get the fire right before I try this again.

Thank you for the great tips! As grumpy as I am about it today, I know I will keep trying until I get it. The second try looked much better than the first and maybe my next will work! Thanks again!

Guys I need some tips. The billet I posted above blew up at the quench. So I tried again. I took extra time to make sure everything was ground perfectly and cleaned very well. I felt really good about my second billet and started forging the blade shape. I saw a small separation so I stopped and tried to grind it out but it was very deep. I decided to heat it up and slam it into water to blow it up so I could see the inside and try to see what I'm doing wrong. This billet was wired together, heated to dull red, fluxed with borax, brought to what I thought was welding temp, light taps. I did this again then went to medium strikes then hard. I think that maybe trying this with the starting materials wired and not welded may be one of the factors for the failures but I don't know. I know that having this much time wasted feels real bad. Especially twice in a row. And help, tips, critiques are welcomed. These are the pics after I chiseled it apart.

Learned that one the hard way... Also learned to use an apron... after I caught my hoodie on fire from an angle grinder...

Hey everyone! I decided to make my first attempt at a forge weld today. I don't have a welder to tack it all together so I used some wire. Someone on here was talking about wire, but I can't remember who to thank for the tip. I used a 1095 core with Home Depot mystery steel around it. I fluxed it twice before the first hits. I did 2 passes with light hits then 2 with medium/heavy hits before I had the nerve to hit the spine. I fluxed between each heat. I think it worked but I'm not 100% sure so I was hoping for some feedback. I want to grind the billet a little more if it looks good to you guys before I make it into something.

Welcome aboard Matt! Your first blades look better than mine for sure!

Awesome work! I'll bet it would be a blast to swing!

Alright guys, I'm calling this one D.U.N. dun! I cut the back off these pins and used a dremel to get them completely flat. Then I traced the pins on the scales with a sharpie and cut the holes with a cheap-o dremel due to its very low speed. I set the pins with epoxy then covered them with the epoxy to fill the space above them. I quickly hit the epoxy with fast passes of a propane torch to pull any bubbles out. After it set for 24 hours I started the sanding which took forever haha. The sheath is leather and the designs are burnt in with a wood burner. All in all, I like it and my buddy is thrilled so I'll chock it up as a win. As always any critiques or pointers are much appreciated. Off to the next one! I hope you guys have a great weekend!

I got the micarta and scales on yesterday and started the rough grind on the scales tonight. Im not going to go any further until I get the pins and embed them in the scales. I don't think I'll get the pins until next Tuesday so I guess it's time to start on the sheath. I suck at leatherwork and making sheaths is the bane of my existence haha!

Thanks Clint! This is the 2nd knife I've made with this 3M Fire Block. It comes in a tube like caulk. Next time I will probably put it on some cardboard and try to paint it on instead of going straight to the blade from the tube.