jheinen Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 16 hours ago, Joshua States said: @jheinen try using an alligator clip on the wire and clip it to the piece to be etched. Yes, I'm using an alligator clip to attach the positive lead to the piece being etched. My problem was soldering the negative lead to the stainless steel electrode on the hand piece. However I figured it out (it was too hot) and it works! I ordered some stencils from TUStech, and once they arrive I'm in business! Jeff H. CFI/CFII/MEI KE7ZMH "Give a man fire and he will be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vern Wimmer Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 Most folks I know of use a brass contact with a felt cover on it which is soaked in the electrolyte solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jheinen Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 3 minutes ago, Vern Wimmer said: Most folks I know of use a brass contact with a felt cover on it which is soaked in the electrolyte solution. Hmm, now there's an idea, especially since brass is a much better conductor than steel. I may have to try that. Jeff H. CFI/CFII/MEI KE7ZMH "Give a man fire and he will be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jheinen Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I did some research into the chemistry of electro etching, and for the best results apparently the anode (the piece being etched) and the cathode (the hand piece) should actually be of the same material. Jeff H. CFI/CFII/MEI KE7ZMH "Give a man fire and he will be warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Finished up the wife's mother's day present tonight. One of my more thoughtful gifts if I do say so myself! We'll see how long it takes her to figure it out. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 You'd better hope she figures it out before the unopened block hits you upside the head! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Middleton Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 (edited) LOL! Even if she doesn't get it right away, she'll figure that somethings up when she looks at the bank statement. I'm sure that the kids will give it away after about 5 seconds anyway. Just to be safe, maybe I should round off the sharp corners a little bit! Edited May 11, 2018 by Alex Middleton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Camper Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 I used my power hammer today. It did ok. I haven't rebuilt it yet, but It forged out a low layer billet of 1075 & 15n20 real quick. I twisted them up and I'm gonna weld them together when I get the chance. It might sound crazy, but I really wanna try the wolf's tooth pattern I've seen so much of lately. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joël Mercier Posted May 12, 2018 Share Posted May 12, 2018 It doesn't sound crazy to me at all. You've got what it takes man! In fact, you are cranking me up to do some pattern welding . Bought borax and relined my forge with better refractory. Which means I'm going to have questions for you in a near future P.s. and perhaps we will finally get to see your face, even though it's fiery and all... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Camper Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 (edited) Lol. Kreg has seen my face (on FB) He understands that the peice of toast on my current picture is far more photogenic. Good luck with all that man! I'll answer what I can, but I'm just winging it myself. Edited May 13, 2018 by Zeb Camper 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pieter-Paul Derks Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 I finished my first integral today, I'm quite happy how it turned out, even though the fit and finish isn't too perfect. I planned on taking it to Owen's forge-in, so I just passed my deadline as I'm leaving tomorrow morning and still have luggage to pack, lets hope the dye is dry by then. I'm looking forward to the demo's and lectures and meeting some smith's in person. 2 http://mefecit.nl/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewB Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 I haven't been doing much in my outside shop lately. Unfortunately. I'm still hurry up and waiting on the Satnite to dry. I'll be getting some Kastolite to finish the layer build up to coat the kaol wool in the forge. But today I actually ordered my steel. I ordered a 1/4 inch by 1/4 inch by 60 inch or 5 foot of 1075/1080 from Admiral Steel. I'm hoping I got the right stuff this time. At least I'll have more than enough metal to last me the rest of the summer and then some LOL. Now I just have to invest in a DECENT hack saw. I am no where near where I was hoping to be about 4 months ago. Getting all the required things to actually forge a knife is a process lol. Not to mention the stuff you have to do to have a good forge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreg Whitehead Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 Here is my latest blade...scales coming tomorrow. I ordered one set for this and a second set....not sure what knife the second set is going on. The is a guy on Facebook that has some awesome handle material. Rob Carper Innovations I think is his business/fb name This is the thinnest sharpest blade from me to date...its scary sharp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua States Posted May 18, 2018 Author Share Posted May 18, 2018 I spent some time patching the walls.......(sigh). “So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.” The only bad experience is the one from which you learn nothing. Josh http://www.dosgatosdesignsllc.com/#! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg J.States Bladesmith | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71 https://www.etsy.com/shop/JStatesBladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua States Posted May 18, 2018 Author Share Posted May 18, 2018 14 hours ago, pieter-pauld said: I finished my first integral today, I'm quite happy how it turned out, even though the fit and finish isn't too perfect. I planned on taking it to Owen's forge-in, so I just passed my deadline as I'm leaving tomorrow morning and still have luggage to pack, lets hope the dye is dry by then. I'm looking forward to the demo's and lectures and meeting some smith's in person. Nice one Pieter! “So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.” The only bad experience is the one from which you learn nothing. Josh http://www.dosgatosdesignsllc.com/#! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg J.States Bladesmith | Facebook https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71 https://www.etsy.com/shop/JStatesBladesmith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Camper Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 I forged a wolf's tooth multibar blade with wrought, 1075, and 15n20 today. It wasn't too hard really. I had a delamination in one of the layers on my twist bar though so I didn't make a seax. I just didn't have enough metal. I made some weird fusion between a small bowie and a seax instead. I'll post it in show & tell soon. My welds were good, but the 1075 was trying to crack at the heat I was forging it at, and the wrought was trying to open up at lower heat, so it was a balancing act. I ended up hot cutting the tip off. I'll just have to grind out the wrought cracks as much as I can and hope for the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreg Whitehead Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 (edited) Blade looked great on fb Zeb. I managed to get a handle on my last blade....love this handle mateiral. I may have to ask the guy I bought it from what it is.lol I just remember stabilized/dyed burl. I liked my last blade so much I had to make it a big brother. Going to order some gator belts and a scotch brite belt today....over buying random orbital discs. I have some madrone burl scales for this blade. Edited May 22, 2018 by Kreg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vern Wimmer Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Kreg, the madrone burl I've run across around here is tougher than Chinese woodpecker math lips but a bit brittle when dried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreg Whitehead Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 13 minutes ago, Vern Wimmer said: Kreg, the madrone burl I've run across around here is tougher than Chinese woodpecker math lips but a bit brittle when dried. Thats not great news. LOL I am not sure what this last piece was but it sanded great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vern Wimmer Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 I have run into madrone from the north central Oregon to the south coast and my "Beaver sense" leads me to think that the climate and the minerals in the soil might have a significant effect on the characteristics of a given piece. I've got a couple of trees on my place that may end up taken down if they have burls. It's a bit plain without them, besides I have lots of myrtlewood. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveShimanek Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Vern, if you ever want to trade some myrtle for some koa or fluggea, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vern Wimmer Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 Don't be surprised if you get a PM from me as summer develops and I get to combing through my stockpile. One warning though: if you can't stabilize it use a handle design, like full tang with slabs, that gives you a lot of surface for epoxy. Myrtle from around here can be a bit "active". Without stabilizing (I hope to have a good vaccum system set up by fall) we can't reliably even make grips for a 1911 auto loader. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Camper Posted May 22, 2018 Share Posted May 22, 2018 7 hours ago, Kreg said: Blade looked great on fb Zeb. I managed to get a handle on my last blade....love this handle mateiral. I may have to ask the guy I bought it from what it is.lol I just remember stabilized/dyed burl. Thanks man! Hey, I saw it's your birthday but didn't have time earlier to say happy birthday.... Happy birthday! The knife looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreg Whitehead Posted May 23, 2018 Share Posted May 23, 2018 (edited) Thanks man.....its official...I am old. lol I have a bunch of this thin 15n20.....gonna crank out a few of these and see if there is any interest in em. Profiling one now in between these two size wise and am going to give it to my bff in oregon. I may edit in a pic or 3 to keep the thread on track here. Edit..got my buddies blade profiled last night...hoping my belts come soon. Its may be hard to see but I am gonna cut a wedge outta the leaf spring and try and bend /forge weld it into something that resembles a kukri. I am open for suggestions on the best way to do that....I know spring steel isnt the easiest to forge weld. I cant decide weather to cut the v and toss the whole thing in......or heat the spine with a torch and try to close it up first. Though I would try and hammer vertically first...then heat and flux....then hammer on the edge. Then repeat both. Would kerosene be worth the investment?I think thats what I have seen guys use as flux on the initial heat. Super excited about the scales I just bought from RCI....gotta have a set of his cholla scales next. Edited May 24, 2018 by Kreg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreg Whitehead Posted May 25, 2018 Share Posted May 25, 2018 Much to my surprise I was able to forge a bend in this spring fairly easily.....got my buddys blade heat treated last night also. Also much to my surprise this leaf seems hard....almost hard as if it were heat treated. Apparently this is the first time I have file tested before grinding. I just left it in the forge to cool with it overnight and thunk that would do it as far as annealing. It was still glowing red 10 15 min after the forge was off. Do I need to cool it more slowly? Thats a whole lotta blade to grind hard.....even annealed its going to be the biggest project I have bit off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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