Gary Mulkey Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 I've had this chunk of meteorite laying in my shop for some time and decided it's time to use it. I've made two blades from this chunk already. I'm not sure just what type of blade I will make from it but that's still a long way off. There are two things that you must keep in mind when working a meteorite. One is that they have no carbon content so you must weld them to steel that has too much carbon in order to sacrifice some of it through migration in order to end up with a billet that will harden then way that you want. For this one I'm welding it to two pieces of W1 steel which has 1.05 C. Also you must remember that most meteorites are very "red short". This means that you must do most of the forging to the blade after welding it between two pieces of steel so that it can't crumble & flake off. This is a chunk of "Campo de Cielo" meteorite. It is 92% iron & 8% nickel. 8 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conner Michaux Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Oh I'm excited for this one! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeb Camper Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Oh boy! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifford Brewer Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Popcorn and soda time again !!................... 2 If ya can't be good don't git caught !! People who say stuff can't be done need to git the hell outta the way of people who do stuff !!! Show me a man who is called an expert by his peers And I will show you a good man to listen to ...... Show me a man who calls himself an expert and I will show you an egotistical asshole...............!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DBain Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 First and first mostly, I love that you casually have a chunk of meteorite laying around in your shop! I cant wait to watch this come to fruition. 1 Sent via phone in my pocket with the same fingers I use to sip whiskey. Overkill is underrated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JASON VOLKERT Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 That's cool!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Morgan Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Oh I most definitely can’t wait to see how this turns out! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garry Keown Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 I suspect there a re a number of us subscribed to this thread. Von Gruff http://www.vongruffknives.com/ The ability to do comes with doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewB Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Oooo space rock knife this otta be good 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Cool stuff Gary. Did you tack weld the lump of meteorite to the W2 paddle before flattening it out? (I think that is what I am seeing in the pics) -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 38 minutes ago, Brian Dougherty said: Cool stuff Gary. Did you tack weld the lump of meteorite to the W2 paddle before flattening it out? (I think that is what I am seeing in the pics) Exactly. Once flattened that way I added the second piece of carbon steel (W1) and tack welded again before doing the weld. This is primarily to get around the meteorite being "hot short". That way it can't flake off or crumble and I don't waste any of it. It sounds like it would be risky doing a weld without grinding off the natural scale, however I'm counting on an extended soak @ welding temp to convert the scale back to iron again. I've found that a 30 minute soak @ welding temp in a reducing atmosphere will usually convert any rust or scale back to iron(steel) by removing the oxides. This I will do before doing any further welds. Wish me luck. 2 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 (edited) I've been designing & engineering a pattern for this one while relaxing on the couch and finally decided on one. Considering the time of year now with both spring & Easter coming on, this is going be my inspiration for this meteorite billet: Not having attempted anything like this before so I have no idea of how close that I can come to it but it's a good starting point. It may turn out looking more like some other flower (or maybe not a flower at all) before I'm done with it but it will be fun trying. This design will require some tricky forging as well as incorporating a canoe for the final weld. Should be fun! Edited April 16, 2019 by Gary Mulkey 1 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 That's pretty darned ambitious, but if anyone can do it, it's you! I have a tiny piece of Campo I'm saving for the right project, and some rusty Nantan that will go in a smelt one of these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 4 hours ago, Alan Longmire said: That's pretty darned ambitious, but if anyone can do it, it's you! I have a tiny piece of Campo I'm saving for the right project, and some rusty Nantan that will go in a smelt one of these days. I've not worked with any Nantan but have been told that it's terrible to weld. Maybe a smelt is the way to go with it. Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 Day two: 3 layer cut & stack-- Adding more carbon steel to one side: Welded: Grinding one side for effect: Forged flat: Forged into a triangle for 4-way welding (on the bias) You'll need more imagination than me to see a dogwood petal in this but after all I put it through today I'm not surprised that I got some distortion. After a 4-way weld though it should still make an interesting pattern. 3 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Blohm Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 That's going to be awesome. I always wondered how you would go about forging a meteorite. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruno Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Too Coool! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles dP Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Just googled the surname Mulkey and it is not “wizard of steel” as I had initially suspected. 1 3 "The way we win matters" (Ender Wiggins) Orson Scott Card Nos qui libertate donati nescimus quid constat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerhard Gerber Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Somebody with a small piece of meteorite asked me about this a while ago........I'm watching with more attention than usual...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Dougherty Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 12 hours ago, Gary Mulkey said: Forged into a triangle for 4-way welding (on the bias) Whoa! I never thought of doing that... 1 -Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Longmire Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Campo de Cielo is a nice nickel-iron meteorite that welds well, if a bit hot-short. Nantan is more of a pure iron, and it rusts back to oxide quickly. I saw the original hunk mine came from in 2006 (it was that big 10-lb lump Larry Harley had), and at that time it was very solid. By 2016 it had decomposed to what looks like plain old iron ore. The owner put some in iron in the hat at Bowie's hammerin that year. Campo makes a great high-contrast layer, though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Mulkey Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 Here's a pre-weld look at the flower pattern in this one and the billet welded & drawn out to 1" x 1". Even after I was satisfied that I had a good weld on the 4-way, just to be on the safe side I did all of the forging or drawing @ welding temp just to be sure. In order to same material I've got the billet in the annealing oven so I can cut the tiles with a band saw and not the chop saw in order to save material. This billet looks pretty small but it will only be used as an inlay into a blade of 1084 so it should make a sufficient sized billet when done. The flower pattern of this one will get an inlaid pistil in the center of each tile made of multiple pieces of 416 round rod & powdered 1084. The outside of each petal will get machined a little to enhance the pattern. 5 Gary ABS,CKCA,ABKA,KGA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Morgan Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 That’s gonna be absolutely gorgeous Gary! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifford Brewer Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 WOW !!!!............................... 1 If ya can't be good don't git caught !! People who say stuff can't be done need to git the hell outta the way of people who do stuff !!! Show me a man who is called an expert by his peers And I will show you a good man to listen to ...... Show me a man who calls himself an expert and I will show you an egotistical asshole...............!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshua States Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Nicely done sir! 1 “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...
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