KITH: Late, but not forgotten...

[Bruno]

Finally, 

Between work, Family, chores, and all the danged things I have to maintain and repair on a daily basis,  I finally had a few hours to work on this thing.

So here is the start of it.   Last night I managed to fix my power hammer again..   Yes folks, it is possible to drill through hardened spring steel.  Pretty loud when you're not doing it right

Here is my new stabilizer,  worked great today.  As in, it didn't break, and the hammer runs like a sewing machine now..

So, I actually started this bar a few months back,  had it sitting there collecting dust the whole time.  Got it to the 23 layers back then.

Started off as pieces of 1084, 15n20 and 52100.

Doesn't look like it in the pic, but that should be 23 layers,  the 15n20 is rather thin.  My notes don't say that I folded it, so It must be the 23 layers that was written on the billet.

After the first run through, I goto 23 layers total.

After initial grinding and cleanup:

Here is the 23 layers with a quick test etch.  Not sure what happened with the dark spot,  I must have ground through the upper layer, which is probably the 1084.

Then I cut my billet into 5 pieces, and re-stacked:

And here is the result:

This should be around 115 Layers now.

Next I cut the billet into 3 and re-stacked again.  Sorry, no pics, was in the thick of it with the fuel burning...

Here is what I was left with after I finished for the evening.

If my math is right, I should be over 300 layers in this billet.

I think I'm going to attempt a twisted raindrop pattern on this billet.  Will have to think on it some, make sure I think I know what I'm doing, maybe.

As far as the blade...

I'm afraid I won't have the time to make a folder like I wanted.  Plus my drill press doesn't drill straight.  So it's a no go for this round.    Not sure I really want to make a short blade with wooden handle,  again, because of time constraints, and I don't want the piece to look Rushed. 

So I think I've decided on a kiridashi style blade.  Something that will show off the full pattern, with a nice little leather carrying sheath.  Hope that fits the parameters.       I may change my mind.    I may go with a brute de forge style.  Dunno yet.   Any concerns about that ?

We are good to a 3.5 - 4"blade yes ? 

 

[Brian Dougherty]

I say 'Go for it'

[Bruno]

Did this instead of getting valuable sleep...

 

Slight delam here that must be ground out...

Start of the twist.

 

Cut off the bad part...

Here is what I was left with in the end:

Edited September 19, 2019 by Bruno

[Will Wilcox]

That's going to be a nice looking pattern. Looking forward to more progress, Bruno!

[Bruno]

Here is progress from the last 2 nights:

Out of the vinegar bath:

Cut off the bad stuff and grind out the delams:

You can see a Cold Steel Tuff Lite in the pic.  It murders boxes.

 

Now for some forging:

First pass, I fluxed and got to welding temp just to get any delams I might have missed.  Then on to forging the blade:

 Now, I separate the stock:

 

I do some normalizing, and here is what I am left with:

After profiling the handle some:

 

Ready for heat treat:

 

And We Have a Survivor folks!

 

In the oven now for the first temper cycle.  And that will be all for tonight...

Edited September 22, 2019 by Bruno

[Bruno]

Not been sharpened yet.

 

 

[Conner Michaux]

Very cool! 

[Will Wilcox]

Looks sweet, man! Bold pattern. 

[Bruno]

So I'm just about finished. 

I'm afraid I'm not much of a sheath maker.   The idea for this one is to be a simple pocket sheath.  I dinged and misaligned the middle rivet. I'm afraid we are all gonna have to live with it    My sewing skills aren't so great either, broke 3 needles just doing that bit.  Some minor cleanup left to do.   Sheath is elk hide.  Small paracord extension/pinky loop at the end.  

And here are the best pics of the pattern I could get:

Now, I have a lot of quality control testing to do

[Alex Middleton]

I picked it up from the post office this afternoon!

The pictures really don't do the pattern justice.   It's an awesome blade and will get used often.

Thanks again Bruno!

Edited October 18, 2019 by Alex Middleton

[Bruno]

Hey Alex,

 

No Problem!   Glad it found a good home, and hope it brings you many years of use and good cuts