Recent content by HennieL

Reviving an old thread that should have been a sticky :nothing: All the photos that Kevin posted in the original thread have disappeared :sad: Kevin, could you please re-post the photos for the sake of the "next generation" of knife makers?

Lots of good info here :happy: On the topic of quench oils, would anyone please comment on how to evaluate unknown quench oils in order to "rate" them against a known oil? Parks 50, and most other oils generally referred to on the forum are available in the USA, but they are not generally...

I don't see any reason why you would get different results, but perhaps one of the experts could confirm this?

Thanks for the welcome, Tracy. Oh, we've been making custom knives in South Africa for many years - the first smithy that specialized in knives was started way back in 1797... Our first "modern" custom makers (Owen Wood, Piet Grey, etc.) started making knives in the mid to late 1970's, and the...

Thanks for the warm welcome, and the nice things that everyone said about my knives - it's much appreciated :1: OK, here's one more photo of my usual knives, based loosely on the Loveless pattern. the left and centre knifes were made from aold Nicholson files (i.e. 1095), and the one on the...

Something that has not been discussed yet is the fact* that one can heat the (high carbon) steel to a higher temperature when "cold treating" it (be that in a deep freezer, with dry ice, or with liquid nitrogen...) than without the cold treatment (as the cold treatment reduces the excess RA...

Hi Everyone, Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself. I'm a part-time knife maker, living in the town of Bloemfontein, in central South Africa. I'm a long-term knife user (got my first knife in 1964, and have never been without one since then :biggrin:). I've been making knives as a...

Hi Stu, Good to meet you on this forum :biggrin: - only "moved"here a few days ago after the closing down of SA Blade forum... You know, I suspect it also has something to do with how the steel is treated - most "the knife will crack if not tempered immediately after quenching" advice is...

"If you don't temper immediately after quenching the steel might crack..." Is this really true, or another of the many knife-making myths? I always cryo my blades by soaking them in liquid nitrogen for 12 - 24 hours after quenching (depending on type of steel), and only then do the first temper...