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Fred, consider yourself warned! Forging hot steel leads to buying more tooling, making stuff other than knives, getting really dirty, and cursing ( a lot). You may even be tempted to join a blacksmith organization near you and start talking with a Scots brogue. Hitting a hot piece of steel with...

I keep almost all of my handle material stock in a giant dehumidifier/drying chamber called my shop. (Phoenix AZ area, typical humidity around 10% or less) I store it in a milk crate on the shelf. Some of it I keep wrapped in bubble wrap or foam padding, but I never seal it completely. Raw...

There's always brass or bronze brazing, if you're only adding a short stub of threaded rod to the end of the tang so you can put a threaded finial or butt cap over the end. Tim Hancock does this with his dog bone daggers and has a great set of photos in his book The Western Bladesmith. The most...

I have a container of that in my shop..........

There's not a lot I can add to what has already been stated, but here's what I think. First off, whoever told you that O-1 is a poor idea for a knife steel is very mistaken. O-1 is a fine high carbon steel knife and I make almost all of my single steel knives from it. It is a bit finicky, but...

Ed, We can talk more about that next month in KC. Let's go get some BBQ and make some sketches.

I think concerns about burner placement and direct flame against the metal are largely unfounded. Think about how a coal forge works for a moment, and you will soon realize that getting the metal in direct contact with flame or very hot stuff is exactly what is desired. It also appears that...

Sounds like something to do at the next hammer-in. Plan for it in advance and let it happen.

About every other year I have upgraded my forge to a new design. When I went to a blower and a 2 inch pipe burner, I thought I had the ultimate set up. I actually melted a piece of 1/2 inch plate in that thing! well a few month ago, I got a ribbon burner and set up my newest forge. The burner...

OK, I'll bite and show my ignorance at the same time, what's a KITH? My only known definition is "a group of familiar people or family members" as in "Kith and kin."

If you cannot get the circuit board etchant, try grapefruit juice, lemon juice, or any other citrus. I admit, it takes a while, but it's acid.

On folders, you still have to add additional security to keep the scale from delaminating off the liner. Here are two pics from a couple of slip joints I made many moons ago. The Damascus folder has three pins securing the liner in place and a hidden screw in from the underside through the liner...

MUCH nicer Bro! That looks like a sword to be proud of. Nice photo too......

For what it's worth, for my original mixture of metals (for any alloy I am making not just Shibuichi), I make an ingot mold from a piece of steel tubing with a folded piece of stainless steel foil (tool wrap) folded up to fit inside the mold. For the mold, I usually use a piece of 1-1/2 inch...

Are we talking full tang handle or frame handle? With a full tang I usually drill some larger holes (3/8"-1/2") through the tang and match them on the liners, making shallow indents in the scales in the same location. Then I glue and pin it all up together. This creates a sort of "epoxy rivet"...

There are some excellent climbing routes on the back side of that.

I have been trying the making and forging of Shibuichi for a couple of weeks now and it's giving me quite the ride. I have two questions: 1. Do you pickle it between heats and hammering at all? If not, how & when do you remove the fire scale buildup, or is that part of the coloration you are...