casting and forging Shibuichi for sword fittings

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 trying to achieve?
2. It looks like you work it cold. Is that correct? I have been trying to work it at a black heat.

Thanks so much for this WIP, it's a great thread.
 
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KenH said:
Bubba-san, please keep this WIP going. That is one interesting work you're doing. Perhaps a small comment on the casting/mixing of silver/copper? Just put chunks together and bring up to melting point then pour in ingot mold?

Keep your health and don't push too much.

Ken H>
Click to expand...

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 square tube with one face cut off and angle irons welded onto the ends to close them off. This gives me some form backer on the mold and a way to grab it with the tongs. I press the folded foil into the mold, load the foil with the metal pieces or casting grain, and put the entire form into the forge and wait for it to melt. Then I pop the ingot out of the mold, remove the foil and I have a fairly large chunk of alloy to work with. I can cut pieces off of the chunk on the band saw to melt in a crucible. I only cut off as much as I need for a single casting.
 
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