First heat treat

son of liberty

son of liberty

Well-Known Member
I pounded this out on the back of an axe that I drove in to a round of wood with a hammer and file finished slightly. Its pretty crude but I got the heat treat right or so I think. I use an old BBQ and a shop vac set up to blow rather then suck, I used Oak wood and got the blade up to cherry red. I didn't soak the blade , I quenched it in a mixture of old tyranny fluid and come corn oil that I heated up with another scrap of steel that i got red hot. The good news is that its hard, it holds an edge. I bought some steel today so that I can use a known steel and try my hand some more.
Thank to you guys on this forum.

DSCF3433.jpg


This is my third attemy useing a rail track anvil I scored from my dad and the same forge, this one is not heat treated yet but im very proud of it so far.
DSCF3435.jpg
 
Looks like you're on your way....to insanity.
Welcome to the dark side. There's nothing like whacking a hot piece of steel, is there ?

Good luck,
Rudy
 
Nice, good start.
You're not far from that "all I need is bailing wire, duct tape, and a hammer" story!
Dozier
 
You are deffinantly getting there. I would bring the handle down on that second one with the raised clip. I let the curve of the spine follow through the handle on a similar blade and found that it mad it ackward to chop with. I would keep the handle straight with the back of the spine or even down just a little. It's not bad as is but it might be a little better if you brought the line of the edge of the blade behind the clip down just a little to straighten it; maybe even the clip just a tad just as long as it stays above the spine of the blade with the line of the clip close to horizontal. That last part is personal preference so you might not agree. At any rate, good work.

Doug Lester
 
Looks to me like you have some pretty good hammer control going on there. That is often one of the hardest things to get a handle on.

If you want to get the spine of your knives straighter, you can counter bend the steel before you start to forge the bevels. You can also use a schwacker after the bevels are done.

Keep at it, it only gets better,
Carey
 
You did not say anything obout tempering?? The temper cycle will make the blade tough, not brittle. Sounds like a simple carbon steel, 400f in home oven for 2 hrs will do the trick. Nice knife good luck.
 
Now that is some sure nuff positive thinking and desire! That is not just a knife but a testament and the reward of your passion
 
Thanks guys, I have been at it hard lately but dont have any pictures to post as of yet. I have built a gas forge and head out tomorrow to pick up the refractory to line it with , I got a KMG belt grinder and have ground out a few nice blades. I used L6 that I got from a saw mill blade and its some amazing steel.

I am working a building a post anvil now, I have the stand built from rail road track , I could forge on it alone if it had a nice surface. I am looking for a 6x6x12 piece of 4150 to weld on the stand. Im worried about the hardness of the surface but ill deal with it as it comes.

I have a bunch of book knowledge im waiting to put to the test so we will see how things go, with any luck ill have the first one with the new forge and new anvil in a few weeks.

Thanks again guys, I may not contribute much but I read every post on here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top