Recent content by ta2edfreak

I tried the same thing after using borax a few times. I wasn't happy with the borax and read up on blacksmith using kerosene for welding. I wired up a small billet and put it in jar with kerosene while my forge heated up. It worked great and burns off almost immediately after placing in the...

Making a knife from them is irrelevant, my question remains, does the work at welding heat close the micro fractures and normalization erase the spring memory?

Now that I have your attention, please hear me out. I don't use leaf springs or lawnmower blades or anything like that to make knives. I have made a small one out of a coil spring but just as play with my new forge. My question is why can't someone use leaf springs or coil springs to make a...

I actually just bought one for that purpose and when told the butcher why I wanted it, he gave it to me for free. TSP does stand for tri sodium phosphate and works as a degreaser and mold cleaner/inhibitor. It also works as an electrolyte for etching. I have found a number of instructions for...

Round off the tip just a bit more, a wharncliffe doesn't have a point on the end. Other than that, it looks fine.

If you want to do a whole knife, you can also use vinegar, strong coffee or lemon juice. They may take a little longer but are less aggressive than acid.

I actually used this for my first couple of etches, switched to FeCl but switched back for my last couple. I used this site http://www.navaching.com/forge/etching.html for my first go but when I switched back from ferric, I swapped the the batteries for a power supply from an aquarium pump and...

It's funny but you can look at fancy embellished sheathes and think how amazing they are and then look at something like this with such nice clean lines and steady workmanship and know that it's not always about what you put on it so much as what you put in it.

Wow.. I wish I could do anything close to that. Those are amazing.

I was playing with it today doing some work around the house, it feels great in the hand and doesn't take up a lot of room. Sean, I say that to people all the time when they ask how I spell my name :-) So finally got pics of my knife, it was sent out on Saturday and they promised 6 days or...

It's odd but I was going to post pretty much the same thing. Just got back from vacation to a new knife in the mail box and will be shipping mine out tomorrow. By the way Carey, I had to pry the box out of my wifes hands. It's a great piece and I can't wait to use it. Sean

If it is not enclosed, there is probably metal inside the motor housing, either blow or vacuum it out and it should be fine. You will need to do it constantly though as it will continue to grab the dust. That's what happened to my my old belt/disk sander that I was using for knives. It lasted...

You can get cone or oval stones of varying grits from woodworking specialty stores. They use them for sharpening gouges and chisels and should work great for interior re-curves. Most stones will be 6" long with a 2" wide base tapering to about 1/2". They come in oil or water. An example...

Handle is on, just need finish shaping and sharpening and I am done. I may not get a pic up on time, is that ok?

Finished HT this weekend and after an overnight vinegar soak, I started finish sanding. After working on the blade for a minute, I noticed a small warp in the edge. It is less than a mm in both height and length and can probably be sharpened out but I haven't had a blade do this before. It's 1/8...