Hey everyone.
I'm a new aspiring knife maker from Michigan. I started doing Kydex knife sheaths and gun holsters for friends, then decided to try my hand at knife making also. I've only made 3 thus far, but all of them have turned out to be fairly good pieces. I admit, I'm one of the 'newbies' that came into the craft after watching Forged in Fire (commence groaning!). I do understand however, that knife making is an art and art takes time, and my last knife had about 30-40 hours into it. It'll be going up for sale likely sooner or later, once I get my etching process down, make a sheath for it, and do some final work on the edge. I've been having a bit of a difficult time making the edge consistently the same sharpness throughout, but I'll figure it out. In the past, I've worked with wood, and work with Kydex, so I know what kind of time it takes to do all of the above. Working with steel is something I'm relatively new to, but it's never too late to learn.
I don't have a forge currently, so I am working VERY slowly and very carefully with pre-hardened steel as to not ruin the temper. The one piece that did require firing was done by a friend of mine who also does some blacksmithy.
I'm currently collecting the materials to make myself a small forge at home. I'm still trying to 'learn' how to build one, and trying to figure out exactly the material cost, etc.
So far, I've gotten 24" x 16" x 1" ceramic wool rated for 2600 degrees on ebay, and a lot of ambition.
My goal is to have a 14" deep by 6" diameter dual burner round forge (if I even need a dual burner?) that can reach forge welding temperatures. I've looked at both the Zoeller and Reil forge designs, and am picturing something similar. The Zoeller may work for me if I make it a dual burner and can achieve the temperatures I want. My thoughts were doing 2 layers of blanket (I hope I have enough. I may not if I use a 5 gallon bucket) a layer of contractor grade refactory cement rated for 3000, and then some plistix. I'm trying to find a tank base that will fit the dimensions I'm looking for, but haven't had much luck as of yet and will likely start a separate thread on it.
I'm a new aspiring knife maker from Michigan. I started doing Kydex knife sheaths and gun holsters for friends, then decided to try my hand at knife making also. I've only made 3 thus far, but all of them have turned out to be fairly good pieces. I admit, I'm one of the 'newbies' that came into the craft after watching Forged in Fire (commence groaning!). I do understand however, that knife making is an art and art takes time, and my last knife had about 30-40 hours into it. It'll be going up for sale likely sooner or later, once I get my etching process down, make a sheath for it, and do some final work on the edge. I've been having a bit of a difficult time making the edge consistently the same sharpness throughout, but I'll figure it out. In the past, I've worked with wood, and work with Kydex, so I know what kind of time it takes to do all of the above. Working with steel is something I'm relatively new to, but it's never too late to learn.
I don't have a forge currently, so I am working VERY slowly and very carefully with pre-hardened steel as to not ruin the temper. The one piece that did require firing was done by a friend of mine who also does some blacksmithy.
I'm currently collecting the materials to make myself a small forge at home. I'm still trying to 'learn' how to build one, and trying to figure out exactly the material cost, etc.
So far, I've gotten 24" x 16" x 1" ceramic wool rated for 2600 degrees on ebay, and a lot of ambition.
My goal is to have a 14" deep by 6" diameter dual burner round forge (if I even need a dual burner?) that can reach forge welding temperatures. I've looked at both the Zoeller and Reil forge designs, and am picturing something similar. The Zoeller may work for me if I make it a dual burner and can achieve the temperatures I want. My thoughts were doing 2 layers of blanket (I hope I have enough. I may not if I use a 5 gallon bucket) a layer of contractor grade refactory cement rated for 3000, and then some plistix. I'm trying to find a tank base that will fit the dimensions I'm looking for, but haven't had much luck as of yet and will likely start a separate thread on it.
