Recent content by Ed Fowler

If you make it to Blade Show this year I will have three authentic military knives at my table and will discuss them during my seminar on Saturday. All are welcome to visit them, hold and discuss what you see. Will have the following: Huber Bowie made around 1832 Ames Rifleman's Knife T...

Kevin Gray's work will be published in the future, right now we don't know when, I will post where it is published when it comes out. It is a very inclusive report, but it is Kevin's, not mine.

ME2: I am sorry for not responding to your question sooner, just noticed it today. Rex is the man who who brought this to my attention. When evaluating a blade failure he saw the tear along the grain boundaries, it takes a microscope to see it and a knowledgeable man to read what he sees. A...

The change frrom 36 grit to 220 negates the need for a bunch of belts in between 36 and 220 grit. I used to work down progressively from 36 to 60 to 110 to 220 then one day discovered it was not needed. I can't remember the time I did any hand sanding on the sides of a blade. I use the...

Shokr: The most essential aspect is a fresh belt and a light touch. My initial grinding is done on a wheel, then I go to a slack belt and carefully blend from edge to spine. My first grinds are done on a 36 grit Aluminum Oxide belt, immediately followed by a 220 grit belt to remove all...

I watched Bill Moran develop a full convex grind on an 8 inch wheel, grinding with the edge down in the early 80's. The convex grind was beautiful, perfectly centered and uniform. This is very easily the toughest way, but he learned the technique before we had the quality belts now available...

You can do a convex grind on a platten or a slack belt, all it takes is a light hand.

She is my heroin. I read "Fountain Head" first, when "Atlas Shrugged" came out I bought a copy in as soon as I could find a copy, about 1957, I was in high school. I have read them both several times since that time and learned from each reading. I agree "Anthem" is another classic. I have read...

Kevin....Ask John Gault. Smile

Doug: we have never experienced any microscopic cracks through our methods,(using our 52100 steel) our last test blade did 14 - 180 degree flexes requiring over 70 foot pounds of torque before the hardened portion tore along the grain boundaries (instead of breaking through the grains). The...

The benefit of multiple quench is that we do not need to soak a little above critical. When hardening a blade it is above critical for less than 30 seconds. Soak times above critical can increase grain size, I have found that smaller grain size greatly enhances blade performance. When Rex and...

A lesson that is not real obvious "that Sheffield steel is awesome". At one time there was a lot of competition for sheep shearing blades, those that cut had a market for their product made up of experienced users. Those who made sheep blades that did not last long had only one time customers...

When seeking the ultimate high endurance performance blade if you practice testing a representative sample of your knives to destruction, you will find that high performance is not the result of any single event, but develops one step at a time. Some variables will increase performance...

Thank you, we have been working on the High Endurance Performance Knife for over 34 years, invested over $70,000 in actual testing and Metallurgical Laboratory work. We did it because we wanted to so it was not a sacrifice but a long term quest that still continues. We knew good times and...

wait until they get back home