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A father and son putting their heads together, in the shop, can result in some mighty fine blades. I work with my son in the shop as well; good times. :) Fred

Hi Dave, Are you talking about a big S guard or a double with a little pitch forward at the top and backward at the bottom. What kind of heat do you have; do you have an anvil or forge. There is nothing that can't be made guard wise if you have enough tools and have a heat source. Most...

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Reserved for feedback 3

When Fred offered to send me an ERU to test I had a good idea of what I wanted to do with it right away. There are certain materials that tend to dull my favorite knives out very quickly. I mostly use mild and simple steels like 1095, Sandvik 14C28N and recently have been using a really nice...

We have 3 passarounds going on different knife sites and are starting to get some feedback in. I'll post it all here, positive or negative, no editing. Thanks to Ted Erdelyi for taking the time to field test this new tool. :thumbup: The ERU Sharpener designed and built by Fred Rowe is...

The angles are not specific to any given blade or geometry for that matter. After a little practice, you will look at the blade you are about to grind and know which angles will work best. Start with a 5 degree setting on most knives to develop the edge; as stated below, with many blades you...

That is what Thanksgiving is about, being thankful for our bounty. I'm especially thankful this year, for many reasons. I started this for last Thanksgiving but due to circumstances, it did not happen as planned. Have a nice holiday and hope you have much to be thankful for. :) The...

I have gotten a lot of breakage when I temper 01 at 350. I agree your temperatures are correct and it will Rockwell @ 62 or 63 if your using a mid range oil. 450 will give 59 or 60 which is a lot more forgiving. 01 likes stress relief after forging also. Two hours at 1200 prior to normalizing...

What do you say to a handheld adjustable tungsten carbide knife sharpener that can be set to sharpen every thing from a straight razor to an ax? It is adjustable from 16 degrees inclusive to 40 degrees inclusive or any degree setting in between. The carbide faces are 95 HRC. I spent a month...

Hopefully we have acquired the wisdom to deal with the changes needed. We can surprise ourselves sometimes. We may do so in this as well.

When it passes from theory, after exhaustive testing, to scientific fact, I don't see whats left. Its factual. This is about as conventional and contemporary as it gets and its dated as well since we'er dealing with the latest scientific facts that come with the study of metallurgy.

I'm very comfortable when I apply heat to steel. It took years to get here. If the steel type is known, along with the alloys, I know what the steel is undergoing as it is being heated or cooled over time. Fifteen years ago I looked at heat work more as a matter of luck along side that gut...

Thanks for posting Darren. Very clean execution. I really like the looks of the koa. The damascus looks good as well. I rarely get to see the finished product made from these giveaway billets so its nice to see what you did with it. Fred

This is how I do them. http://youtu.be/ohA9ZJctAXY

I find these mostly in production knives; blades that because of their secondary bevel grind cannot be made sharp. You can regrind the edge and put a new secondary bevel on the blade but it can't be sharpened. A couple of examples: one was a brand name folding knife with a 3" blade. It was a...

It depends on the blade size and shape; but five degrees is a good angle to start with on blades 1/4 or under thick, by 2" high or less. Develop the edge from plunge to tip at the 5 degree setting. Take it to heat treat geometry, " the thickness of a dime"; the belt wont touch the edge again if...

Thanks for sharing that Rex. Made my day. My wife worked for the Bureau for the Visually Impaired for 30 years and I'm familiar with many sight conditions. I'm so glad this helped you move ahead in your knifemaking quest. Happy grinding, Fred

I quench coming from an electric kill to the oil using cold tongs; I always fully harden are then stress relieve the areas needed followed by the tempering cycles. No chance of flame that way. I used to have the problem when using a gas forge to heat and using welded handles that got heated. We...

Heres a cheap way to lower the temperature of your quench oil. Its made of a small insulated cooler; I just ran a copper coil in the center and foamed it in place. I have a small circulating pump that transfers the oil through the system.