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I hate the layout dye in the dabber bottles for just that reason. That exact same thing has happened in every class I have taught where somebody brought one of those #@*&! dabber bottles. In my shop I only use spray or brush on, after that happened the one and only time in my shop with one of...

Big boy toy, the wow factor. I have found some functional aspects, such as with ivory knives it allows maintenance and storage options, or one could easily repolish the blade. But mostly its interesting.

The handle is walnut burl that I vacuum, and pressure, treated with Nelsonite. Stabilized wood is fine, but I love natural materials and sometimes stabilization comes close to wood-like plastic for me. Nelsonite is a product made here in Michigan for the furniture industry in Grand Rapids. What...

I had a knife that I needed to finish for a customer and the stay-at-home allowed me the time finally get to it. It was sitting in the drawer and when I had a student request a private class in take-downs in January, I used it as an example to move things along. This may be one of the most...

We can keep them around for sentimental value, but one of the truest knifeisms, or sayings in the business is- "they are one of our biggest expenses, but if you want to make a good knife you have to treat them like they are free!" Anybody who has been at it long enough to know, realizes that...

I find it very cathartic to toss all my used grinding belts (220X and below) on the burn pile about once a month. But I am an incurable hoarder of polishing belts (400X and above) because I have found that, due to the backing, they beat most shop rolls for hand finishing. All my 400X and 600X...

A knife vise, that allows you to rotate and move the blade at different angles, is a game changer to be sure. I built my own many years ago, so I can't really help on where to buy one. Finishing abrasives come in countless varieties, and everybody has their preference, but my experience, and...

I think everybody starts on their knifemaking journey with the goal of being able to make a knife that is as good as one of their factory-made favorites. But, if we stick with it, we eventually reach a place where we realize that good “hand-made” renders factory made standards an unacceptably...

I don’t go for as long as Ed, but I am also a proponent of more than one tempering cycle. I started out repeating cycles because one thing I learned a long time ago is that there are no set tempering numbers to give you specific HRC numbers, each piece of steel and each heat treatment is...

H2SO4 will be quite a bit quicker but also a bit more noxious, just use it outside.

Flux + iron oxide will always be a bit thicker and tougher than just iron oxide, but an overnight soak in sodium bisulfate, or a good strong vinegar, will allow you to just brush that scale off.

I get much more life out of my abrasives and a quicker cut by floating the metal residue with some kind of fluid. I started out, like everybody else, with Wd-40, but hated the black staining ink mess it made, and being a lubricant it only sort of aids in the cut. I quickly got away from oil...

Alden, I really appreciate your confidence in me, but rather than an expert, just think of me as a person who has made a lot more mistakes than most. But along with those mistakes I also have a built-in, obsessive, need to verify and question all results or explanations. This is why I...

Yep, from this image I can safely say that you overheated it.

It is really hard to make out with these images. The very bottom one doesn't look so bad but the top two look very bad, as far as grain size.

I understand. The real problem isn’t actually a financial thing. Most knifemakers would want to know immediately if one of their knives failed in use, and they would be very eager to get it out of circulation, and replaced with a good one. The Damascus thing just adds a whole other level to...

That's because shipping often costs more than it is worth. This exchange occurred face to face. Amazon can afford to give away cars if they want, knifemakers can't.

If this was an end of the bar then that would help explain things. This sort of weld issue is more common in the ends of the billet, particularly on the end where the handle is tacked on. When I would sell bars to others, I would always cut about 2" off those areas just to play it safe...

Hello Randy, Yes this does happen, and a indicator of the cause is the very pronounced weld zones that can be seen on your freshly ground blade. There is a spot about 1" up from your divot that came very close to letting go as well. Watch your forge atmosphere, it would appear that you have a...

O-1 has been my go to fine cutting/abrasion resistant steel for over 25 years now. It is not as forgiving in the forge as 10xx series. It will not tolerate severe overheating and cannot be cooled directly from high forging temperatures to room temp, that is when the majority of cracking...