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I made one of these up a couple of weeks ago and I have to say WOW this is cool and a real time saver. I used micarta for the backing plate and red rubber plumbing gasket for the pad over the micarta. This is cool. The only issue is I used it with a $9 on sale sander from Harbour Freight...

Just thought I would throw my 2 cents in here. All the advice above sounds good and Parks AAA seems like the way to go. However all I had was some P50 and upon the advice of a well respected maker I heated the oil only to 70 degrees as it was (oil and my shop about 50 degrees) and the blade...

Thanks Doug I am also looking into some simpler steels myself. I do a triple edge quench with each of these steels and I will say I have gotten far better performance from the 52100 than the 5160 so far. I have only made about 15 finished knives though.

Thanks for the info guys. I am using 5160 and 52100 which I don't think are shallow hardening steels. I heat the edge and quench the whold blade edge first right now. I am still experimenting and trying to get this HT thing down. Looks like it could take some time before I get what I want...

Thanks George, I guess maybe I didn't ask this question quite right now that I think about it some more and see your reply. I understand about differential hardening and that is usually what I try to do. If you heat the edge of the blade with a torch and then dunk it completely under...

I know there are a few ways folks put their hot blades in the quench oil. One is to quench the edge by putting the blade on a restricter plate and rocking it back and fourth. Another is to stab it in all the way point first, and one more would be to dunk it all the way under edge first. Is...

Lerch, I have really enjoyed your posts on 52100 and certainly don't think you are saying one is better. You are getting infomation and trying it out and testing the results. I think that is what it is all about IMHO. I will say again Thank You to all the more experience folks for sharing...

Sounds like it was cutting pretty darn good. Most of the big box home improvement stores have hemp rope they sell by the foot. That is probably what you see most of the time in the write ups. I usually get 3/4" or 5/8" depending upon which one they have in stock. Hemp rope is very...

Very nice knife, I like it. What kind and size rope were you cutting.

Thanks Doug, I will have to try the wire test, sounds like a good one. I guess I also need to bend and or break one. Probably should have already done that, but haven't. I don't currently have a vice mounted up strong enough to do that test, but can probably solve that easy enough. I do...

Thanks guys, I do hope other will benifit from this post as I have from so many of the posts on here. I do have access to a rockwell tester at work. I can't get every blade tested, but do have some from time to time tested. The knife in question as far as this post goes. (I have had...

Thanks very much for all the info. I do understand better, that was driving me crazy. I just use the file as a guide. The main things I go by are edge flex and cutting test. I usually cut 3/4" hemp rope. Those aren't all inclusive either, but the main thing I expect is the knife to cut and...

I was reading a post about Ht and someone mentioned using the wrong quench medium would cool the blade improperly and it would skate a file all day, but not hold an edge. I have gone back and searched and could not find that thread. Could someone explain this further as I think I have done...

Thanks guys!! I sure am glad I asked. I have not used it just noticed as I was looking for something else that Grainger sells it real cheap. Maybe I know why it is cheap now. I think given my experience level and tools I will stick to brass or nickel silver for now.

I did a few searches and came up empty so here is the question. Can 304 stailess be used for a guard, or would there be some problems with working it or appearance. I am not very familar with many of the stainless alloys. I tried making a guard out of 416 and it was a lot of work. i do not...

That looks like a really great collection of hammers! I am fairly new and have minimal forging equipment but have always thought I could improve the hammer I use. What grits and belts do you use to get the face where you want it. I just have a hammer I got at the local big box harware store...

Great, thank you, and I will use your advice. This site is great. Keep the suggestions going.

Thanks Scherar that is a great idea. Seems so obvious now, but I will have on HTd by someone or some company that knows what they are doing. I usually get 3/4 or 5/8" rope from lowes about 10' at a time. How many cuts on 3/4" rope is considered good for say a 3 1/2" high flat ground blade? I...

I had another post that I got a lot of good information from, and it got me to thinking. In my quest to make the best knife I can I do an edge flex, cut rope and depending on the size of the knife, chop pine 2x4. I am new and get a few good results and a few poor results. The problem is I...

McClellan, PM sent Thanks