Railey’s KITH for DeMo (WIP)

Chris Railey

Chris Railey

Well-Known Member
Well its two days before Christmas, its gonna be butt cold here for the next few and my wife is in full panic mode that we are all gonna freeze in 15 degree weather. Add to that everyone in my house is sick so what is a man to do? Only one answer…Forge!

I finally got my orders for Christmas delivered and I feel well enough to work in the forge so DeMo is next. I am gonna do a big build for DeMo he is a big helper to a lot of folks on here so I am thinking I will do a Bowie. I am gonna make canister damascus with some of my regular damascus drops (dropmascus?) I am also gonna do my version of a framed handle which has been inspired by several makers including Bruce Bump and Ed Caffery.
Full disclosure, I am a hobby maker so what you will see here may not be what a pro would do in his/her pro shop. It will be what I do in my home garage hobby shop. Some may feel only pros should do WIP’s but I like helping other hobby guys like myself figure things out with the tools they have. Anyway lets get started.
 
A large part of my upbringing was assisted by my Grandmother who was a survivor of the depression so I hate waste and tend to keep most of my larger HC drops and all of my damascus drops. They come in very handy if you make canister. You can use the HC drops for can ends and filler. Here I have my 1.75 x 1.75 can maybe .125 thick. Some powdered steel (USA KNIFEMAKER) and my tub O drops. Why do I use 1.75 x 1.75 cans? Because that is what I have right now. Simple.
 

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Chris Railey said:
Well its two days before Christmas, its gonna be butt cold here for the next few and my wife is in full panic mode that we are all gonna freeze in 15 degree weather. Add to that everyone in my house is sick so what is a man to do? Only one answer…Forge!

I finally got my orders for Christmas delivered and I feel well enough to work in the forge so DeMo is next. I am gonna do a big build for DeMo he is a big helper to a lot of folks on here so I am thinking I will do a Bowie. I am gonna make canister damascus with some of my regular damascus drops (dropmascus?) I am also gonna do my version of a framed handle which has been inspired by several makers including Bruce Bump and Ed Caffery.
Full disclosure, I am a hobby maker so what you will see here may not be what a pro would do in his/her pro shop. It will be what I do in my home garage hobby shop. Some may feel only pros should do WIP’s but I like helping other hobby guys like myself figure things out with the tools they have. Anyway lets get started.
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Most excellent!!
 
If you notice I have the lid inside the can by maybe 1/8 or so. That was advice from Ed years ago. I have found it really does help keep the ends on the can for longer allowing me to be sure my welds set before I lose them and everything spills out before it welds. I will do the lid the same way when it is time.
 

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J. Doyle said:
Looking interesting. Got a drawing or sketch?
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Only in my head John but its based on one you helped me reshape a couple of years ago. That has been my go to Bowie shape every since.
Actually I went digging and found this template based on the original I mentioned above. So something like this.
 

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The bottom is welded on the can so time to work on the filling. Pick pieces which are easy to clean up on the grinder because they need to be clean to weld. In the picture you will see the two halves of a damascus knife I broke trying to straighten a small warp after temper. They make good can stuffing so don't throw them into the woods.
 

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This is pretty much what you want clean and shinny. I will use a dremel tool and a cone shaped stone to dig out that little bit of scale left in the deeper hammer marks. I really do not think it would matter much if I did not but I am too picky to leave it. Now, I will cut this stuff up to fit in my can. You can stack to try and control the pattern but I am way too ADD to think I am gonna remember what is inside the can after the oh, second heat. So random it is…
 

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Here she is ready for the forge. A few things to mention here. No white out. I do not peel cans. By the time I draw this billet out the 1/8 mild steel will be so thin it grinds off far too easily to peel. You will lose a lot of it in scale too. Plus, by leaving the can on you cut your risks of the billet separating during forging. Think of it like this, you have thousands of little forgewelds going on in a can, the can helps keeps things together. Like a casing on a sausage. If you want to peel your cans I suggest lining them with used SS HT foil. Works way better than whiteout. Also I have seen people advise to leave pin holes in the weld or put WD 40 or a piece of paper towels or the hair of a red heifer in the top of the can to “burn oxygen”. I have never done any of those things and my cans are fine. Like I said, this is my way. I will say that my cans are packed and tight so I do not see how air is a problem in a properly constructed can. Once your forge is at weld heat, can goes in for fifteen minutes. I set a time and I try to remember to turn the can a few times. I have few hard and fast rules but at least 15 before I give it a little squish is one.


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After a few more heats and some drawing we are at an almost 12 inch long and 1.750 wide billet. We have reached the length limit of my forge so I will cool it down and cut the ends off then more than likely cut it in half so I have a manageable size to work with. Half of this billet will be enough for the DeMo knife.

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I will be back out there tomorrow. I am excited to see the pattern. I am off until Tuesday and I hope to get pretty far into this build by then. I just finished an officer’s spontoon for an Army guy who wanted it for his retiring Sergeant Major. After that build I am glad to get back to a knife.
 
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