Wednesday, May 15, 2019

MONDAY AT THE FORGE

Monday, what on earth am I doing at the Forge on a Monday? Well let me say we were trying to finish up the knife project because I plan to go camping on the weekend, provided it doesn't snow. Also this should give a review of what happens from start to finish, when you take on a project, such as a knife.


To start with I made a drawing of what I wanted to make, as a somewhat of a beginner Blacksmith and that would allow me to gain the  required skills  and development, in learning how to hammer, strike correctly, and how the steel reacts to the hammer blows, as well as learning about Quenching and Heat Treating the steel to obtain the best results.

Brother Dave with his excellent skill with the zip-cutter, cut out a mild steel 1/8 inch template which we could follow while forging the blade. 

Then choose the steel which was 1/2 inch thick by 3 inches wide and about 10 inches long, which was the rear Leaf Spring from a big old dump truck.

We cleaned most of the rust off it, welded a chunk of round bar on one end to use as a handle and put it in the forge. Using mostly the power hammer we drew (drawing something out means you do not loose any steel you just make it longer or wider and more dense by hammering it) it out to about 19 inches long and about 2 1/4 inches wide, tapering it down on one side which would become the blade edge. Also somewhat of the shape of the template, Dave went at it with the Disk-Grinder and it started to take the shape we wanted.

The next step in this process was to see what it would really look like when completed. So I got some Brass and again Dave with the zip-cut made it the shape I wanted, while I cut out a couple of Oak Scales to mount for the  temporarily handle.


Now comes the scary part, the Quench and the heat treating of the blade. If we quench too cool it will not take, if we overheat it it becomes too hard, it must be just the right temperature which is between 1450 & 1500 degrees Fahrenheit (also known as critical temperature). This nonmagnetic, and must be quenched in warm oil at about 130 to 140 degrees. We are so lucky because we got it right, on the first try. Next comes the tempering, which makes the blade neither too hard or too soft, but is durable and will take an edge. This is done by placing the blade in a 500 to 550 degree oven for an hour, then shut the oven off and allow everything to cool. When it comes out of the oven it will look like this. 
The colouring now has to be cleaned off and the blade returned to normal colour. Again luck was on our side, and the blade turned out perfect, with the help of a little elbow grease and some emery paper. At this point all we have to do is install the Cocobolo Wood handle scales and Brass pins, sand everything smooth and make sure it feels good in the hand and we are done.

Well, almost done, every knife needs a leather sheath to carry it in, and no you can't buy one at any store to fit this knife, so the only thing to do is make one. Something new to learn. 
Which is exactly what I did, and there you have it. One completed project. Hand made right from scratch. This story is my way of of saying to anyone, that if you want to do something, anything, then figure out what you want to do, then just go do it and don't stop till you have it completed. 
Should you ever wonder what this old Square Dance Caller would do when I retire from calling, I'll tell you I don't know off the top of my head, but I'm sure there is  something out there somewhere I might want to turn my hands or mind to.
That's all I have for today, hopefully you will enjoy reading this and have a wonderful summer. Take care of yourself and each other and I'll see you when I see you.

Saturday, May 11, 2019

FRIDAY AT THE FORGE

Well now, what a very interesting and almost scary day of heat treating steel. After watching some You Tube videos and one in particular from The National Research Council on tempering and heat treating steel, I felt ready to take the adventure, knowing all that could go wrong, and writing out a step by step procedure, and rehearsing the procedure, then making sure I was following every step, we began. 

Step 1. The Quench: Clean the steel so that it is free of slag, dirt & oil. Prepare the forge, and the quenching container to be in close proximity of each other and heat the Quenching Oil to 130/140 Degrees Fahrenheit, because hot oil has less viscosity and therefore cools quicker than cold oil.

Step 2. Heat the steel to be quenched to between 1450 & 1500 Degrees Fahrenheit (Critical Temperature or the state of nonmagnetic) evenly, so that the entire piece reaches Critical Temperature at the same time. Then quench it in the hot oil being very careful not to cause a flash flare up of the oil, move the steel slowly up and down in the oil to reduce air bubbles until it reaches between 400 /600 Degrees Fahrenheit. 

Step 3. At this point we removed the steel from the quench and placed it between two pieces of angle iron positioned in the vise, and clamped the steel between the angle iron and tighten the vise, this procedure eliminates warping and twisting of the steel and allows it to cool to the touch.

Step 4. When the steel was cooled we removed it from the vise and closely checked it for straightness, hardness, cracks, & cold shuts, etc. Then clean off all the slag created by from the forge, from it and shine it, install the brass guards, and it is ready to temper. 

Step 5. Tempering, this took place when we placed the steel in a preheated oven at 500 Degrees Fahrenheit for a period of one hour and the cooled while remaining in the oven. This results in a beautiful purple colour  with a narrow strip of blue on the edge. This is exactly what we want and where this part of the story ends.  

From here we must clean it, shine it, sharpen it and install the handle, which will take place next week.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

FRIDAY AT THE FORGE

Wow! Yesterday was Friday all ready. First things first Judy is safely in Italy with her best friend Lois and having a grand time, in good temperatures, and fantastic food. I on the other hand stayed at home, to hold down the fort and continue my self imposed forced labour, of working at the forge.

The project this week was to start making a Bowie Knife, Jim Bowie was born in Kentucky on April 10 1796 and died at the Battle of The Alamo in February 1836. Although Jim was not a Square Dancer, nor a caller, we did name the call Alamo Style after that great fight and I'm sure when Square Dancers hear the call "Allemande Left in the Alamo Style" they think of poor old Jim Bowie, and his big old knife. There are many versions of this legionary Bowie Knife and we picked one, in hopes of making something similar. I drew it out and cut it out, set it on a 1/8 piece of sheet stock and drew the image on it. Dave who is great with the zip cut, cut it our as the template. while I started forging a piece of 1/2 inch Spring Steel 2" wide and 10" long and hammering it into the desired shape. 
In the images above you can see my drawing, the templet on the right, and the very rough shape of what will become our Bowie Knife on the left in the lower picture. To get this far was a full day project for both of us, and we are very happy with both our progress and our results. We have learned a great deal about Blacksmithing since we started in October of 2018, with lots left to learn in the future.
That's all I have for today, Take care of yourself and each other and I'll see you when I'm older.