Hadn't really thought about it before. :) The knives I made before figuring out how to drill holes in 65hrc HSS, hold one of those knives in your hand and rake your thumb over the edge sideways and the blade rings to beat heck. :)
Hollow ground to about .015" helps make them have a ring no other knife has.
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5 minute epoxy and didn't grind+roughen up the tang (as a test) figured it'd last a year, lasted over 20. :)
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Repaired, "20 ton" this time. ;) It's the top one with a fresh-finishing 100 grit sanding job.
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"hidden tang handle for HSS"
The first few handle slabs were grooved using a big-ass milling machine and a .750" ;) wide cutter, these are from a router with a 3/4" wide square groove cutter (used upside down and a "fence" machine-screwed to the face-plate). The difference of working in a machine shop and working as a signal maintainer outside. :)
Thanks since it's a hobby I get to decide what fasteners to use? ;)
That's a 4oz ballpeen. :) I have two 8oz that I actually use more.
This is a story how mis-adventure is the mother of invention.
I was getting the shi... upset, with a piece of malee burl, a really hard wood, but worth the effort. I was hand carving and getting nowhere. There was sweat dripping in my eyes, and in frustration I ripped off my goggles (which were fogging up).
The problem was I still holding onto the extremely sharp thin chisel. The first thought was "I bet that's going to p*ss blood".
Surprisingly it didn't, the blade is thin and razor sharp, so there isn't even a scar, of course it would have been a different story if I'd poked myself 1/4" back and scewered my temple... I got lucky. I only had to deal with the shock of doing it.
Anyway, determined "not" to become a statistic... I thought there has to be a better and faster way to machine wood. I remembered that you can modify a drill press to be a rudimentary wood lathe... so why not a rudimentary mill.
Off to the hardware store and a couple of packets of 1/4" shank router bits later (I bought two packets because there was more variety). My piece of handle material in a machine vice, put in a suitable router bit. Adjusted the speed of the drill press to the fastest setting. Moved the work up to the depth I wanted.
Before I switched on I was thinking "this is probably going to tear my hand off!". So I switched on and carefully started my first cut... okay things were going smoothly, I maintained that level of care until I had finished the first cavity. The next scale was faster.
So gentlemen a drill press "can" be used as a wood mill :-)
Regards Charles P.S. Aw you should use a 4 lb demolition hammer ;-) P.P.S. Oh, forgot to mention cutlers rivets look like cr*p if you don't use a step drill.
My lastest-favorite wood working method is to use a brand spanking new sanding disc on a little hand grinder.
The only thing I've found that'll cut the "end grain" on a new knife handle (like it means business) and not burn or chip it.
Got a 10lb ;) and just bought an old 16lb head.
The 10lb worked fine re-arching the ~5/16" thick leaf springs but wouldn't "move enough" the 5/8" thick overload spring and that's the one I really wanted to modify the most.
Maybe this group won't think I'm nuts? ;)
...have you noticed how the "corner" of the new hammer heads (in the last 30 years or so) are cut back (champhered?) too stinkin much?
While digging through my favorite used tool store's hammer heads, it was so obvious the change that's been made over the last 50 years.
That's just something that's been bothering me for decades and 'til now, been suffering in silence. ;)
The 16lb head is one of the good old-ones and isn't used-up neither.
And a certain size hole in the metal part for the cutler's rivets to hold too.
You can have my share of 'em. ;)
Alvin in AZ ps- the re-arching job turned out real good, right at the maximum change I wanted, not a lift, just a "put 31 years back in 'em" pps- 25 miles on my new ring and pinion (not broke in yet by any means) and my RTV smearing ability's not what I thought it was, it leaks gear oil near the top, of all places :)
Hammer. Good plane irons are forged hollow. Only the modern low-end stuff is ground hollow. This is also why "tapping out the back" is no longer recommended practice on modern irons - grind the edges down instead.
My sen is M2 HSS, ground from power hacksaw blade and otherwise un-heat-treated. The steel you're using it on is pretty soft at the time.
Finally finished the sen and gouge, they cut annealed spring like butter, also shaved a 50 cent piece, cut the quick off my fingers, and cut various other items.
I didn't bother to temper the items, so if I drop them they'll either chip or shatter. Who cares they work :-)
The tools were going to be made from 5160, but I had some old files laying around so it's either O1 or W2. It's definitely red short, so my best guess is that it's probably O1.
After spark testing close to 100 files (not including rasps) I've never seen one that looked even close to O1.
If you got that "hot short" part right (I don't doubt you) then it might have some Cr or V in it?
If it weren't so expensive (how much is postage to Oz?) I'd send you some "known samples". It's easy as anything when you got known samples to compare sparks to.
Tempering a re-heat treated old file in boiling water for 1/2 hour will strengthen it up quite a bit and make it slightly harder, both. No kidding. :) BTDT and read it too. ;)
Very old files, it's probably mystery metal that only a tech analysis can determine, and at $80 a test it's not worth it for small quantities.
Postage is a royal pain to here, and vise versa, but I appreciate the offer. I'll get around to getting a selection of common knife steels some point, so don't worry about it.
I'll try the boiling water, never heard of that before. Have heard of quenching mild steel in brine for limited hardness. I'll definitely give it a go.
Depending on the carbon content and other alloying it can actaully make the steel harder.
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Since most files are about 1.2% carbon, interpolate the tempering line. Some files (5%?) spark-test higher than my known sample of "1.22% high carbon steel".
1095 and "1.22% carbon steel" is hard to separate by spark testing, IME.
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