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Re: straightening blades - 4 months ago

Tried the hammer on a nice Henckels Professional chef knife... thousands of hits and zero effect using the soft anvil. I gave up and straightened using a 3 point jig in my vise with a little heat. The blade felt hard but is now covered in little dents, so the hammer is deforming the metal but I wasn't getting the desired result. Really weird results with the hammer so far.

36 grit sharpening followed by loaded strop - 4 months ago

I tried sharpening on a worn 36 grit Blaze, finishing with a green compound-loaded leather strop (wood backed). My hypothesis was tiny serrations that would be sharp. Slicing is aggressive with a cool ripping sound. I have long wondered what the edges look like... Edge damage in the belly area from contact with dishes: The damaged area still slice-cuts (draw or push but mostly draw

Sharpening 6-4 Ti with Atoma 140 - 4 months ago

I took about 40 pics for this... just wanted to see what's going on. Destressed edge: After 140 passes 22dps: Started shaving leg hair about 150 passes: Giving up at around 200 passes, alternating and crossing scratch pattern. I started adding force towards the end because I couldn't detect any changes on the last six sets and photos. Shaves leg hair well but will no

straightening blades - 4 months ago

Post heat treat, I sometimes get blades that are no longer straight. My heat treater is far away so simply annealing them and straightening and re-heat treating is prohibitive. I usually use a 3 point set-up in a vise, with some heat. If the blade will fit in the oven it gets a final temper to relieve stress. Eventually I will have a tempering oven that will fit the straightening jig plus b

Re: Flattened natural quartz slab for microbeveling - 4 months ago

Sounds like fun! I work with stone and often get ideas...

Re: Experimental Designs and You - 4 months ago

More woodstove than experiment, I talked to a guy who stacks lumber (so-called softwood) in compact blocks for burning (maybe even nails them) ... if pieces go in loose things get too hot (modern stoves tend not to allow air to be shut off completely) On the other end of the spectrum I sometimes burn Handroanthus (Ipe) and it makes me think of coal. 4 small pieces will fill the woodstove with

Re: Some entertaining product descriptions - 4 months ago

Fun! Some sound AI generated.

Re: A couple newish wood choppers - 4 months ago

Oops somehow missed your questions! The edge was rather obtuse. I can't find a protractor in the house (I've been using basic trig to set up my sharpening jig for years). It ended up mashed. Wood for the bit is Handroanthus (Ipe). I get it from construction sites as scrap decking. End grain makes a better edge. It cuts weak woods poorly but better than I've seen ston

Re: IS ANYONE HERE? - 1 year ago

Here!

Re: Rolling to chipping transition hardness - 2 years ago

I've always liked when my edges fail with a bit of deformation and a bit of chipping with the intended geometry. It feels like the steel is optimized.

Re: alternate tarp material - 3 years ago

Ryan I've heard of ultralight campers using those by taping loops on. One of the important features was using either D rings or tubes (like bits of arrowshaft material) to spread the sheer loads as evenly as possible on the tape. Actually if you don't care too much about the look, you can use the old technique of tying in a pebble for tie-outs... that would be strongest. Or the new

Re: A couple newish wood choppers - 3 years ago

A couple newish wood choppers - 3 years ago

It's more than a dad joke. I like to make things from inappropriate materials to learn about the form and the material. It shows me how things fail. It helps me understand why things are shaped the way they, or were, if looking at a historical tool shape. Also much more fun than making the same old!

alternate tarp material - 3 years ago

I've been experimenting with tarp material for a while. Used to use the standard woven polyethylene but our chickens ate the stringy bits all the time and that turns out not to be good for their guts. Also the strings would get in the lawnmower and snowblower. For the last few years we have used 6mil polyethylene vapor barrier. Turns out our food sealer also welds this material so odd

ultralight firearms - 3 years ago

I've been interested in ultralight firearms (knives too) lately. i think it started when a 6 and 1/4 lb 375 Ruger arrived. I have remotely tested a 2lb (908gram) 12 ga with buckshot. Recoil appeared to be fierce as it disabled the remote firing cradle. An online recoil calculator estimates the recoil at 110 ftlb! Kind of extreme. A 1 lb 22 rimfire would be neat, or perhaps a 2.5l

Re: survival forum? - 3 years ago

Yay, thank you!

survival forum? - 3 years ago

Is there interest in a survival/prepper/bushcraft forum here? Besides my interest I mean

Re: Blade Magazine: Offset Handled Knives - 3 years ago

I have some personal designs from way back with the offset... reduces mass and drag/stiction but keeps knuckle clearance

Re: The Myth Of Fast Cutting Diamond Stones - 3 years ago

I have come to a similar conclusion about diamond plates for sharpening, though I hadn't really thought about it. I was just disappointed in the Atoma 140 for thinning edges. Diamond plates are often marketed for flattening other stones. Should we consider that maybe a SiC stone for flattening AlO is faster? Or perhaps a steel lapping plate with loose grit?

Re: Thanx much for creating this forum - 3 years ago

Add my gratitude to the list. It took me a while to figure out Cliff had passed away. He and the original forum were hugely influential on my blades... Hopefully this one will be too!