A six-pac of Hamons, please

[Fred.Rowe]

I forged these from those [anti creep] brackets that come from the RxR
They were hardened with 1/16" left on the cutting edge. These blades were clay hardened with a Borax coat. I use the borax to shield the blade from decarb and to bind the clay to the surface of the steel. I apply the borax on top of the clay and the steel as the temp comes up in the blade. It will flow over the blade and the clay as the temp. moves toward critical. The borax will flow into all the recesses where the clay meets the blade and the future hamon will appear. You will notice all the blades have a double hamon except the second from the right, [laying flat]. The clay was applied over the top of the borax on this blade. I believe it is because the borax is not there to fill the voids letting the quench move up into the clay. The best thing to come out of this tecnique happens after the quench. The hardened edge is almost void of scale and there is very little on the rest of the blade. Easy clean up. Jams, Fred :thumbup:

 

[Frank Eaton]

Very nice Fred.

 

[S.Bryan Sayles]

Very nice!! But, ya might want to solder the joint tween the blade and handles though Like them bottles

 

[SKIVIE]

Very nice Fred ! Cant wait to see them finished.

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Touche` Great knife for a bar fight. Fred

 

[elkdoc]

Dang! I've got some of these brackets just lying around. Maybe I oughta get busy butchering a blade from them...

Very nice work!

 

[Will52100]

Cool, now hury up and finish them!

 

[indian george]

Looks COOOOOOOL!!!!

 

[Burchtree]

Very nice!! Great consistency too on those. :thumbup:

 

[cgdavid]

Bear with me.....

Borax? As in launrdy soap?

 

[rhrocker]

Fred, do you liquify the borax somehow (alcohol for instance?). Would PBC work also? I think having 6 at one time pretty much proves your technique!

 

[Polock]

What brackets again? You mean those bent around "spring" deals about 5/8" dia. I might have a source if so.

 

[Greg Obach]

sweet dude.... right on

Greg

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Bear with me.....

Borax? As in launrdy soap?

That is correct [20 mule team borax] It can be found in the detergent isle of most of the big grocery stores. Fred:thumbup:

 

[Fred.Rowe]

Fred, do you liquify the borax somehow (alcohol for instance?). Would PBC work also? I think having 6 at one time pretty much proves your technique!

Robert, I put the powder on dry. I only let the clay set for minutes then start raising the heat in my gas forge. Just as soon as it shows any heat gain I dust the whole blade, including the clayed section, with the powdered borax. I rotate the blade in the heat until the borax starts to liquefy. If need be I recoat the blade until the entire surface is coated. Just about the time the borax flows its time for the blade to go into
the quench. Hope this helps you, Fred

 

[Fred.Rowe]

What brackets again? You mean those bent around "spring" deals about 5/8" dia. I might have a source if so.

Look on this thread
for a picture of said brackets. they are at the top of the page. Fred

[thread]365193[/thread]

 

[cgdavid]

That is correct [20 mule team borax] It can be found in the detergent isle of most of the big grocery stores. Fred:thumbup:

Interesting.....

Thanks.