Beckerhead Knife Making and Modification Thread

[NixKustoms]

Very cool daizee! I dig your etching on the spine mang. And that you're marking what steel. I may have to start doing that.

 

[daizee]

Very cool daizee! I dig your etching on the spine mang. And that you're marking what steel. I may have to start doing that.

Thanks, Nick!
When I ordered my stencils, I laid out the whole sheet and included my standard steel types all scaled to fit. I realized that while I remember every steel of every single knife I've made (which is weird and insane), nobody needs my head and email inbox to be the lookup database. And it would be nice for it to be ok to forget some day...

 

[Zuluninja]

Had fun with the Zomstro, now gotta find something to destroy the necker is going to a very good friend; got a new mission, and it is to gift a handmade knife from me in the hands of the people dear to my heart.

 

[Zuluninja]

This one is going to my uncle when the sheath is finished

 

[iwouldhurtafly]

Daiz that spine makers mark is so much win, very nice.

 

[daizee]

Thanks, fellas. I sized the mark so it would just barely fit on my thicker steels. It's fun doing it on the un-polished pieces - I just use the etch mode, not 'mark' so it comes out bright on the dark surface.

Zulu, that's hawt! Moar pix!

 

[NixKustoms]

Yeah Zulu, moar pix mang!

 

[Zuluninja]

on it, making holes in the sheath now

 

[Zuluninja]

will probably be finished tomorrow; still have to oil/seal/paint/wax/stitch and make the strap. 440C with yellowheart scales, stainless pins and gutted 550 wrap in turk's head and crisscross

and this is a recycled piece of a broken SOGfari machete, pinless guava scales (heavy grooved tang and scales, gave up trying to drill thru hardened steel) and I believe it's horse hide sheath; this leather has a cartilage-like layer in the middle that makes it a PITA to work with, some research leads me to believe it may be from a horse, from some pieces I brought back from Nicaragua

 

[NJBillK]

Nice looking pieces.
A quick tip for drilling hardened steel? Carbide bits for glass and tile will work.
Go slow, Very slow and use a bunch of cutting oil.

 

[NixKustoms]

1084 heat treat... 1500° right. Do I need to soak it at temp at all? I'm going to oil quench in 125° oil. Temper? 425° for 1 hour? Two hours? Once? Twice? I'm thinking about doing a couple pieces tomorrow.

 

[NJBillK]

Once it hits non-magnetic (1414°), leave it in for a shade brighter, (1500° is fine) no soak and you can go right into 125°-130° oil. Don't sweep it side to side, go blade to spine and up and down to reduce the warpage risk.

If your oil temp is too low you run the risk of a gas jacket and not cooling fast enough.

Tempering twice at two hours @ 400° will land you around 59-60 rc and you should have plenty of stability to wood work. Though 1084 does respond slightly to a third soak.

If you are planning on a chopper, I would look into the temps a bit for definitive numbers so you don't cook your blade, though 2 hrs@twice at 415°-420° might be a good starting point.

 

[NixKustoms]

Thanks bro!

 

[daizee]

http://www.cashenblades.com/steel/1084.html

re: oil
You're using canola or peanut, right?

 

[NixKustoms]

Canola oil, yes.

I've got that page bookmarked. My concern is temper time, and how many cycles.

 

[daizee]

Canola oil, yes.

I've got that page bookmarked. My concern is temper time, and how many cycles.

NJBillK's advice is good, though 1084 is much more time/temp sensitive than stainless and tool steels. I usually run two 1-hour tempers.

 

[NixKustoms]

Thanks fellas! I'll run a couple today and see how it goes.

 

[dave19113]

Had fun with the Zomstro, now gotta find something to destroy the necker is going to a very good friend; got a new mission, and it is to gift a handmade knife from me in the hands of the people dear to my heart.

That cleaver looks awesome... just picked one up, KaBar has em on clearance on their site for $45.00 I couldn't resist a buy...... I was wondering what a strip and patina would look like on such a big piece of steel.... awesome....

 

[Zuluninja]

thanks for the tip, NJBillK, will have to try that. dave19113, after stripping the blade I splashed it with diluted pcb etchant, let it sit for a couple of minutes then wiped the blade with a rag soaked in pcb, followed by a regular water and dishwasher soap wash, dry and another wipe with oil.

 

[NJBillK]

Baking soda will neutralize the pcb etchant. This will make it easier to handle when finished as it will be safer for bare skin.
Just be careful since it will expand like a middle school volcano on steroids. Use a little baking soda and let it sit, then a little more and let it sit, over and over.