Beginner questions

Lucky2Last

Lucky2Last

Joined
Apr 10, 2023
Messages
12
1. I hate wasting scrap metal. I have a ton of leftover bolts/screws, scraps, steel shavings, etc. I had this idea that I would use it all to make cannister damascus for guards and pommels. I collect all of the mild and high carbon steel shavings and plan to use it as the powder that fills in the cannister. Everything else will just be random steel that's cut up and thrown together. In my head, this seems like a no-brainer, but I also don't know what I should be expecting. Is there any risk of forging a welded can that has steel that might be galvanized? What about stainless? Will that bind? Does this idea even seem realistic, or is it coming from a place of ignorance?

2. Annealing with a forge. I can get free, used 5160 saw blades, and I figured they would make great fillet knives. My thought is that it would be best to anneal the steel first, since most of it has a slight bend to it. I get most of my information from knifesteel nerds, but their annealing is always done in ovens (which makes sense). Is it possible to do with a forge where it's much harder to control the temp? Is it even necessary? I could just do basic normalizing, hardening, and tempering, but I feel like it's going to want to take that bend back.

Thanks in advance. I always appreciate the feedback you all provide.
 
I'd be concerned about using galvanized metal in your billet. Galvanized steel is coated with zinc which will become a gas when heated in a forge, and zinc is toxic. I suppose with proper breathing gear you could do it, but I'd just avoid it personally. Dying over scrap metal is definitely not worth it.

Annealing can be done with a forge. The method I use is to heat the metal to non-magnetic and put it in vermiculite to cool slowly. I've heard that some people will do annealing as the last operation of the day, and then just leave the metal in the forge after turning it off. The firebricks retain heat and allow the metal to cool slowly.

None of that beats using an oven but it has worked pretty well for me.
 
As always, thanks again. It's appreciated.

My forge will be outside before doing any of this, and the cannister will be welded. I guess I was just curious if anyone knew if the gas would remain in the container and come out upon opening or if it would burn up inside the container. I don't know much about it, but I figured if anyone would know, it would be someone on this forum.

I will try your annealing method. I just don't want my fillet knife to turn a direction and get stuck that way. Trial and error, I guess. I do other stuff, too... just thought this would be a simple way to turn some knives in a fishing town.
 
Just to repeat a regular statement I make about galvanized metal and other wives tales.

1) It is not good to breath any fumes or smoke - TRUE
1.5) Galvanized metal is worthless in knifemaking - True
2) Heating galvanized metal does not release zinc, which is toxic - FALSE. It releases zinc oxide, which is almost inert ... and harmless.
3) Metal fume fever, which is what welders get from breathing too much fumes from galvanized metal burning and welding is not fatal.
4) Abalone shell will not release cyanide and kill you if you grind it. It is calcium carbonate.
5) Poinsettia plants are not deadly toxic as everyone will tell you. They are about as toxic as lettuce. THis misinformation is so widespread that they taught it in Med school for a long time. It turned out no one had actually done a toxicity study on the plant ... and whne someone did it was non-toxic. The story about it being poisonous is still rampant 30 years after it was debunked.
6) You don't want to even think about taking or using Spanish Fly unless you want a blistered pecker. The stories from your youth were pure fantasy.
 
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