Blownnova's Custom in the Works.

[Blownnova]

I find I have a bigger grin with every update! The knife is really looking great, thank you again for including us in the process. I've been around heat treating a blade before but this is quite different than I have seen. The science and chemistry involved is very interesting.
How long did it take you to learn and get good at the heat treating process?

 

[atavist]

Fortunately I had/have a great teacher/friend (not going to name drop on here) who shared his decsdes of knowledge and experience... so I didn't have to self educate from scratch.

 

[atavist]

We are now in the final stretch...

Got my Ames rockwell tester today. Checked calibration with the test blocks and she is dead on... Checked Blownnova's blade in three spots and she is a consistent 56+/- RC... Dead on the ASM TTT Diagram for an austemper at 475F.

I went ahead and hand sanded her back to a consistent 200 grit this afternoon and will finish sanding her tomorrow to 800 and then lay up the handles...

here's a pic of my new (to me) Ames Model 4 RHC tester

 

[Blownnova]

Looks like a very fun and very useful tool, how long before every knife in the house has been rockwell tested?

56 sounds perfect to me, though I don't know that much about this particular steel yet. I am glad you do, you hit the RC exactly where you told me you expected it would be. I imagine edge retention should be excellent! Coupled with what you taught me about convex edges earlier she should perform very well. Can't wait to see her with handles!!

 

[RX-79G]

After primary forging she was put back in the HT oven to thermal cycle (stress relieved) 3 times for 15 minutes each at 1200 degrees, and then annealed at 1450 and into the vermiculite bin to cool over the next few hours.

will post additional updates as we move forward.

No normalizing? Or do you consider that step part of primary forging?

 

[atavist]

No normalizing? Or do you consider that step part of primary forging?

Normalizing is part of the stress relief cycles... I just run them at lower than ASM recommended temps (1400f i believe in this case)... I find this generates a smaller grain size than the higher temps and enhances ultimate ductility.

 

[RX-79G]

Normalizing is part of the stress relief cycles... I just run them at lower than ASM recommended temps (1400f i believe in this case)... I find this generates a smaller grain size than the higher temps and enhances ultimate ductility.

Normalizing is different than temperature cycling for grain size. It takes place in the forging temperature range - 1600F for 1084.

 

[atavist]

Got her hand finished to 800 grit today, then did a light acid etch (for corrosion resistance) and laid up the handles...

Here is a pic of the rough layup, and then her set up glued and screwed... The scales are bedded using Acraglas Gel. I used to use West System epoxy but as it is a much higher viscosity the joints seemed a bit starved to me and I wasn't confident that the epoxy rivets were as solid as I wanted them to be. The Acraglass gel spreads on like warm butter and gives me much more confidence that the rivets aren't starved. Not that it would matter at all with loveless bolts but why not have both (I still use slow curing West System on hidden tang knives, as there is no risk of the epoxy running out)

 

[Blownnova]

Looking great, thanks for the update!

 

[atavist]

Finished grinding and polishing the handle this morning.

Now to the leather worker (my wife), and then final sharpening and polishing and she will be all done.

 

[kagato82]

That looks amazing! You do good work, sir.

 

[Blownnova]

Looks amazing! How does she feel and swing?

 

[atavist]

She feels great to me.... I kept as much meat in the grip as I could (knowing you have big hands) so she fits my xxl hands wonderfully. Balance is just at the plunge so lively if not super choppy.

 

[Blownnova]

Sounds perfect!

 

[NeverMore1701]

Looks awesome!

 

[atavist]

And here she is leathered up and ready for shipping.

While I generally prefer the aesthetic of a taco style sheath the sandwich style was necessary for this knife in order to recess the integral guard (which is pointy and you wouldn't want poking you in the leg) Nothing fancy but rugged and functional.

 

[Blownnova]

The knife and sheath both turned out fantastic, I can't wait to try them out. Thank you so much and please thank your wife for me. You guys are both very skilled and it was a pleasure watching the process unfold. I learned a great deal!