bury blade in coals ??

G

GMBlades

Joined
Apr 27, 2014
Messages
70
This weekend I want to HT my third blade. I use a charcoal forge and the first time it must have got pretty damn hot as it melted over an inch off the tip of a drop point. Second time around went much better but this time I have an idea and would like to hear your comments.
What I plan to do is cut a kerf through a new refractory brick and lay that onto of the coals and forced air. Then I will lay the blade in that, spine down during the heat treat. That way I can keep a closer eye on the steel. Currently i just go by non magnetic, but if all goes well I will have a thermocouple and digital read out before then. Our instrumentation guy at work says he knows exactly what I need and he has lots that he has no use for. Weather its a thermocouple or something similar, I'm not sure because when he was explaining it to me I was busy on the phone with a client.
So what are your thought on the refractory brick idea, with charcoal, forced air and 1084 steel at .125?

Thanks all,
Grant
 
My first thought is that you would be a lot more likely to be taken seriously if you had chosen a user-name other than "monkeypuke".

My second thought is that your HT plan will probably work OK. 1084 is pretty forgiving.
 
A photo of your forge, the blower, and the charcoal that you use is probably needed to give much of an answer.

Properly used, a coal/charcoal forge is fairly good for HT. Controlling the air blast and making the "house" for the blade takes practice. If you are melting the steel, you have it far too hot.

FWIW, a TC in a charcoal forge will be pretty much useless.



I'm with James on your name. It is going to greatly affect what people think of you and your work....and not in a good way. I would really suggest you change it, but that would be your decision.
 
Am I right in thinking MonkeyPuke is the name of your favorite trolling spoon for Salmon? Here in W MI it's a hot spoon for big lake trolling.

Anyway good luck and keep us posted. I learn a lot from these threads.

Jay
 
Get a steel pipe about the right length and diameter and set it in your forge above the fire. You should be able to get the pipe up to a bright orange. When you put your blade into the pipe you can watch it heat up and control the color of the blade a lot better than when it is buried in the coals. The pipe is called a muffle and you might need to cover it with charcoal to help keep the heat in.
 
Am I right in thinking MonkeyPuke is the name of your favorite trolling spoon for Salmon? Here in W MI it's a hot spoon for big lake trolling.
Click to expand...
That is correct. I's so hot it's what I named my boat as well. I belong to about a dozen forums under the same user name and have not once been critisized about my handle...only here. lol
FWIW, a TC in a charcoal forge will be pretty much useless.
Click to expand...
Im only wanting this fellow to hook me up with something that will measure temps not control.
I'm at work now but should be able to post a few pics tonight.
Basically its a small gas bbq converted over with refractory grog, refractory cement, clay and silica forming the insides. Tuyere down the middle hooked up to hair dryer.Since the melt of the first blade, (using a hair dryer on low) I decided to install a dimmer switch leading to the hair dryer. This worked well as second attempt turned out much better and holds an edge well. I started this thread because even with a stock reduction knife, a lot of time goes into it before hardening process and I was hoping not to melt another one and also have a digital read out that I could also use to my advantage.
I was wondering also if I would see more decarb if I put the blade on this groved refractory brick then if it was burried in the coals since maybe it would in an atmosphere with more oxygen?
Oh shit boss here...gotta run.
 
james terrio said:
My first thought is that you would be a lot more likely to be taken seriously if you had chosen a user-name other than "monkeypuke".

My second thought is that your HT plan will probably work OK. 1084 is pretty forgiving.
Click to expand...
Says you... "James Terrio"...
 
I like your idea of putting the spine down and blade up, as the thinner parts heat up faster. You can also better see if you are about to melt the crap out of your blade. Also, it might heat more evenly if you apply the heat closest to the spine. I have a fairly small diameter forge (a foot or so) so I'm going to cut a vertical slot in it so I can lay longer workpieces horizontally in the middle of the forge.
 
I wasn't able to acquire the TC before the weekend so I used the melting salt as a guide. Worked really well. Hardened and tempered well for me.
Just need to shape the guard more, and finish sanding and polishing. Those are just tape marks on the blade.
I'm very happy with this one.<a href="http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/weedwhacker1/media/my%20knives/knife3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img
BTW the guy at Canadian Knifemaker Supplies told me the 1084 is Pickled and Annealed. 95% spherodized carbides.
[URL=http://s1177.photobucket.com/user/weedwhacker1/media/my%20knives/knife3-1.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1177.photobucket.com/albums/x360/weedwhacker1/my%20knives/knife3-1.jpg[/URL]


 
Last edited:
Looks excellent.

Try and "round" things a bit more on the handle. Those hard 90° angles are way too blocky, and will be uncomfortable in use. The guard should have a taper toward the tip, too.
 
Bo T said:
Get a steel pipe about the right length and diameter and set it in your forge above the fire. You should be able to get the pipe up to a bright orange. When you put your blade into the pipe you can watch it heat up and control the color of the blade a lot better than when it is buried in the coals. The pipe is called a muffle and you might need to cover it with charcoal to help keep the heat in.
Click to expand...

This is your ticket to success MonkeyPuke
 
I used charcoal and coke exclusively for the first couple years I forged. The trick is to never just set the blade in and leave it. You have to constantly be moving in and out, turning and flipping the blade. Watch Murray Carter heat treat, he is always moving the blade and checking the color of the steel
 
Thanks Guys.
I did use the pipe and did put the blade in and out continually until it hit the temps. Worked great.
The shaping is not finished by any means Stacy, and I couldn't agree with you more. That's the plan for tonight, I was just anxious to post a couple progress pics.
Definitely some good advice on the forum. Thanks to all.

By the way, I've paid for a name change, it just hasn't gone through yet. New handle will soon be GMBlades ( Need all the responses possible at my level !!)
 
"By the way, I've paid for a name change, it just hasn't gone through yet. New handle will soon be GMBlades ( Need all the responses possible at my level !!)"

Dang, I kind of thought your original handle sounded like an exotic kung-fu style.
 
Finished the knife! Even finally got my user name changed...took a while but done.
All rounded out and less " blocky ", tapered as suggested etc. Used the melting salt trick for temps on the 1084 and also used a squashed pipe as a muffle. Sharpened beautifully and just glides through writing paper.I'm very pleased with the results and know how I can improve on my next blade.
My friend at work has hooked me up with a TC and digital readout, free of charge which will work very nicely in the future for determining temps (not controlling).
I even made my first sheath for this knife.
9.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
11.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
12.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 
Nice knife, although it suffers from the same ailment that many of us beginners inflict on our knives... blocky handle syndrome! You should round the edges more and make it sort of "Apple seed" shaped when viewed from the butt, with the edge side being the pointy end of the "Apple seed" other than that, it looks pretty darn good! Keep it up!
 
I like to call my blade edge an apple seed ( convex grind), and my handle shape an egg (ovoid). Handles are most comfortable when smaller at the bottom than the top, ...... much like my old girlfriends :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top