clay coating question

J.McDonald Knives

J.McDonald Knives

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Jan 28, 2007
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can i use clay kitty litter for clay coating? also what is the proper method to clay coating? do you just put a thick coating of it on the blade? does it need to be uniform? could someone explain it to me in detail better? thanks.
 
Try a search and see what you come up with. Or try it out yourself and then post the results. Exhaust all your other options for finding out then post the question when you still have not found your answer. Trial and error can sometimes be the best learning experience!




The problem with common sense is that it isn't!! :rolleyes:
 
i always like to learn how to do something the right way first. thats why i always ask how to do something or read about it rather than trial and error. also helps keep me from getting frustrated. there are times when i can figure stuff out but other times i play it safe and ask questions. but thats just me.
 
When we gunna see some knives PimpinSquee?
It sounds like you have been on the job for months, anything coming through or have I missed it?
 
you missed 2 knives that i completed. i have hardly worked on a knife within the past week because i have been pretty busy helping mom out and and also i cant work outside in my smithy when its raining and neighborhood assoc. has quiet time from 10pm to 8am. that means i have another hour and a half to finsh off this beer, get a couple of questions answered, and chatting with a couple of buddies before i can go outside to fire up the chainsaw to cut up some oak brush for starting my bbq pit once its dried out. then i have other stuff to do since im off work today.
 
Well, so much for your getting some sleep.
Jacob, do a search, or go on Don Fogg's site and read his tutorial. This question is run through at least monthly.

No go to bed.
Stacy
 
i fell asleep yesterday afternoon once i got home from work. im good on sleep now. ill look at Fogg's site. thanks Stacy.
 
Couldn't have been afternoon. You were still posting at 7PM CST and were back at it at 3:45AM.

Spend your time reading the tutorials and great info available by searching this and other sites. Endless posting, just to tell about cutting brush, etc. is getting you a very bad reputation. A lot of work and planning can be done indoors and without running the noisy tools.Use your time well and you will gain in many ways, not just in knife making.

On a side note, learn to have a regular sleeping routine. Even if you aren't all that tired, go to bed at ,say,11PM. Get up at 7AM. It will take a while, but your body clock will reset (circadian rhythm) and you will start seeing many beneficial changes. It will be much easier to quit smoking. You may even calm down and work in a more orderly fashion.

While in the Dutch Uncle mode:
Try not to jump from thing to thing so fast. You have been designing the ultimate skinner knives, planning on doing a Bowie, planning fillet knives, planning on building new equipment, talking about designer quenchants,and of course giving lots of sage advise on knifemaking and forging.....all the while you not quite made two knives.Yes, you have built a forge and put together some equipment, but you spent more time posting about them than using them. You don't need more equipment, you need more hands on time.
You may have caught the common word...PLANNING. You spend all you time jumping to new things and don't learn the old ones, heck you don't even finish the old ones. Settle down and make a plan. Say, "I am going to make six knives over the next three months." Decide what style they will be (pick one) and plan the material and construction technique. Make one at a time. Finish it completely. Post a picture and the specs. Move to the next knife. Repeat five times. Then take a photo of all six and also take a critical look at the progress. You should be able to see improvements in ability, design, fit and finish, and quality. The post that will make you popular is the one that says, "SIX KNIFE COMPARISON -HOW DO YOU THINK I'M DOING"

No one on this forum wants you (or anyone else) to fail. They want you to relax and learn knifemaking.

To put it into cowboy talk:
You can go many miles at a walking pace, but even a quarter mile is hard at a full gallop.

Stacy
 
PimpinSquee said:
can i use clay kitty litter for clay coating? also what is the proper method to clay coating? do you just put a thick coating of it on the blade? does it need to be uniform? could someone explain it to me in detail better? thanks.
Click to expand...

PS, I think some Kitty Litters are just dryed clay. I think that some knife makers use it so i guess it works.
If I remember correctly, the problems some guys ran into with just clay alone is that you have to make sure the clay dryes correctly and does not crack on you.

I have used fireplace clay myself.
I believe you just place the clay on the areas you want to cool more slowly.
It all depends on the type of steel you got. some guys with different types of steel will even thin down some clay with water and then coat the full blade with the slurry.
But for the most part, and for a new guy starting out, I would suggest that you just keep the clay on the areas you want to slow-cool, and then try to keep all the clay about the same thickness.

Most of the time the coating of clay will slow the cooling of the blade down during the quench. This slow cooling keeps that part of the blade from getting hard.
Now in some cases they use a thin slurry of clay to cover the areas of the blade that want to get hard. the reason this works is that the thin coating will help stop air pockets from forming. I have had a few water quenches form a air pocket next to a blade and it screws up the quench and in the final blade there is a mark that you cant get rid of.
 
thanks for the help guys. Allan answered the main part of the question. ok now i know what i wanted to find out about clay coating. thanks again.
 
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