cpm154/ cpmD2 and steel foil

[Dakota 11]

ok some im going to try and play around with both of these. my questions comes to the ht foil. i was going to get some foil from the tmickly fella. how tight do u guys wrap the foil? do u roll it up tight on the blade or do u make it more like a big envelope and put blade in middle and then seal shut? Also of these 2 steels i desire to make a knife that i can carry into the back country on elk bowhunts and not have to worry about sharpening them. at most i would only want to carry a credit card backed with maybe 220 sandpaper for touch ups. my reason for this is space is limited and any weight i can excluded the better. sounds like both these steels will do this if the ht is right. also i dont have plates to do a plate quench so from what i gather through the search function is a fan on high in front of blade to cool is acceptable. And finally i usually grind my bevels rough in on belt sander then file work it flat and square up my ricasso, am i going to have any problems with these steels pre ht with doing hand file work? thanks

 

[Rob!]

The envelope is kept as small as possible because we want to exclude as much air as possible - even that which starts inside. No need to get silly small, but not a large envelope with the blade in the middlle.

The seams are not rolled, but folded flat - at least twice over - for a good seal. Some makers double wrap - two envelopes. Plate quenching is nice because the hot blade never sees oxygen, so it stays really clean. You can, however, air cool in front of a fan - or oil quench for that matter.

I believe both of these steels benefit significantly from Cryo - at least dry ice/acetone. LN is easier to keep.

I understand the weight control thing. When I was working as a Ranger, I was one of the guys who took the cardboard out of the centre of the toilet paper roll to save weight. Still, a small stone or diamond stone might be nice to have on the blade's first trip - just till you develop a feel for it's performance.

When I got my bighorn, my primary blade (Walmart Cheap) failed in the first couple minutes. I was real glad to have a SAK to finish with. You don't want to dress out an elk with a sharp rock.

Rob!

 

[SteelSlaver]

I have in my wallet 1/2 of the diamond plated metal from one of the cheap plastic diamond stones. Pried it off and cut in 1/2 with band saw. works great if something needs a quick touch up and weight is less than a toilet paper tube

 

[mdoyle]

Dakota,
In thinking of what Rob said...Think of a knife inside of a stailess foil envelope that you shrunk with a food saver. Many people also include a toothpick to eat any O2 left inside the envelop. Also hammer over your rolled edges.
Matt

 

[butcher_block]

tight foil pack and 2x folds geting most the air out of the packet before sealing it up

so far was field sharpening i kept a DMT dia fold folding sharpener and ther now for sale double sided coarse/ medium and medium/ fine pick the one that fits your sharpening style and never look back

 

[Barker]

"that tmickly fella" that's kinda funny. I agree with butch. I put a 1/2" x 1/2" square of white paper folded up in my envelope. They come out real clean. Double fold is a must. I use a small hammer.
-John