- Joined
- Mar 6, 2006
- Messages
- 186
Blade : 5160 - 4 1/4"
Guard : 416 Stainless
Handle : Stabilized Buckeye Burl by K&G from Ray Kirk. - 4 1/8"
Pin : 416 Stainless false pins
Overall : 8 3/8"
Here we have a blade I forged out at the ABs Pineywoods Hammer-in last spring. Forged from 5160 with Lin Rhea watching and providing the tools.
Handle was from some I got in a trade with Ray Kirk, was a small block but new it'd be good for a smaller knife. Liked the look of it so grabbed it.
I did run into one problem with this blade. The pins. When I went to drill the hole in the tang, my bit just wasn't going through. I started out trying 1/16" failed at that so flipped it over and tried 1/8" through the other side in same spot. No go. So drilled other hole out to 1/8" and plugged both sides with some pin stock.
It's a small enough knife that it won't see any real hard stresses to it, so the epoxy should hold it just fine. Now maybe someone can offer a solution. I drew the ricasso and tang area probably twice with a propane torch to soften for filing. Having little luck with that, I bought a bottle of MAPP, which seemed to work much better, that is till I got to drilling the tang.
I know 5160 can actually air harden in small cross sections, so I'm thinking a combo of that plus the other steel drawing the heat out was quenching it a bit and keeping it too hard to drill.
So mybe clay up the ricasso and tang area next time? What are some other suggestions? Thinking I may have to look at the pricing of some carbide bits, but last I looked they were fairly expensive.
I've got another 5160 blade forged the day before or after this one at the same hammer-in. I'm thinking I may order some items to do a take-down style build so a pin won't be needed through the tang, still be good to find a solution.
Beau Erwin
Guard : 416 Stainless
Handle : Stabilized Buckeye Burl by K&G from Ray Kirk. - 4 1/8"
Pin : 416 Stainless false pins
Overall : 8 3/8"
Here we have a blade I forged out at the ABs Pineywoods Hammer-in last spring. Forged from 5160 with Lin Rhea watching and providing the tools.
Handle was from some I got in a trade with Ray Kirk, was a small block but new it'd be good for a smaller knife. Liked the look of it so grabbed it.
I did run into one problem with this blade. The pins. When I went to drill the hole in the tang, my bit just wasn't going through. I started out trying 1/16" failed at that so flipped it over and tried 1/8" through the other side in same spot. No go. So drilled other hole out to 1/8" and plugged both sides with some pin stock.
It's a small enough knife that it won't see any real hard stresses to it, so the epoxy should hold it just fine. Now maybe someone can offer a solution. I drew the ricasso and tang area probably twice with a propane torch to soften for filing. Having little luck with that, I bought a bottle of MAPP, which seemed to work much better, that is till I got to drilling the tang.
I know 5160 can actually air harden in small cross sections, so I'm thinking a combo of that plus the other steel drawing the heat out was quenching it a bit and keeping it too hard to drill.
So mybe clay up the ricasso and tang area next time? What are some other suggestions? Thinking I may have to look at the pricing of some carbide bits, but last I looked they were fairly expensive.
I've got another 5160 blade forged the day before or after this one at the same hammer-in. I'm thinking I may order some items to do a take-down style build so a pin won't be needed through the tang, still be good to find a solution.
Beau Erwin
. Lin