David Wesner - modified "Gus" model camp knife - WIP- Coop pics added!

[xaman]

Keep it up David, this is cool.

 

[David Wesner]

Keep it up David, this is cool.

Thanks Eli :thumbup:


I have a few more progress pics to add.

FWIW, the ladder dies I modified in my mill worked much better, allowing me to more easily (and accurately) index the billet.

Due to the nature of the forces at work, and the fact, to maintain consistency, I laddered from the same side each and every heat, the billet tends to bow.

The easiest way for me to straighten everything back out is to use my big 'ol wooden thumper hammer and my anvil :thumbup:

Works every time

After straightening, I went through a couple of forge normalizing cycles.
When I get the blade a little further along I'll do more precision normalizing cycles using my kiln.

After a little cooling I took the billet back to my mill, knocked all of the high spots produced from the ladder dies down, then moved to the surface grinder for a little dusting.

The knife is starting to look more like a knife now.

You'll see that in the next series of pictures

Check back soon :thumbup:

 

[RogerP]

I gotta get me a big wooden thumper!

Roger

 

[ScottRoush]

I handled this thumper for a second. It is indeed a formidable, awesome tool suitable for only the most delicate, fine detail work. I also want one.

Great WIP Dave....

 

[NickWheeler]

David- I'd never in a million years think of myself like that, but I really appreciate the kind words.

I'm loving this thread! Your ladder dies are pretty darn similar to mine (the design for mine, thanks to Mike Quesenberry thanks to Devin Thomas )

I still can't get over you wearing optivisors for forging! I'm not trying to be a smart ass about your vision, it just seems like it would be really hard to forge with those things on.

+1 to Nathan's comment about machinists' approach to knifemaking... ESPECIALLY a dyed in the wool tool & die guy and even MORE ESPECIALLY when he goes to the dark side and starts HAMMERING on hot steel!

Great stuff, thanks for doing this David and Roger!

CANNOT WAIT to see that gem grade Koa shine with some ladder patterned steel!!!!

 

[David Wesner]

I gotta get me a big wooden thumper!

Roger

I can't remember who it was that posted on BladeForums, the first wooden thumper I'd seen ??
Whomever it was, Thanks :thumbup: imho it's a must have hammer/tool for the Bladesmith.

I made mine from a small (~3" dia. x ~8" L.) block of hard maple firewood and a broken shovel handle

She's seen a lot of hot steel, unfortunately I see a replacement for the old girl coming soon

I handled this thumper for a second. It is indeed a formidable, awesome tool suitable for only the most delicate, fine detail work. I also want one.

Great WIP Dave....

A pic just for you Scott

And thanks for taking part in this thread :thumbup: I really, really appreciate it

 

[Karl B. Andersen]

David, I'm glad to see you are going to do your Performance Test at Troy.
I'll be there to cheer you on, buddy.
See you soon.

 

[David Wesner]

David- I'd never in a million years think of myself like that, but I really appreciate the kind words.

I'm loving this thread! Your ladder dies are pretty darn similar to mine (the design for mine, thanks to Mike Quesenberry thanks to Devin Thomas )

I still can't get over you wearing optivisors for forging! I'm not trying to be a smart ass about your vision, it just seems like it would be really hard to forge with those things on.

+1 to Nathan's comment about machinists' approach to knifemaking... ESPECIALLY a dyed in the wool tool & die guy and even MORE ESPECIALLY when he goes to the dark side and starts HAMMERING on hot steel!

Great stuff, thanks for doing this David and Roger!

CANNOT WAIT to see that gem grade Koa shine with some ladder patterned steel!!!!

I know it brother, you're just too darn humble somebody had to say it

I got my ladder dies the same time I got my press. Just the die blocks though. I had to tack them to the holder plates.
In hind site, I sure wish I'd have known I needed to do the modification on them .......before welding them to the holder plates at 39*42' 13"

It made it a real p-i-t-a !! Even if I would have tacked them to the plates square to an edge I could have simply chucked them up in my vise and milled............. but nooooo, I had to tack them at some goofy angle

Phhh !

Just a simple modification. I milled the grooves ~ 1/8" deeper and opened the slots up ~ .025 to allow a bit more clearance. There was also a "half rail" on the front and back of one of the dies. I got rid of that too while it was on the mill. IMO is was creating indexing problems for me.
Those 2 simple modifications made a very big difference in the ladder patterning process, all for the good :thumbup:

Opti-visor's are just to see the camera view finder. I usually never forge with them on. Mostly, when you see pics of me forging with them it's because I forgot to take them off. Notice that they're flipped up and out of my vision.

You're right though, it would be darn near impossible to forge while looking through them, considering they're something like 10" focal length. That would take care of the eyelashes now wouldn't it

Thanks again for checking back Nick :thumbup: :thumbup:

 

[David Wesner]

David, I'm glad to see you are going to do your Performance Test at Troy.
I'll be there to cheer you on, buddy.
See you soon.

Thanks Karl I can't wait !! It's good to know I'll have friends there root'in for me :thumbup:



:thumbup:

 

[David Wesner]

I was able to get a bit more work done on the blade.

This next pic shows me dusting the thickness on my surface grinder.

And just after grinding. The thickness as it sits now is ~ .260
I'm fully expecting all of the low spots that are showing to clean-up ( as I'm sure Roger is too )

Being a Camp Knife, I want to have a finished thickness at the ricasso of ~ .230 - .240

And not too much distal taper, which, imho is more appropriate on a Fighter.

If done correctly, a good Camp Knife, again, IMHO, will maintain a little "whack factor" at the sweet spot.
You know, when there's some kindling that needs splitting in camp :thumbup:

 

[David Wesner]

I did a quick etch to get an idea of how my pattern looks.

So far I like what I see :thumbup:

And a few pictures after some rough grinding ........ at 40 grit

Looks like all of the areas of concern have pretty much cleaned up.
I still have one more semi-finish grinding cycle prior to hardening and tempering and then finish grinding after heat treat, so no worries in that regard :thumbup:

Now is when I'll start the first of what will be several thermal cycles in my kiln.
The first will be normalizing cycles.


Talk to you guys and gals later (are there any gals out there ??)

I know this is redundant, but again, I can't thank everyone enough for checking this thread out

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you :thumbup:

 

[RogerP]

Lookin' real good so far.

Roger

 

[stabber]

For sure You lucky Dog

Great WIP and pics David. The one through the Press definitely was awesome!!

I have a big touch of Ahgida after seeing that Knife bent!! I'm rooting for ya as well:thumbup:

Lookin' real good so far.

Roger

 

[David Wesner]

Lookin' real good so far.

Roger

Excellent ! :thumbup: When you're happy, I'm happy

For sure You lucky Dog

Great WIP and pics David. The one through the Press definitely was awesome!!

I have a big touch of Ahgida after seeing that Knife bent!! I'm rooting for ya as well:thumbup:

Thanks Ricky Thanks for following along, Thanks for posting, Thanks for everything :thumbup:

You've always been AAA+ , #1 in my book

And there ya go again, before I can even reply to your post, I had to go and google "the word of the day"

Ahgida You never cease to amaze me


Thanks again Brother !

 

[Danbo]

How you gettin that nice curly grind at the spine; you grinding with a disc?

 

[David Wesner]

How you gettin that nice curly grind at the spine; you grinding with a disc?

Hey Danbo ! , thanks for checking out the build :thumbup:

That nice curly grind at the spine is just done on my flat platen (I use a KMG fwiw)
I adjust tracking so the belt hangs over the platen edge about 1/4-5/16". Which edge, is of course dependant on what side of the blade I'm grinding.
If you're having a tough time getting the same look, I've found a few tricks that might help you out. As always, I can only speak for myself when it comes to technique.
In regards to the radius at the spine, rather than sneaking up into the plunge, I establish it right away with a YF weight 40 grit belt.
IMHO, the fact that there's no backing on the part of the belt hanging over the edge allows the belt to blend a smooth transition, or radius, into the main blade grind.
After getting the radius or plunge roughed in, I switch to an yf weight 80 grit belt (I use the 3M 967's, the 40 grit and the 80 grit yellow belts), and again, with belt hanging over the edge, start right at the plunge area. When I start at the plunge I try to move down the blade in one smooth motion.
I've found I can't spend too much time at the plunge area if I want to maintain that sweeping plunge look. What happens if I do is, I end up chasing the grind further and further up the blade, making that sweeping radius smaller and smaller.
After I get the radius established and the blade grind to 80 grit with the stiff belts I switch to a 120 grit 3M 707E belts. Again, I don't spend to much time at the plunge area at this time.
I usually harden and temper at 120 grit.
After the blade is hardened I can spend a little more time in that plunge area with finer grit belts during post HT grinding/clean-up. But again, you can still, even when the blade has been hardened, end up chasing that radius higher and higher. Most times, if I want to maintain that sweeping plunge look, I'll end up with a little more hand finishing than I like, but just in that plunge area.

That's pretty much all I've got for ya Danbo I hope it helps, even if just a little.

I guess I could have simply answered your question by just saying "No", I'm not grinding with a disk I tell so many folks who come to my shop " there are no secrets here" I'll give you everything I've got when it comes to knifemaking and machining technique and skills.

I can't remember who the knifemaker was that said "You can copy everything in my shop except for my name" That's exactly how it works in my shop too :thumbup:

I wish you lived closer Danbo, instead of describing it, I'd just show you

Again, Thanks so much for taking part in the thread. It is very much appreciated :thumbup:

 

[David Wesner]

Ok, in regards to yesterdays progress pics .....................

After moving the last batch of pics from my memory card to my PC, I left my friggin card in the computer.

Every picture I took yesterday is stuck in the cameras internal memory............... and I can't find the *&%6$ cord to move them out :grumpy: :grumpy:

So we're all just going to have to close our eyes for a minute and imagine what I'm describing

Most of yesterdays progress was dedicated to working the area just behind the ricasso. The area where the guard will slide on and the shoulders it will butt up against and also some work on the tang area.

I've finally come up with what I think will be a solid plan for the take-down aspect of our blade too.
Sometimes I'll have a complete, from start to finish plan for a blade.
Sometimes not .......... which was the case with this blade.
Having said that, I knew the basic direction we were going and I had plenty enough details to start the build.
I've heard other Bladesmiths describe how, when forging, they sometimes let the steel tell them the direction it wants to go.
That's sometimes how I work too. In this case it wasn't so much the blade, as it was the take-down details. The stuff going on inside the handle.
My hope was, and it always eventually happens when I work like this, a final plan would develop as I was progressing on the project.
I mean how could it not ??
I wake up thinking about making knives, I go through nearly every day thinking about making knives, and I fall asleep thinking about making knives.
Heck, I even dream about making knives. Making Knives is my life :thumbup:

I LOVE making knives.

So, my wife is still looking for the camera cable. If she finds it, I'll have some pictures of yesterday's work.

If not, well, the cards back in the camera and we'll go from today

Thanks again guys

Check back soon !

 

[David Wesner]

OK, I've got a few more progress pics to add.

First pic shows the tang end just before thread cutting.

Although I didn't have plans to completely submerge the tang when quenching after austenitizing, I didn't want to take any chances. Having to cut threads on a potentially hard(er) tang didn't sound like fun.

I thought now, pre-heat treat, would be the best time to do this op
FWIW, I cut a 1/4-28 thread on the tang end.

After cutting threads I was ready for hardening and tempering.
To protect the threads and the shoulder area where the guard butts up against from possible pitting while austenitizing, I coated them with a product similar to PBC powder.
The product I use is a wet compound, with an almost pancake batter consistency. I purchase it through Brownells and have been using it for applications like this for several years now. It works great and unlike PBC powder, it is not necessary to heat the blade to ~500*F . I put this stuff on while the blade is at room temp.

After letting the compound set for about 10 minutes I put the blade in my pre-heated kiln for austenitizing.
After a proper soak I quenched in Parks 50

As you can see I had a little flare up due to keeping the tang out of the quenchant.
I try my best to put these flames out as fast as humanly possible, as it can be hard on the properties of an engineered quenchant

After quenching and checking for straightness I wiped the blade down to have a closer look. The ladder pattern was quite apparent after hardening and man does it look GREAT !!

It looks like it will be a very nice example and although it's a bit pre-mature, it already appears to have nice chatoyance

 

[David Wesner]

After quenching and gauging for straightness, I went to my toaster oven for a temper cycle until my kiln cooled down enough to where I could use that.

This first temper cycle I do is always a low temp, ~ 350*F, just to keep the heat treat cycle moving. IMHO, hardening and tempering is a series of steps that should, again, IMHO, keep moving.

I like to start low, temperature wise, for 2 reasons. The first reason is, I don't trust my toaster oven when it comes to maintaining a high degree of consistent temperature accuracy.
The second reason, I like to sneak up on my final level of hardness using my evenheat kiln, which I do trust to maintain a high degree of consistent temperature accuracy

So, without further yakking, I give you the first toaster oven temper cycle, 1 hr at ~ 350*F

After 1 hr. in the toaster oven and an air cool, my kiln had cooled down enough to do a cycle there.

Here we are doing another hour at 380*F

And finally for tonight, a shot of one very straight, hardened and twice tempered Damascus Blade. First thing tomorrow I'll check out where the blade is at in regards to hardness.

I'm ready to do some finish grinding :thumbup: :thumbup:

This project is coming along great ! I can't wait to get back at it first thing tomorrow :thumbup:


Thanks again for checking the thread guys :thumbup:

 

[RogerP]

Great progress Dave.

Roger