"Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Martensite..." by the intrepid Mr. Cashen

Robert Dark said:
Mark,

I thought that you being featured on the cover and that the cute little girl just got in the way when the photo was made.:D
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Yep, Little Stelliemay started out being shown how to forge a nail, Then She saw metal being twisted and it was all over for nails :)
 
I guess some of the points I'm trying to make with my last post are that bladesmiths can't always rely on metalurgical "facts" to support the validity or quality of their work, and that the interpretation and application of the "facts",... are equally, if not more important than the "facts" themselves.

Simply put,... a handful of isolated "facts", won't necessarily make you a better bladesmith.
 
What I want to know now, is how Kevin interprets and applies the "facts" in the article to help make a better knife? ... or is that the next article? Just curious...
 
Tai Goo said:
I guess some of the points I'm trying to make with my last post are that bladesmiths can't always rely on metalurgical "facts" to support the validity or quality of their work, and that the interpretation and application of the "facts",... are equally, if not more important than the "facts" themselves.

Simply put,... a handful of isolated "facts", won't necessarily make you a better bladesmith.
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All of this is true, however "a handful of isolated "facts"" is certainly a better start than no facts at all, and "no facts" might still be better than the BS mystery and voodoo that plagues this realm.
 
Matthew Gregory said:
All of this is true, however "a handful of isolated "facts"" is certainly a better start than no facts at all, and "no facts" might still be better than the BS mystery and voodoo that plagues this realm.
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I agree with Matt. And the best thing about metallurgical facts is, they are FACTS not personal interpretation of some old guard lore. To me, Kevin seems like the kind of maker who uses the most scientific and accurate equipment and knowledge to get scientifically proven results, consistent and proven, and therefore has the street cred and is one of the highest regarded makers out there for true proven info.

If you ask me i'll take the tylenol over the snake oil anyday.
 
It's one thing to run around in a lab coat looking through microscopes and yammering on about this-ite and that-ite. It's quite another thing to do all that and then go out into the shop and forge a bitchin knife.
 
Matthew Gregory said:
All of this is true, however "a handful of isolated "facts"" is certainly a better start than no facts at all, and "no facts" might still be better than the BS mystery and voodoo that plagues this realm.
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The greater the knowlege base, the better you can control your variables, or the more informed you can be in your choices of which variables you choose not to control. At least in my experience the greater the level of control and understanding you have of your process, the greater the probability that what your muse sings in your ear manifests itself. Great art is not often a happy accident, although sometimes happenstance will suggest divergeance. Great artistry is a combination of vision, inspiration and craftsmanship.

-Page
 
... all good answers! :)

... but there will always be an element of mystery and surprise... I hope.
 
Tai Goo said:
... all good answers! :)

... but there will always be an element of mystery and surprise... I hope.
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Of course, as much mystery and surprise as you feel is necessary as an idividual maker. IF you want to go all mystical naked and painted up in the moonlight banging away on leafsprings, with a hammer blessed by a voodoo preist, or in the shop using power hammers and salt pots and microscopes, and factory steel stock, it is all up to everyone what compromise to make.

Personally i find the scientific route to be pretty damn magical on it's own! I mean, a material you can heat up and quench, and have it get hard and brittle, then temper with a little bit of heat to make it slightly softer yet tougher, able to do all the kinds of things that steel does, and to understand how and why with facts, the magic is in KNOWING what's going on and utilising it, not banging away blindly.
 
Yeah, you can take risks or play it safe, or try to reach a balance,... which ever suits you,... your "concept".
 
Tai Goo said:
... but there will always be an element of mystery and surprise... I hope.
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Tai, I assure you, it's ALWAYS about surprise with me!:D:D


I know where your thought was going - and I agreed with the insinuation then, as I do now. However, I struggle constantly with those that feel the need for belief in the 'ghost in the machine', rather than just revelling in the wonder of the real - quantifiable or not!
 
Matthew Gregory said:
Tai, I assure you, it's ALWAYS about surprise with me!:D:D


I know where your thought was going - and I agreed with the insinuation then, as I do now. However, I struggle constantly with those that feel the need for belief in the 'ghost in the machine', rather than just revelling in the wonder of the real - quantifiable or not!
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I don't agree with every concept or perspective either, but I wasn't trying to get into a discussion about the validity of various concepts or perspectives, just that they can and do exist. We shouldn’t be so quick to judge others, if maybe WE don’t have all that facts.

I see a lot of bladesmiths that try to support their work with metallurgy that doesn’t make sense or hasn't been applied "correctly". Maybe, the metallurgy is not “correct”,… but that doesn’t mean that their knives won’t do what they say. Maybe, they just don't know how to explain it in metallurgical terms, or science hasn't gotten that far yet. From what I know of Kevin, I think he would agree.

I’m really not trying to disagree with anything Kevin’s said, I think he makes some good points,…just striking it from a different angle and throwing some fuel on it,... as a spring board for more talk and thinking about concept and perspective.

It would get boring to me if all we ever did was talk metallurgy and technique.

... it's all real!
... or un-real, which ever way you want to look at it. :)
 
Tai Goo said:
…just striking it from a different angle and throwing some fuel on it,... as a spring board for more talk and thinking about concept and perspective.

It would get boring to me if all we ever did was talk metallurgy and technique.

... it's all real!
... or un-real, which ever way you want to look at it. :)
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That's exactly why I value your input so much!

I fully agree - and point taken on the humility check!:)
 
Thoroughly rinse avian protein in dihydrogen oxide. Coat with finely divided seed-derived starch powder mixed with small amount of crystalline sodium chloride. Denature thoroughly in 190*C low euricic acid triglyceride lipid.

Tastes just like chicken. :)
 
fitzo said:
Thoroughly rinse avian protein in dihydrogen oxide. Coat with finely divided seed-derived starch powder mixed with small amount of crystalline sodium chloride. Denature thoroughly in 190*C low euricic acid triglyceride lipid.

Tastes just like chicken. :)
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I think I understand the rest of it, but what's dihydrogen oxide?
 
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