How does a carbidizer work?

Any chance you'd tell us what that little box hooked to the engraver contains and where one may obtain the components, Doug? I understand you may not want to divulge the secrets of making an item to a target retail audience, but not everyone builds their own; those who prefer to buy a carbidizer may like that you are free with info.

Not to suggest anyone would dislike it if you wouldn't say... I for one would fully understand. (I suppose it may be that the parts are not cheap, or the build is not easy- that it would be easier to just buy one.)

Here's hoping.
 
RUGUR said:
Would this thing be using AC or DC current?
I'm thinking that I will do an experiment tonight. I'll hook up a carbide drillbit to use as my electrode and see if I can get any results.
Maybe I don't need the automatic hammering action of an engraving-tool. Maybe I can make a more manual type of tool that can be struck with a hammer.
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DC current. You want to deposit so you would have positive charge on your clip and negative on your tool.

Doug, Welcome to forum. This whole carbonizing an edge really has my interest. Doug a lot of us are watching this. We are starving on information on how to make our knives better. I understand how it makes our locks better. How would this work on an edge of a knife?
 
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caviracer said:
good morning to all,
I am new to the fourms but I am the owner of BEBE manufacturing, we have been building the carbidizers for over 40 years. we are new to the knife industry and would like to help with any questions you might have. regarding our product. don't want this to turn into an ad for our product. but will try to answer any questions you have.
happy holidays. doug
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Can you give some details on your equipment? Like duty cycle, how thick/thin the carbide layer can be made, and how many models you have? Please don't openly mention pricing at this time, because that would require a paid membership to avoid breaking forum rules.

I tried looking up some info on your company (and I assume others who had as well from Bebe Mfg being mentioned in another thread contacted you), but there wasn't much outside of your address/phone. There are some old Popular Mechanics issues that pop up in a google search, but they are 30+ years old.
 
Caviracer,
My question is does your machine mechanically and electrically impart the carbide? What type of surface finish does it produce? Has your machine be used to spot plate other metals like brass,nickel,copper?
 
Frank,
Thanks for asking about our unit . we manufacture the unit only and dont do the actual coating you might be able to contact one of the blade smiths that use our machine to coat it for you. Zoe Christ comes to mind right off.he might be able to help you or put you in touch with a smith that can. doug
 
I've been using one of the Bebe units on my lockfaces for years.
It's a good little unit.

However, it doesn't seem to do the same density or speed as a Rocklinizer.
@ $225 though, it's less than 10% of the price that Rocklin quoted me some years ago.

I gutted mine a few months ago, to see what it was all about, and from what I remember, it was a small transformer, and a few capacitors in the box and that's it.
I figured it was passing its own separate small current to the tip, independent of the current driving the engraver.
 
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Brian, Did you ever try using your carbidizer to place a deposit on the sides of a knife blade? Thanks Frank
 
I know that folks use this on Ti blades often, makes up for the lack of hardness and ability to hold an edge in Titanium.

Check out some of Warren Thomas' work, he's been doing this for quite a while.

Mike Snody also started using the process on his blades and has a few videos of the process on his youtube channel
 
I never did Frank, but, I have one that PhotoRob gifted me.
It's not nearly as dense of a deposit as the few WT's that I have.

On another note, I gutted my Bebe last night.
It is supplying 52v DC to the tip.
All the box seems to be doing is supplying this DC current.
Inside the box is what appears to be a switch, transformer, 2 capacitors, and a resistor.

I tried to use my Anoetcherdizer to see what would happen if I ran different DC currents to the electrode, but killed the variac.
Killed it proper, that gadget lives no more...

In all fairness though, I destroyed the dremel engraver unit taking it apart first. (damned hidden screws)
So, I pretty much just ran a dead short through the variac, with a 20A fuse in there instead of a 5A like the variac was rated for.
There was no oscillation going on.

I ordered up a couple more engraver units from Amazon so I can repair my Bebe, and experiment with another variac.

More next week.
 
I have one of the Bebe units, and have tried it on some woodturning tools, and a couple cheap kitchen knives. It's still too soon to say if the woodturning tools will last longer between sharpenings. One thing about carbidizing, it leaves a slightly rough surface. So a hair whittling edge will be off the table, even if the blade would whittle hair before you carbidized it. I tried honing the carbidized side of the knife and refined the edge a bit, but if I make it completely smooth, will there still be carbide left?

The cheap stainless kitchen knife took the carbide differently/(less evenly) than the high carbon turning tools, and there was some black pitting in places. I read somewhere that there might be issues with carbidizing certain stainless alloys, if anybody has a list of alloys to avoid I'd love to have it
 
Thats cool Brian. Thanks!
 
I'm debating it William.

I want to do it, the wife wants me to make some money from it.

I see her point, and wouldn't mind at least making back my development costs.

It ended up being really simple, but I spent a few hundred dollars discovering that...

So, time will tell.
 
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