Remember All The Steps

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

ilmarinen - MODERATOR
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Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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I just came in from the shop. I have been getting a batch of things finished for the Harrisonburg show. I decided to finish off a flamberge' blade ( like a kris) that I forged a while back. I have not had a handle that I liked for it until now. So I did the HT yesterday. The blade is 1084 and the edge is 13" and OAL is 19". I did the quench in my short tank ,which is about 16" tall. There is about 15" of oil in it. I tempered the blade with a torch to get a differential temper ( which worked well). I sanded, polished, re-sanded ( didn't like it polished), etched the blade, and hand finished to 4000. It came out great. During the process I dropped it on the shop floor more than once, and during all the procedures I held it by the tang with lots of pressure applied. I came in after the blade was completely done to set it aside for engraving my makers mark tomorrow. As I was putting it in a knife case, It slid out the other end, and it fell about 24" to the carpeted floor. I reached down only to see that the tang had snapped about mid way. Then it hit me....I had drawn the blade temper, but failed to draw down the tang . The line between the quenched part and the unquenched part was the failure point. Nothing I can't weld back together with full integrity. I'll fix it tomorrow and it will be better than new.

The moral is that when you are in a rush, stop and check that you do/did all the steps.

I'll be posting photos of the show knives and pieces later this week.

Anybody going to the Harrisonburg,VA show?

Stacy
 
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In PA they say 'the hurrier I go the behinder I get ' !
Or 'haste makes waste' !
 
Thanks for sharing, Stacy. It's good to know that most knife makers out there are human. Makes me feel a little better for all the DOPE!!'s I've done over the few years I've been doing this.

Oh....pictures?!?! Sounds like a great blade.

--nathan
 
Just thought I'd add some folk wisdom I like (from martial arts and guitar, in my case): slow is smooth, smooth is fast.
 
That is the issue. I never drew the temper on the tang. I did the blade with a small torch, working down the center line ( double edged flamberge') . The tang was set in the vise to hold it vertically while this was being done. I never took the blade and reversed it to draw down the tang. I usually draw the tang to spring blue. Add to that the fact that there was a quench line at the same spot, and it created a distinct point of brittleness. It is amazing that it did not snap in all the work and grinding, but snapped with no pressure at all when dropped on the carpet.

When I weld it up tonight, I'll be sure and fully stress relieve the weld and temper the tang.

Stacy
 
Stacy just out of curiosity what type of steel is the piece and what filler rod will you use. I have been using 309 for stick and pure nickle for tig to make welds in areas where it won't show with good results. But, am open to other suggestions on this. By the way I have quite a bit of very high nickle tig rod laying around. Some is 99% I would have to look at the papers. Thanks Jim
 
The steel is 1084. I will use my wire welder, and the coil in it is .035 flux core wire. I get great welds with it on tang extensions and such.
Stacy
 
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