S7 Swords

Daniel Fairly Knives

Daniel Fairly Knives

Full Time Knifemaker
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Jan 9, 2011
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I'm making some swords out of my ultra tough S7 steel!

Here's a 26" wakizashi I'm doing some hand finishing on.

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Ok, now that I have stopped drooling on my keyboard, WOW!

Now I know exactly what I want from you! Do you take rolled coins?!



-Xander
 
fast14riot said:
Ok, now that I have stopped drooling on my keyboard, WOW!

Now I know exactly what I want from you! Do you take rolled coins?!



-Xander
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Hehehe I was talking to my buddy the other day about how we always bought our beer with change, one time we paid for a 30 pack with nickles.

The waki is coming along nicely! It's funny, I started out knifemaking using that porch rail as my shop, it is a good spot to clamp stuff to when you are doing the work by hand and now I'm back out hand sanding!
 
how thick is that S7? are you gonna differentially temper it and create a hamon?
 
gooeytek said:
how thick is that S7? are you gonna differentially temper it and create a hamon?
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1/8" - It is not really a traditional wakizashi at all, it is more of a tactical sword/machete... the Wakichete! It is about 26" long and has a full flat grind on both sides.

I have another one I'm working on that is a serious beast, 36" of 5/16! :eek: Chisel ground for maximum gnar.

I'm going to send the S7 swords off for heat treat, it will be the first time I have done that, they won't fit in my kiln and they require a very precision heat treat. It is an air hardening steel so no hamon. That is one of the reasons I picked the S7 because it is ultra stable and crack and distortion free, hamons are an art form that I want to work on but these will be all business. I feel confident that there is no other sword steel as good as the S7 when it comes to toughness and to me that is what a sword is all about.

Phill Hartsfield was able to obtain a hamon on air hardening steels but he is the only person I know of that was able to pull it off, I think he had the steel in a water bath and tempered back the spine with a torch to obtain the hamon.

I have some 1075 that will hamon beautifully as it is a low manganese to carbon ratio water hardening steel, I want to make a more traditional looking Katana with a Tsuba with that steel. I will water harden it with clay on the spine for a beautiful hamon, I plan on building a simple forge to heat treat that piece.
 
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S7 is perfect then for the tactical direction you are taking. From what I've heard, it's pretty much as good as tool steels get for impact resistance. I'm excited.
 
Tuned in as well. Looking good. I am always on the lookout for the things you have coming up. Take care.
:thumbup::thumbup:
 
Here is the start of the other one I have been working on, I plan on finishing a few before heat treat.

36" long - .312 S7 Steel

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I thought about this S7 Waki that you are making, and went ahead and ordered a Rodent Rucki from Swamp Rat. 23.5" OAL, 15.25" blade length, and 3/16" thickness in SR-101 (I think that's their version of 52100). I think it will pee in its pants when it sees either one of your S7 blades. You might have to make one or two more of each one :)
 
ob1korobi said:
How are these coming along man? Anxious for more WIP pics. Have a good one man.
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Thanks for checking. :D They are looking good, I need to take the 36" one up to 400 grit from the 60 it is at and then they are ready for heat treat! I'll get some pics soon, I have been knocking back orders for the last week or so.

gooeytek said:
I thought about this S7 Waki that you are making, and went ahead and ordered a Rodent Rucki from Swamp Rat. 23.5" OAL, 15.25" blade length, and 3/16" thickness in SR-101 (I think that's their version of 52100). I think it will pee in its pants when it sees either one of your S7 blades. You might have to make one or two more of each one :)
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Man that sounds killer, I saw those and they look sweet! I'm hoping to make a few swords, I have a big stack of stock with swords in mind.

I keep thinking about a pirate sword too, some kind of cutlass would be fun. It's tough, there are so many designs I want to try!
 
do you have any hardness figures on the S7 after heat treat? some say it should be mid 50's, but then others say to get it closer to 60 for better edge retention. What do you think? What's it been like, sharpening these beasts?
 
gooeytek said:
do you have any hardness figures on the S7 after heat treat? some say it should be mid 50's, but then others say to get it closer to 60 for better edge retention. What do you think? What's it been like, sharpening these beasts?
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From what I understand I should be shooting for maybe 57-58 on swords and most knives in S7. Most swords are softer than that but there is no need to temper this down to 53-54 as it is so tough. ( Yes! :cool:)

I think it air quenches to 59-60 and you can oil quench it for up to 63 if I remember correctly. I could probably make a 59-60 rc slicer that was as tough as could be!

The S7 should sharpen up nicely with just about any setup.

I have some plates and tool wrap coming in so I can heat treat some S7 myself, I really need to see what it will do! I have a 1/8" cleaver/tanto I made so I can check it out! Hopefully my plates will be in very soon so I can try it. :D
 
How many people have to hold it when you grind! Wow!
 
looking good -- definitely interested in seeing the final product on these!
 
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