Shear steel mini.....

Raymond Richard

Raymond Richard

Joined
Jun 17, 2001
Messages
5,705
Got this guy 100% finished and got a very good picture for a change, at least for me. Its got a 2 1/4" blade, blackwood fittigs and a elk tip handle. Its just over 5" total. The rusty, pitted piece of saw steel beneath the knife is what it was forged out of.
PDRM0616.JPG
 
That is one beautiful knife Richard!!!
Is that the natural color of the elk antler or did you dye it?
 
Michael, The elk antler really had a nice color and texture but all the tips where pretty much worn to white. Yes I did dye it with PP......
 
Man that is some wild activity in the steel! I wonder if anyone produces shear steel the way many people are now producing damascus steel?
 
Dan, I didn't blow anything up with it but scared the crap out of myself one day with it. I tried coloring some bones one time in my mason jar vacuum chamber. I had been using it with rit dye and decided to try it with PP and left a bunch of salts from the rit dye in it when I added the PP. I put a vacuum on it and went to work on something else. Don't think it was long after I was hearing a hiss and finally spotted what it was. The tube had sprung a leak and the jar looked like it was boiling. At that time I thought I had made a bomb, I grabed an old wrag and got the jar out of the shop as quick as I could. Guess the PP was attacking the salts, I don't do that anymore.

Knut, I haven't heard of anyone trying to make shear steel but a number have been making different types of wootz. I've been looking for more shear steel but I've struck out so far....
 
Raymond I have admired all these so called "Shear Steel" knives long enough. What the hell is shear steel and how can I get some. I know you are pretty stingy with yours but there must be some around here but what is it Im looking for?
 
Raymond,

That is a knife. The elk is superbly done.

I'm with Bruce. What is it and where is it?

RL
 
I wish I could find somemore myself. I came about the piece I have about 15 years ago. I was working on a construction site and we had got a load of fill sand come out to the job and the piece of saw steel was in with the sand. I'm sure the sand came from the Williamette River and I'm guessing the piece of saw steel had been in the river for maybe a century by the amount of rust and pits that are on it. I don't believe the steel has been made for at least 120 years.

So far I've bought a couple old saw blades and struck out. As far as I know there's really no way to tell if its shear steel by the outward apperance.

Here's some information on the shear steel making process:

"Until 1742, producing steel was a difficult task. The quality of the steel was often unreliable. The steel was made by heating iron bars which were covered in charcoal. The heating was continued for up to a week. The material produced was called blister steel.

Blister steel was then turned into shear steel by wrapping blister steel bars up in a bundle and then heating them again before forging the bundle. The heat and the action of the forge hammer welded the rods together as they were hammered to the size required. This shear steel was used to make razors, files, knives, swords and the other steel items for which Sheffield became famous."

Here is the website it came from,

http://www.tilthammer.com/timeworks/steel.html
 
Really nice Ray,

Did you use satanite for the quench to get that temper line?

I'll keep my eyeballs open for steel.

Mark
 
Originally posted by Raymond Richard
Dan, Guess the PP was attacking the salts, I don't do that anymore.
Click to expand...

RaaaaaY :rolleyes:
the bottle says,, do not mix with other chemicals :D
If you mix sugar with it,, it makes for a type of gun powder
and if you mix a drop of antifreeze with it and drop it in gasoline
it is a bomb :eek: I found a forum on it and those guys are
scary about using permanganate salts..

hey I like that steel thanks for the info on,
now I can go looking too.
:D
 
Dan, I felt pretty fortunate that it didn't blow up! I do try to be more careful now with the stuff now.

The piece of shear steel I have like I had mentioned I've had it for at least 15 years but it wasn't till last year that I finally gave it a try for knives. The outward appearance was so ruff that I just didn't think it would be worth my time to even bother to cut it let alone make a blade out of it. The main problem I have with it is the pits. After I cut a strip off of it I'll hit it with the grinder to clean it up so I can inspect it to see where the bigger pits are. The big ones become the tang end. This little blade came from a piece that was 1/2 X 3 X 5/32".

Mark, I did do clay on it. I don't use satinite but a simular product. The brand I use is Vesuvaus, its a clay mortar.
 
Yea Ray , I should have said refractory cement. I use some stuff called DEMON. I use the term satanite like I use the terms Jello, and Clorox
 
I'm still working on a robot that will take the blade out of his built in forge when it gets to critical and pee on the blade with quenchant. And then stick it in his built in tempering hole.:D
 
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