This gets a bit complex, so bear with me. As I've mentioned in previous threads I'm fairly new at this, and very new to starting from blank steel. Right now my biggest hold up is heat treating. I don't feel like it's worth sending my first couple out once you factor in shipping each way, they're purely learning pieces and I'm trying to keep costs to the minimum. I can't seem to find anyone local, (bloomfield/hartford, ct) so I started thinking about HT myself.
I started out using stainless, it's what I'd prefer to work in generally and my preferred metal for my own knives. However, my goal right now is learning and going through the whole process rather than just making myself a specific knife. The other part of the goal is minimal cash costs.
Due to some family ties I basically have unlimited fuel for a torch or burner setup to make a small forge. I even have someone who has a lot of experience setting it up and would probably give me the components just for the fun of doing it and the fact that he knows he's in line for a new knife or two as I learn. That lead me back to forging steels. I'd have to buy some new steel, but I don't have a big investment in any stainless yet and the money saved in one HT including shipping pays for several knives worth of steel so it's a worthwhile switch if this is doable.
I'm not interested in forging at this time. I'm sure in the future it will be something I try, but my location and finances don't really support a big investment in additional equipment and I'm comfortable with stock removal. Still learning and not very skilled yet, but comfortable with the process. Even so, I'd probably make a small forge rather than just using a torch, even if at first it's one of those single torch fired setups to keep things simple.
This leads to the part I'm REALLY not sure about. What issues do I have to worry about when working with forging steels in a stock removal situation? Are there particular steels that respond better or worse when working this way? Obviously forged blades are finished up much the same as stock removal, but when doing the initial shaping and beveling it might be different.
Is something like 1095 suitable to work this way? That seems like a popular "base" carbon steel much like 440 and ats34 are these days for stainless.
I'm kind of surprised this didn't occur to me earlier really. I've been beating my head against a wall on the heat treating trying to find somewhere local and kept thinking how much easier it would be if I was forging since it's possible to do the heat treat with as little as a hand held torch and that is essentially free for me. Nearly kicked myself before I wrote this when it dawned on me that there's probably no reason at all I can't work forging type steels the other way and then HT myself.
I started out using stainless, it's what I'd prefer to work in generally and my preferred metal for my own knives. However, my goal right now is learning and going through the whole process rather than just making myself a specific knife. The other part of the goal is minimal cash costs.
Due to some family ties I basically have unlimited fuel for a torch or burner setup to make a small forge. I even have someone who has a lot of experience setting it up and would probably give me the components just for the fun of doing it and the fact that he knows he's in line for a new knife or two as I learn. That lead me back to forging steels. I'd have to buy some new steel, but I don't have a big investment in any stainless yet and the money saved in one HT including shipping pays for several knives worth of steel so it's a worthwhile switch if this is doable.
I'm not interested in forging at this time. I'm sure in the future it will be something I try, but my location and finances don't really support a big investment in additional equipment and I'm comfortable with stock removal. Still learning and not very skilled yet, but comfortable with the process. Even so, I'd probably make a small forge rather than just using a torch, even if at first it's one of those single torch fired setups to keep things simple.
This leads to the part I'm REALLY not sure about. What issues do I have to worry about when working with forging steels in a stock removal situation? Are there particular steels that respond better or worse when working this way? Obviously forged blades are finished up much the same as stock removal, but when doing the initial shaping and beveling it might be different.
Is something like 1095 suitable to work this way? That seems like a popular "base" carbon steel much like 440 and ats34 are these days for stainless.
I'm kind of surprised this didn't occur to me earlier really. I've been beating my head against a wall on the heat treating trying to find somewhere local and kept thinking how much easier it would be if I was forging since it's possible to do the heat treat with as little as a hand held torch and that is essentially free for me. Nearly kicked myself before I wrote this when it dawned on me that there's probably no reason at all I can't work forging type steels the other way and then HT myself.
