Take notes!

[Guy Thomas]

Boy am I mad at myself! When I started making knives a few years ago I was using L6 steel from large circular saws. I love this steel but in the mean time I have skipped around with several different steels but have now decided to pretty much use L6 and 1084, separately and combined in damascus.

Now the reason I'm mad. I finally got around to testing the first knife I made out of L6, a medium sized hunter/utility that I heat treated with a couple of propane torches and a pile of firebricks.
I always thought I had done a decent job on this knife but dismissed it as merely adequate, seeing as it was my first knife. What a surprise though, I chopped up a 2x4 with it and it is still shaving sharp! Nary a chip or edge curl in sight. I have no idea now what temperature I tempered that knife at! If I'd only taken a few notes I'd know exactly how to use the rest of that saw steel! (I thought to myself, "Wow my first knife, I'll remember every thing about making it!"- WRONG!) I am now taking notes on every knife I'm making so that this won't happen again.

 

[Sylvester]

We are suppose to take notes, danm

 

[markmarkmark]

is this gonna be on the test?

 

[Ed Fowler]

Silent: Excellent thoughts! This is a lesson all of us need to keep foremost on our minds while trying something new. the next thing is to keep notes in a place where you will not lose them. I looked for my experimental book once for over a year. Now I keep two sets, one while working, another that is a copy of the origonal in another place.

I have got to admitt that I still loose notes when I am too excited about what is going on and write on any piece of paper that is laying around then forget to take care of the paper work later.