Technical Q: Fold Line

mohd

mohd

Joined
Jun 3, 1999
Messages
1,989
Pakcik Bill, forumites.
  1. What is a fold line?
  2. How it happen?
  3. At which stage it happen?
  4. How harmfull it is to the blade - any specific size of fold line to be use as a guideline to identify it as harmfull to the blade?
  5. Is there any technique to get rid of fold line from the blade?[/list=a]
 
A fold line is caused when the kami folds the metal during forging and does not hammer it long enough to "weld" or forge the metal completely together. This should answer your first three questions.

The line can be serious or merely cosmetic and there is no way to tell for sure without xraying the blade. I sent a village model to Cliff for testing because it had fold lines in it which I felt could be serious. It was a very ugly knife but it beat all the competition, including an HI 18 inch AK.

The only way to get rid of a fold line is to stick the knife into the forge and pound it out.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Thank you Pakcik Bill!

What I understand from your explanation is that fold line may appear as a vertical line or as a perpendicular line depending on which way the steel being folded during forging.

Pakcik Bill, Forumites.

Forging, hardening, tempering etc are new terminologies to me! These are another Qs which needs your further explanations:
  • What do you call those line which may appear on the bevel and the sharp edge - Is that a fold line or is that a crack?
  • Does water quenching to the bevel might cause it to crack?
  • How to differentiate a fold line from a blade crack?
  • Which is more harmfull to the blade - a fold line or a crack?
  • Is it true that buffing the blade to get a mirror polishing finish may somehow hide trace of fold line or crack?[/list=a]

    NEPAL HO!
 
Mohd, you've guessed everything just about right. You will almost never see a fold line on an edge. If there is a line there it is a crack and it happened during quenching. A crack in my opinion is a much worse flaw than a fold line.

You cannot buff away a crack. You MAY be able to buff away a fold line if it is surface only.

Maybe Yvsa will be around to toss in his two cents worth. He knows more about forging that I do and so do a lot of other guys.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
Khukuri FAQ

 
Thank you Pakcik Bill - your explaination do helps me a lot to understand more about steelcraft.

Hello Yvsa! Forumites! In order to appreciate the strength & toughfness of HI Khuks, I guess I am indeed in need of valuable tips & infos about this fold line & crack edge!
 
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