Two Brick Forge Question

I

Iwannashoot

Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
91
Hope you guys can find a way to tolerate another question from a newbee.

I got the idea that I wanted to try my hand at making my own hunting knife form a custom kife form over on Rimfire Central. There are a couple of guys over there that make really nice knives, so I,m looking for more info and I find this place. I can't believe what a wealth of information there is here. I must of read all of the stickies several times by now and I think I am progressing along the right path.

I ordered up a piece of 1084 from Aldo and have been working away at making a piece of flat stock look something like what i envisioned "my knife" should look like. At this point I think it is in pretty good shape for heat treat. The overall length of the knife is just over 8.5", the blade is aprox. 3.75". The flat stock started at 1/8th X 2.00.

Now to my question. I am looking at making a "Two Brick Forge" for heat treat but I don't know if the propane torch that I already have has enough heat to get my chunk of steel to beyond non-magnetic. It is an old Weller torch that I can't find a model number on anywhere, but when I fire it up on high the overall flame is about 8 inches, and the center cone of the flame is light blue and is about 2 inches long.

I have read all the threads that I can find on the subject but this heat treat thing is still a little duanting to me for some reason. My thoughts are to build the 2BF and quench in Canola oil. This seems like a good plan so that I can keep costs low while I figure out how to work with the "simpler steels" and find out if I really like this as a Hobby and if I have any talent for it.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Jeff
 
Jeff
I feel your confusion. I'm currently using a charcoal fueled coffee can forge for heat treating. It's far from ideal and plan to move up to a two-brick forge soon. It sounds like you understand the basics but haven't applied the "book-learning" to practical application.

What if...

...you did the construction of the two-brick forge as a WIP (work in progress) showing lots of photos and have the forum members walk you through it?

After it's made then practice on some of your steel. Make a few kiridashi patterns. They have to be the worlds easiest knife to make, and it has that cool name as if it were more than just a diagonal chisel. After you know that your forge will heat your blades evenly then do your GOOD knife.

- Paul Meske
 
Paul,

I did actually plan on trying the HT on some scrap first no matter what way I end up deciding to go about it. I guess I just wanted to know if I was headed down a dead end with the torch I currently own.

I've looked all over locally for the soft fire brick and cement to coat the inside with, but where I live its not a common item; so I'll end up ordering from out of state. By the time I get it here and build the 2BF I'll have quite a bit of time, effort, and money invested. Wish I just had the funds to go out and buy and oven and a great big tank full of quench oil, but my situation dictates that I start small and work into this thing over time.

Then again it might be smarter to send the first few out for HT, but then I wouldn't get the chance to learn the heat treat process hands on

Jeff.
 
I have family in St. Pete.
I'm not going to do all your work for you, but if you will just Google "Fire Brick St. Petersburg, FL" you will get dozens of places in the Tampa/St.Pete/Pinellas area. I would bet one is within 5 miles of your house.

Your torch may well work fine. Build the 2BF and try it out on some scrap 1084. When doing the actual knife, you only need to concern yourself with the blade getting to critical, so a 2BF will be big enough for your knife. Be sure to use a magnet to check the heating. When it stops sticking, heat it just a little redder, and then quench in a gallon of canola oil.
 
you can google this: "st pete" tampa "pottery supplies"

call, ask them if they carry ISFB - Insulating Soft Fire Brick.

Comes in 2 temp ratings: FB 23 (2300 degree F) and FB 26 (2600 degree F).

FB23 is cheaper. I paid $3.10 each in the Atlanta area a month ago.

buy 6 - not 2. You may break 1 or 2. If not, the rest are good for putting hot blades on, hot tongs or as a support under the 2 bricker.
 
Thanks Guys,

I actually googled both and struck out locally, but I got lucky when I googled Kilns. I found a guy within 10-12 miles who does kiln repair. He was nice enough to call me back and has offered to give me a couple of used bricks that he has taken out of old kilns that he has torn down for parts. I am planning on going by his shop tomorrow and checkig out what he has available.

Now I just need to get my hands on the refractory cement to coat the inside of the bricks. (yes I've googled it and furnace cement and you guessed it; none in this area)

Thanks again for all the help.

Jeff
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top