W2 + carbon fibre fighter

NickWheeler

NickWheeler

Joined
Dec 3, 1999
Messages
9,437
Hey Guys - :)


Here's a new one to share, for kicks. :)


Another JoeP style fighter forged from W2, clay hardened, and polished.
416 ss guard and domed pin
BigRick provided me with some fantastic carbon fibre HE MADE in his shop--- awesome! :cool:

I want to thank Stuart Branson--- I had been doing "no-clay differential hardening" for long enough I was having some issues when I went back to using clay. Stuart was kind enough to hash things out over the phone and made me realize something I'd overlooked... and that was what made things click again. :)

Feel free to cuss and discuss. ;) :)


Thanks for looking! :)


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[video=youtube;jeYEM7xWPRo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeYEM7xWPRo&list=UUM3ezocAUFI1HtIi4V7SLmw& index=1&feature=plcp[/video]
 
Dang! Nice hamon. Are you doing a thin clay coat underneath the thicker coat on the spine or just 1 thick coat on the spine?
 
I love that design. I'm working on one just to try.

What does the carbon fiber do for the center of gravity, and the weight on that bad boy, compared to G10?
 
Thanks guys :)

I know there's the whole gallery forum thing, but when RyanW, JonnyMac, and Jason were here to visit, one of the first things we did besides a lot of cussing, discussing, and lying... was talk about knives and showed stuff.... and that was REAL SHOP TALK ;) :D so I figured what the heck, this is ShopTalk. :)

I put a super thin wash of clay over the entire blade, more as a "primer" for the rest of the clay than for any thermal purpose. The body of clay is super thin, 1/16" at most, with even thinner/lighter ashi lines that go down to the edge. Keep in mind, the clay just nudges little intricacies in the line... it's time and temperature that create the line in the first place. Don Fogg told me that like 10 years ago and it has just finally soaked in within the last 2 years or so. :o :foot:

Carbon fibre is not hard to balance a knife with AT ALL. I think there are a lot of misconceptions about its weight because of what we hear about it.... but it's big clame to fame is strength to weight ratio. So it's strong for its weight, but not necessarily feather light. The block for this knife started off around 1" thick X 2.25" wide X 6" long, and it was very similar in weight to a block of Ironwood I have that has the same dimensions.

The part about CF that is truly brutal, is putting the damn tang hole in it. I was the recipient of some crazy awesome generosity when fellow forumite DamienC sent me a package of tooling to work the cf with--- all the way from AUSTRALIA!!! :eek: :thumbup: :cool: And that made it easy to drill the holes, but it was still a bi*@% to get the hole broached out.

Oh, and make sure to wear a hooded sweatshirt or something when you work the stuff. I had on a hat, and FULL face respirator, gloves with taped sleeves etc, but no hood.... and my neck itched for 3 days after shaping this handle.

Thanks again guys :)
 
DANG!!!!!!!

ABSOLUTELY GEORGEOUS hamon. I really love the blade profile that you worked out with Joe too. The carbon fibre's chatoyance goes well with the shimmering hamon too!

It's amazing what a "hack" machinist can make! :D;)

And then there's the music in the video...Inspiring. :D I'm ready to run to the shop and... :o wait.....run to my computer and order some W2 from Aldo, so I can run to the shop and make me one too! :D

I always appreciate any time you take to share your work, and especially all the tips and advice!
 
Beautiful piece. I have some of Rick's carbon fiber, but have been afraid to tackle it so far.


Robert
 
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nick that is one amazing hamon stunning work as always
what are you doing for a sheath (maybe some carbon inlays)
 
That looks great, and I hate working with carbon fiber enough that after my first, I dont plan on doing another...if I can possibly avoid it.

I do have a question about the "no clay differential hardening" that you had been doing. Because the hamons you created on your other knives were pretty ridiculous, I would like to know the technique involved, if you happen to feel like sharing.

I am also a little jealous that RyanW, Johnnymac and Jason all live close enough to visit. If I ever make it to the West Coast I may have to stop in... is there an open door policy?
 
Not too shabby!

That is incredible work and the hamon is just too cool. Please share your heat treating arcanery!!! :D

Awesome video too, it really shows off the knife.
 
Great knife, Nick! I love how the hamon plays into the clip/swedge in the video. Beautiful work as always.

--nathan
 
Good to see it here finished up Nick! The video still doesn't do that Hamon justice compared to in the flesh... Thanks again for the Shop tour and Person to Person "Shop Talk". I consider it one of the highlights of my Knifemaking to date, Just below meeting Mike Q! :eek:
 
Thanks guys :)

Matthew- Actually none of those guys live close enough to stop by. They were all at the OKCA show in Eugene, OR, which is a little less than 3 hours from here. Ryan actually lives in Utah! :eek:

I don't know if I'd call it an open door policy here. I welcome visitors, but I have to know they want to come, and plan for it. If somebody wants lessons, then it's gotta be a "class time" thing--- I wish it wasn't that way, but when I'm in the shop it HAS TO BE making money so the mortgage, utilities, and food bills get paid. :eek: :foot: :) It's always ironic, I've had a couple guys get upset with me over that, but when I asked them if I could come to their job for the day while they worked for free, they thought that was utterly ridiculous. :rolleyes: ;)
 
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Super clean and awesome as always Nick! You always seem to inspire me to keep working and make me thing "dang, I should just quit" at the same time :)

I do have a comment on the bit below though.

NickWheeler said:
I put a super thin wash of clay over the entire blade, more as a "primer" for the rest of the clay than for any thermal purpose.
Click to expand...

It may not have been your intent for the wash to have a thermal purpose, but it most certainly does. I spent a good bit of time chatting about this with Jesus Hernandez a couple of years ago. There was apparently some research at a Japanese University (escapes me which right now) where they were trying to understand the various things that happen in a traditional water quench. The research showed that the thin wash of clay actually accelerates cooling during the very first part of the quench. The reason is that the rough texture of the clay (as compared to say, nicely sanded steel) does two things; First, it increases the effective surface area of the blade and second, the sharp edges of the clay granules create nucleation points for the bubbles at the initiation of the vapor phase of the quench. IIRC it something like "lots of little bubbles insulate less than one big one". It doesn't remove the need for agitation in the quench, as we're talking about the first several milliseconds of the vapor phase (or some very short period of time like that), but it does have a real effect.

I'd be willing to bet that removal of the skim coat (say, after putting the rest of the clay on) would have an effect on your hamon.

Edit: I forgot one of the other interesting things from the study. Apparently clay thicker than .100" doesn't help, and I think can hurt the outcome.

-d
 
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