What have you learned lately?

I like working with stones but for the last grit I use paper to get a nice finish
 
I've learnt how to disassemble the rear suspension and axles of a 95 Honda acty and fill the workshop with car parts. Not useful for knife making though :P
 
I learned how to adjust the output voltage and Hertz of a generator for sensitive electronics. Now maybe my neighbor will quit bothering me when we are out of power and I'm still working in my knife shop using my generator. Good lord I'm loving retirement with wood heat and a back up generator.
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I learned I need to make sure to check bte thickness on knives I am selling, especially ones that have been sitting on the shelf for two years.
 
I have learned my Gas Engineer buddy is coming over today to set up my ceramic chip forge.......Yippeeeeeeee!
 
I've learned this old bar of ATS-34 is a bitch to grind/finish. I have no idea why! I'm going to throw it out the rest and stick with MagnaCut (which, believe it or not, is easier).
 
Natlek said:
I learned that the more tools I have, the better knives I make. And easier and faster and less mistakes and repeatable :)
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You have some of the best solutions to problems I have seen on this forum(all be it in my limited time here) and what makes them more impressive are that you design and make them yourself. I wanted to message you about the simple surface grinder(for belt grinder) you made, as I saw it once and cant find it again, send me a message please!
 
Sando said:
I've learned this old bar of ATS-34 is a bitch to grind/finish. I have no idea why! I'm going to throw it out the rest and stick with MagnaCut (which, believe it or not, is easier).
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I just threw 6' of 154cm in a bonfire, wasted $30 worth of bandsaw blades trying to cut it. Definitely not fully annealed. But it's not worth the electricity to run it through the oven, plus, I'd have to cut it anyway to fit in there, which brings me right back to my first problem. I'll go dig it out tomorrow, straighten it and try again 🤷‍♂️
 
Lorien said:
I just threw 6' of 154cm in a bonfire, wasted $30 worth of bandsaw blades trying to cut it. Definitely not fully annealed. But it's not worth the electricity to run it through the oven, plus, I'd have to cut it anyway to fit in there, which brings me right back to my first problem. I'll go dig it out tomorrow, straighten it and try again 🤷‍♂️
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I'll take it if you don't want it! 😂

I learned that freshly sandblasted mosaic pins look really cool!
 
will an angle grinder not cut it? failing that a gas axe, but remember which end you cut. I remember getting a job once because i told the foreman I could cut any piece of steel with a mig welder. :) was there 12 year.:(
 
I learned if you stab someone with the "pointy end" it qualifies it as a "fighting knife" 🤣
 
Way-Barney said:
You have some of the best solutions to problems I have seen on this forum(all be it in my limited time here) and what makes them more impressive are that you design and make them yourself. I wanted to message you about the simple surface grinder(for belt grinder) you made, as I saw it once and cant find it again, send me a message please!
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Thanks my friend , here in Macedonia I can't buy any knife related equipment have to manage the way I know and can :)

 
Something that had so far eluded me is the transition between the bevel and the flat. When I hand sand the shoulder gets washed out. Tonight I came up with an idea.
The blade material is 3/16" so I put a piece of 3/16" stock on either side. This way the bar with the sand paper stays parallel to the flat. This just a crude model but you get the idea. I'll make something more refined later.
Works good.20231224_181240.jpg
 
I put the sandpaper on a granite reference plate and use a magnet on the blade as a handle and sand the flats with the paper on the reference plate; that way, it doesn't matter the thickness of the steel. I also do the roughing for this on the ceramic glass platen on my belt sander to get all of the deep pits out. It is best to do the roughing before scribing the center line in case there is a deep pit on one side that may make your bevel grind not centered. Or leave more meat at the center bevel in case this happens. I want to get a SGA for my 2x72 one of these days so I can flatten the bar stock after HT and before grinding. I find most bars have a slight curve across the width of the bar if shear cut and one side generally has more pitting than the other, too.
 
I've been paying the extra for precision ground. I figure the difference is belts and time.
I like the idea of the granite plate. I need to find a countertop company and get a scrap piece.

Thinking about it I'm wondering if I'm getting some belt movement at the center of the platen even though I have good tension. Maybe I need to have the rest closer to the bottom of the platen.
 
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