What's going on in your shop? Show us whats going on, and talk a bit about your work!

Working on a batch of knives with Baker Forge Tiger Mai steel. I was having trouble getting my acid to etch the steel so I wondered what would happen if I put the blades into very strong coffee without an etch first. The knives were finished to 800 grit trizact style belt. After about 3 days in the coffee I took them out and hand sanded under water with 2000 grit sandpaper.

As you can see it looks a little blotchy, I am thinking maybe the coffee sludge at the bottom of the jar is to blame? Results are promising though, maybe it will be even better after the etch. Or maybe an etch is not necessary?

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Daniel lay your blade on your stiddy at about a 45 degree angle like this:

20230214_100222.jpg

And give the kick a hit with a mallet if you have one. You don't want to smash it, just an average hit like you're tapping in a trim nail. Then turn the knife so the blade is 45 degrees the other way, resting on the kick, and give the blade spine a rap at the tang:

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Check the action, if it's still tight do it again a bit harder. Check after each pair of hits. If you make it too loose just go back and tap the pin till it tightens up.
If it's too tight when you open it but fine when you close, lay the blade across the stiddy at a slight angle and give the bolster area a light rap, flip and do the same on the other side. That usually works to alleviate that tightness. Check for wobble afterward and tighten if necessary. You want to be careful not to hit it too hard or you might wind up opening the inside of the knife as well. Picture the tang pressing against the outside of the liner when you hit the bolster, that's what opens the end up a bit, but at the same time the end of the tang inside the knife will be pressing against the opposite liner. If you hit it way too hard you could wind up bowing the liner at that point so you just need to finesse it open. Here's the position;

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Here's the mallet I use when I'm faced with any issues like that, its the larger size, not the tiny one that's also available.;


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This all takes a bit of practice to get the hang of it, after a few thousand knives it becomes second nature 😁

Eric

PS - If you've really banged the hell out of the pin and you can barely open the blade this method probably won't work. Also, it's best to do this before you sand off the pin as providing that extra slack will pull the pin down a hair.
 
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ea42 ea42 you sir are the man, thank you I will try this when I get home or if I get a chance here at work I have a big vise I might be able to use as a stiddy. I'll let you know how it goes.

Report back it worked like a champ thanks again
 
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No problem Dan, glad it worked out. You're now an official cutler :):thumbsup:

BTW that's an awesome first folder!!

Eric
 
Scaniaman said:
New metal dust and spark collection. I have used a Locline and cyclone for handle material and find it great. You get up close and good to where dust forms.
I got a second one now, to use only for steel. Hooked it up to a 2.5" cyclone on a stiff 30 L bucket with som water in it. On the other end is a metal dust extractor. Plan is to use for both dry and wet grinding. I think it should hold up, and save filter bags. No sparks are leaving the cyclone.

https://imgur.com/a/zTbUJuj
Click to expand...

I read that no sparks leave the cyclone, but if sooner or later you do wood on that setup it will start to accumulate dust that can be sparked and with enough bad luck ignite a fire, do you thought about how to counter this?

Pablo
 
PEU said:
I read that no sparks leave the cyclone, but if sooner or later you do wood on that setup it will start to accumulate dust that can be sparked and with enough bad luck ignite a fire, do you thought about how to counter this?

Pablo
Click to expand...

It is only for metal grinding. I have another Locline set up on it's own cyclone and extractor, for grinding handle material.
Here they are next to eachother 🥰
https://imgur.com/N6lkP43
 
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PEU said:
I read that no sparks leave the cyclone, but if sooner or later you do wood on that setup it will start to accumulate dust that can be sparked and with enough bad luck ignite a fire, do you thought about how to counter this?

Pablo
Click to expand...
Water in the cyclone bucket
 
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