Wheeler's Steel * Stuck in the metal with you

Nick,

Back on pages 14 -15 and about broaches... In your experience building and using them...
What angle to the line of pull do the teeth need to be?
Is there a "better" relief angle?
Do the teeth need to have a set?
Do multiple teeth, at the cutting edge, lay on a flat or a curve?

Mike
 
Those are good questions Mike... but I really never got them figured out that well. The ones I made worked okay. The ones from John Perry are AWESOME. I couldn't make them for what John charges... let alone make them anywhere near the quality.

Most folks think they are expensive until they actually see them in hand. After actually using them, you'll think they're cheap.
 
Cool Thread.

Nick do you think it took more hours to build the knife or to put the wip together?
 
NickWheeler said:
Most folks think they are expensive until they actually see them in hand. After actually using them, you'll think they're cheap.
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NO DOUBT!!!!


Seems like they take seconds to achieve what 20 minutes of fiddling around struggles to duplicate with anything else I've tried...
 
I agree. The John Perry broach is a awsome tool HUGE time saver. I have broached at least 200 peices of stag and it still sharp.
 
NickWheeler said:
Those are good questions Mike... but I really never got them figured out that well. The ones I made worked okay. The ones from John Perry are AWESOME. I couldn't make them for what John charges... let alone make them anywhere near the quality.

Most folks think they are expensive until they actually see them in hand. After actually using them, you'll think they're cheap.
Click to expand...

I talked with John right after page 14 -15 were posted. I'll get there after a while.

I was looking to learn a thing or two and figured you might have gotten "scientific" about making yours... maybe use the info. somewhere else some time...

Mike
 
Hello Nick,

Still reading and rereading this WIP. Excellent!!! On post #80 when showing the sanding block with radius edge, what radius did you end up using for this knive? Again, thanks for taking the time to create this incredible WIP!

Eric
 
Wow! Helluva build. Been looking for something this in depth for awhile. Just reading all 30+ pages has made me want to try my hand at amateur knife making.

I do have one question, though I didn't watch the videos so it might be in there. How did you get the spine of the blade and the guard to be flush without sanding(?) any part of the spine?
 
Hey guys :)

It's hard to say about the WIP time vs. the knife itself, because it's all wrapped up together. Let's just say that normally I could build a knife like this, start to finish in a week or so, and it took about a month to do it while making this WIP happen. So um.... don't expect this to happen again soon ;) LMAO :D

Eric- It's a small radius... something like 3/32" I believe.

Vermillion- It's not quite flush. The guard is actually above the spine by something like 0.020" It's just enough to not have to mess up the spine, but small enough that the eye doesn't get caught up on it. It is tricky to sand the edge of the guard there and not hit the blade though! (tip: Scotch tape! ;) :) )

Thanks again folks :)
 
Lorien said:
Here's a different view of the post etch hand sanding. After I get done doing this, then I take a real good look at the blade and decide how exactly I want to proceed; :)
407.jpg
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Nick,

I'm not getting something, or I missed something in the etching set. I watched you apply finger nail polish and there looked to be none on the side of the tang directly behind the ricasso, yet it didn't etch... why, or how ???

Mike
 
Lorien said:
This is the block I like to use for final sanding on damascus. If you use a soft block, it will contour to the convex blade shape and give it a nice finish, but it will allow the paper to go down into the recessed areas (that are currently very dark) and lift the color out of them. This particular block has a material glued to it that's VERY hard, but has just a tiny bit of give to it. So it gives a nice finish, but also rides on the high spots and leaves the low spots dark;
429.jpg
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What is the material on the wooden sanding block, Nick?

Mike
 
Mike, I'm pretty sure he's pulling your leg - that looks like a Kit-Kat bar, to me. Nick does stuff like this just to make sure people are paying attention. He's such an attention whore.. ; )
 
Nicky, I noticed in post 14 or 15 that you forged the tip down using the horn... I'm guessing because it's considerably faster to get that steel moved. DO you find it much bother to straighten and taper after this method, compared to the far-edge-of-the-anvil method?
Also, I noticed the carbide on your file guide - did you buy it like that, or just snag two strips of carbide from MSC and adhere them on? How does it stand up against ceramic belts?
Back in post 173, you were talking about being a ghey robot... could you elaborate? When did you determine this? Was it at Derrick Wulf's hammer-in?
 
Mike, that area didn't etch because I put Scotch tape over it. Sorry, I thought I had written that, but it must have gotten lost in the shuffle.

That rubber? You guess is as good as mine! LOL I found a chunk of it on the ground next to a dumpster at work one day. I've never seen it in use anywhere... I'd imagine it was some kind of belting. It's VERY hard with just a touch of give.

Matt- Yes and yes. Er... uh... wait. ;) LOL I don't have any issues with forging on the horn, but I do have a feeling there are going to be some people who try it and think I'm stupid for liking that approach. But it's because my anvil has a hardened horn... most anvils have almost zero rebound off the horn.

The file guide is from Uncle Al at Riverside Machine! :) I have scratched it up a little, but I'm not exactly sure how, lol.

As per the other stuff, I'm pleading the fifth! :foot: ;) :D
 
NickWheeler said:
Mike, that area didn't etch because I put Scotch tape over it. Sorry, I thought I had written that, but it must have gotten lost in the shuffle.

That rubber? You guess is as good as mine! LOL I found a chunk of it on the ground next to a dumpster at work one day. I've never seen it in use anywhere... I'd imagine it was some kind of belting. It's VERY hard with just a touch of give.
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I'm pretty famous for not seeing stuff I'm looking for... could be me pretty easily.

I saw the thread layers and thought of belting, too. Did it used to be white (Thinking conveyor belt in food service indus.)? Is it as hard as hockey pucks, or ?

Thanks for doing this, Nick...

Mike
 
Hmmm.... I don't think I've ever actually held a hockey puck Mike! LOL I'm quite sure it's always been orange. It's bright orange on one side and darker on the other. The mill I worked at is a craft paper mill (think paper grocery bags, concrete bags, tissue boxes, etc) so I don't know if that would be considered food grade or not. I think I have some more of it, if you send me your address I can send you a piece of it (if I can find some more of it in the shop).

One thing's for sure...my horrible answers to these questions have been proving I really don't know what the hell I'm doing out in my shop! :o :D LOL
 
NickWheeler said:
One thing's for sure...my horrible answers to these questions have been proving I really don't know what the hell I'm doing out in my shop! :o :D LOL
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Yes you do... not as good as you are going to another 20 down the road, but it's just a matter of degrees now... =]

Mike
 
Lorien said:
Here's the front of the handle block, all laid out for the tang;
338.jpg
]
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All right, Nicky, before this dies... I've got one more question:

Your handles are wonderfully shaped. I find that I start with a block that is WAY too thick to begin, and end up shaving a ton off (which means lots more work, which means lots more chances to screw up with machines that move fast).

In general, what size blocks do you start with for a project like this one?
 
Also, one more question on overall design. Back to Lorien's initial drawing/concept.
bcf8dfd6.jpg


Nick & Lorien,
Any comments on the mutual decision process? it is interesting looking back, seeing the changes and development. It happens quickly without much explanation. Altering the handle style, certainly. And blade shape too.. To me it looks to finish up toward a more recognized Bowie looking style, not "bolo" as much - correct?

Heck, i wouldnt complain.. not saying that. Its a beauty. :)
David
 
that's a really pertinent question David, and I'm not sure yet how to answer it, but I'll take a quick stab at it.

I'll tell you, the design process happened over quite a long course of time, and I had lots of time to consider Nick's reinterpretation of my original design. I even spent some time reinterpreting his reinterpretation, and among other small things, removed the recessed ricasso altogether. Eventually, though, Nick's version became the knife which was one of the fruits of this thread.

Y'know, there came a point in time where I could really have pushed to have Nick try harder to stay true to the original design, but I realized that in pushing him to do that, I'd be pushing him to not be true to himself.

Nick has his own take on life, the world, and all that, and he's brilliant. Possibly a genius. Who am I to dictate what he brings to life in this world? I wasn't so tied to my design. If I was, I'd probably have either tried to make it myself or got someone to make it quickly. I was tied to Nick, as my knifemaker, and I forever will be, so long as he continues making knives, I will try my hardest to be his patron.

With Nick, and so many other things, good things come to those who wait Allowing him free reign to interpret my wishes resulted in a knife which far surpassed them.

Here's a link to a discussion that occurred regarding design;
http://www.customknifecollectorsassociation.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=164

Nick also posted a thread somewhere in this forum talking about our designing process that was extremely interesting, (I thought so, anyway).
 
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