Why is my knife magnetic?

Fletch Helical

Fletch Helical

Joined
Sep 29, 2009
Messages
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I'm working on the knife I ground up at Aldo's shop last month in this thread http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=693818 since my other one is off for HT. It was a small piece of stock I ordered from Kelly Couples a few months back. I haven't touched it since I was up at Aldo's until last night. I put it on my little grinder for a few of passes to get that dark gray... whatever stuff that was on it. Today I started sanding the blade, for some reason all the shavings from the sandpaper are all clinging to the whole outside of my blade. Anyone know what causes this? Is it a problem going forward?

And is it my imagination or is working with something like 1080 WAY easier than something like a stainless steel?
 
1080 is much easier than stainless to grind, forge, etc.
magnetism is what causes that :D
you can erase the magnetism by taking a very strong magnet and rubbing it back and forth over the length of your steel. If you do want to make something magnetic, rub one pole of the magnet the same direction over the length of the part

-Page
 
Aldo is the problem. Everybody he comes in contact with sticks like a magnet.

I love the big lug, even if he is a yank.

Robert
 
And smacking the blade sharply on a vise, anvil, or even a table will remove the magnetism. A demagnetizer is not necessary.
 
its just from grinding/sanding in the same direction a lot. the iron in the blade gets "lined up" magneticly.
 
Other causes of "new" steel being magnetized slightly are:
1) The steel sat on the shelf ,at the supplier, aligned with the magnetic flux of the earth for a long time. This will magnetize the bar .
2) The steel is precision ground, and there was a magnetic chuck on the surface grinder.
3) Faeries living in the steel ( this is more common in Scandinavian steel)

Stacy
 
The faeries make interesting noises when you hit them with a hammer. It's hard to hit them though, they're fast. :)
 
Yes, it is harmful to the faeries when you make a knife from the steel.
Uddeholm has a special process to safely remove the faeries, but some still slip by. The presence of these elusive creatures can be observed by heating them up to about 1350F. They become incandescent as they ignite, creating the effect called the "Faerie Dance". This phenomenon has been improperly called "fairy dance", which as most smiths know is the term for what a gay bladesmith does when he accidentally grabs a hot billet bare handed.

Stacy
 
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