This will go to the Knifemaking section of my website when it's done.
This is the sketch of the custom knife to make.
We arranged the following:
- 3/16" thick blade of a San Mai damascus with O1 in the middle.
- Coppered damascus bolsters.
- 1/8" thick sheep stag handle slabs.
- 1" diameter forefinger ring.
This is from the meeting with another knifemakers and tracer-san. I prepared 3 damascus billets to test the drop hammer Alberto (one of the knifemakers) built and to see if I could get some extra help on this damascus, as it's going to be pretty big.
Customers's billet is the one next to the hammer.
The bottom one.
Putting it on the oven and hammering it a bit.
Testing the drop hammer.
The drop hammer didn't have enough weight installed to hammer strong enough, but I managed to get the billet a little longuer though.
In the middle of the forging the billet started to get loose from the supporting bar from the heat and hammering, so I had to reinforce the welding.
Here you can see Ruben Calo using the drop hammer
http://www.aescustomknives.com.ar/martinete1.mpghttp://www.aescustomknives.com.ar/martinete2.mpgI kept on forging the next day at my workshop, and just to show you guys that this is not an exact science, after hammering the billet, I discovered it was a bit shorter than what I needed, so I'm gonna have to forge a new billet for this and use this for another knives.
I could strech it to fit, but then the thickness wouldn't be the ordered, so it was not an option.
This is the making of the canister with the different steels inside to place later in the oven to heat it (O1 in the center, and layers of 1010 and 1070 surrounding it)
Forging time again
This is how I made the hole on the steel and then hammer it to accomodate it to the right position.
After I had the holes and flatened steel, I cutted a stencil in paper, a little bigger than the knife so I have some room later for the grinding stage and glued it to the steel with contact cement.
On this detail, you can see the stencil hole matches the steel hole (bad choice of background for the picture)
Here I am, taking the steel bar into shape with a hand grinder (I don't use laser or plasma cutters or saws)
After I finish that, the steel has the shape, but it's still very rough.
Smoothing it with a bench grinder.
Knife blank
Here's a little preview of the grinding lines (Those curves were really hard to make)
Check out the red lines, my sugestion for teh customer was that the front bolster covers all of that, so he can have a better finger rest with a firmer grip (he agreed with that
)
If you look at the grinded part, you can see the O1/damascus line on the middle
This was the hardest knife to grind I have ever make, and I'm really proud of how it turned out
I made some bevels wider than on the original design to show the damascus and O1 patterns better.
Here's how you prepare the sheep stag to be used on the knife.
I was going to do this tomorrow, but I did it tonight so tomorrow I can just start working on the handle itself when I get up
First I cutted the stag in 3 parts so I can place it on a pot
I boiled the pieces of stag so they become elastic.
Right after the boiling bath, ready to be flattened.
On the horizontal press.
Flattened stag, already marked with the aproximate shape of the handle slabs to be cutted.
Cutted slabs and damascus steel marked for the bolsters.
A part of the handle making process
I use a tin alloy bar to add a film to the back of the bolster so I can weld it later to the knife.
Same treatment on the knife.
I press both pieces in position and then I heat it with a torch to the melting point of the alloy (aprox 270 C)
When it colds, the welding is perfect, so I can take it off the grip.
Regards,
Ariel
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