The Armour Archive

polarbearforge

A good number of us make seaxes. I make completed ones or can provide a blade blank. What exactly are you looking for?

Jamie

polarbearforge

The link cutter that I built was the first version of that design. I was about half way through building the second version (taking some parts from the first) when I totally lost interest in mailling. If building a link cutter, there are a couple things to remember. The coil has to be held steady. I...

polarbearforge

I don't think that my sarcasm was taken the way I meant it. The way that I meant it, is that most of us pattern weld steel, we don't pattern weld smiths. That would take much too large of a forge to start with a decent layer count....

Jamie

polarbearforge

Did you use the FeCl as is from the bottle or dilute it? (I use the same for etching pattern weld and dilute it approximately 4:1.)

Jamie

polarbearforge

Torvaldr wrote:He is by far the best pattern weld smith I have met.

Most of us pattern weld steel though.

Jamie

polarbearforge

Now armour isn't really my thing, but I do like metalworking and I really like how this piece looks. Let me add another WOW

to the list.

Jamie

polarbearforge

For 1050, you'd probably want a Honey Lane(10th to 11th centuries) type of sax. Something similar to this m in point and blade shape. You could also get away with a Hurbuck style, which was found from the 8th to the 10th centuries. It's blade shape is similar to this, m Where you wanting a single st...

polarbearforge

I thought that last one looked familar. It's nice to actually have a face to go with the login now. How's it going Dennis?

Copin/Jamie

polarbearforge

Note: take this estimate with a grain of salt, as this is what a similar die for the punching industry would cost. Just my ramblings. It has changed a little bit, truthfully, it would probably cost betweek 5,000 and 10,000 now. CNC and wire edm have decreased cost and increased accuracy. It would b...

polarbearforge

The dies that Jim is making for his press are totally different than a die for punching lamellar. I doubt he'd be able to make one. I am a machinist and work on dies. InfinitySteel is right, it's a very precise setup. While a lot of work can be done in the soft stage (before heat treat) a lot of it ...

polarbearforge

Yes, it would cost thousands to build a die like that. The strip doesn't need to be real precise. Strips can also be hand fed instead of machine fed. I supposed it depends on how many need to be stamped, a couple hundred, I'd feed it by hand. A couple thousand or more, machine fed. Turret press defi...

polarbearforge

I could do it, but it would be really expensive. Do you have a punch press? For 20 g stainless for example, a prog die would require minimum of 19 tons.

You don't actually need three dies. You can do it with one prog(short for progressive) die.

Jamie

polarbearforge

whonew wrote:All are "correct" weight and balance.

Just curious, how can they be the "correct" weight if they're made from aluminum instead of steel?

Jamie

polarbearforge

Hand forged A2? That must have been fun. All the air hardening alloys that I've forged are tempermental at best. How did it move in comparison to others? It looks like partial tang to me. A full tang is the full width and full length of the handle. It looks really nice, I like the flow. Jamie

polarbearforge

I'll be there. Mainly in merchants area at my forge.

Copin
mka Jamie

polarbearforge

Only 475? That is not even at the bottom temp that is recommended by metallugists to draw a temper. Generally the range is 500 at minimum to 800 at maximum. Actually, things start happening for tempering at a lower temperature than 500. The crystalline structure of steel starts to relax a bit start...

polarbearforge

Definately seems to be an unsual reference for steel. Are there any other Canadians that can verify if that's a common practice up there? Form the information given, it does seem like 1080. If 1080 is tempered after a proper quench, it should be about 45-47. I don't know if that is the best hardness...

polarbearforge

Egfroth wrote:Um . . am I the only person who thinks the axe-head should be mounted on the shaft the other way up?

Nope, yer not, that was my first thought as well.

Nice piece. Do you have a picture of the original it was based on?

Jamie

polarbearforge

so i've heard rumors of a machine that can coil and cut rings out of it... This to me, seems to indicate that he's looking for one single machine, not more than that. They are industrial machines, like I said, for making springs. There haven't been any plans posted on any board that I'm aware of. J...

polarbearforge

The ones that some suppliers use (like the Ring Lord) are actually spring machines that are setup to make one link and cut it. They are really expensive and I never found anything resembling plans when I was still interested in chain. Now if you use two separate machines, one to coil and one to cut,...

polarbearforge

Um, wow! 115+ pairs of tongs?!?!?! If only I had the cash. That would be worth the trip.

Jamie

polarbearforge

No idea, but it looks modern to me.

Jamie

polarbearforge

I don't wander the tracks in my town as often as I used to, but they actually kept it REALLY clean. It was the rare occasion that I found some tidbit lying about. Round barstock is my preference, but when I found the anchor lying there, I had to give it a shot. Usually, I suggest using coil spring f...

polarbearforge

Robert, I've done that to people before and they've done it to me. I always find it amusing when somebody answers three questions in a row with conversational statement to questions I was just going to ask! Kerry, the style I've forged out before is the bottom one in the second picture. It was a roy...

polarbearforge

Looks good. I like how you set the door to be set in different heights. Now you'll start getting infected by the "If I build another forge for..." bug!

Jamie

polarbearforge

Ah, I see. Of the pieces I tested, the water/brine averaged 23, while the top was 27. Oil never exceeded 18.

I didn't do the clay coating thing. That's just not something that I'm really interested in. They tell me, though, that 1040 and 1050 work well for an active hamon.

Jamie

polarbearforge

Thomas, I'm glad you saved that. I meant to look for that exact post, but never got around to it. Most Rail Road spikes won't harden in the Rockwell C scale. On a few that I tested, water/brine quench registered as did oil quench (only barely though). This was also in thinner cross sections. I agree...

polarbearforge

Single handed swords averaged not quite two pounds (give or take a wee bit). Not 10, 15 or even 40 (as one well known expert mentioned during a presentation of the "The Messenger" on A&E a few years ago. He picked up a reproduction saying it was much too light compared to the real ones and that the...

polarbearforge

#2 and #3 are sold. #1 is now heat treated and ready to go.

Jamie

polarbearforge

also I'd love to see where you got the .27% listing for rail road spikes? everything I've seen from my rail guys say they are 1040 as is track (thus .40%) and while still low .40 will yield hardnesses in the mid 50's. The ASTM specification for RR spikes says that a HC spike can have up to .30%C. T...

polarbearforge

The inlay I've done is similar to the diagram posted, but with a few changes. The graver I use isn't V shaped, it's square. Let's say that I'm using wire that measures 0.032 inches diameter, my graver will be about 0.035 inches wide. I'll cut a channel at least half the diameter of the wire, so in t...

polarbearforge

Greetings all! I was cleaning out the shop a bit, and found three blade blanks that I'm offering for sale. All three of these are the last of my blades forged from coil spring. A couple years ago I switched to using only known steels for the finished knives that I sell. These three remain. They are ...

polarbearforge

Darren Ellis has it for sale. His website is http://Refractory.EllisCustomKnifeworks.com and it's under Refractory Coatings.

Jamie

polarbearforge

Bubble Alumina Refractory Coating is supposed to be alot better at flux resistance than ITC-100. It has a 3300 degree F rating. Once I get around to rebuilding a few damascus forge, I'm planing on coating the floor with it.

Jamie

polarbearforge

You can't go wrong there. He'll get you setup with what you need for a forge. If you go to his actual website at http://refractory.elliscustomknifeworks.com/ and then look at the burners, there is a picture of the 3/4" venturi burner.

Right now he's probably getting ready for Batson's next week.

Jamie

Re: sell or trade? SWORDS

Re: wire coiling and cutting

3 blade blanks for sale