Finally Finished My Knife

[Binder]

I built my self a forge about 6 months ago and have been playing with it on and off ever since.

Started out fueling it with charcoal, but I have worked out seasoned hardwood in chunks no more than an inch square, 4 or 5 inches long,  works just as well, without the mucking about to make and store the charcoal.

First thing I did was cut up a length of CV shaft to make a few things. Son Alex was keen on making a knife, so watching him have a go made me decide to make my own knife, something that would be suitable to dispatch catfish effectively.

So I have been working on this on and off, finally put a handle on it, sharpened it up and made a suitable sheath for the boat for it. The sheath was quite interesting, in my searching for an easy material and process to make the sheath, there was a lot of info about using kydex, a thermo plastic material (that is not exactly cheap), then I cam across a reverence to standard PVC water pipe also being a thermoplastic, so little light bulb comes on and a after a bit of looking around, sure enough found a couple of you tube videos on using PVC pipe to make the sheath. It is so simple, takes about 2 minutes to make one.

 photos in whatever order the weird uploader puts them - but you should be able to work it out! - 

The forge in use

the hot cutoff tool I made for the hardy hole on my little anvil,

Alex working on his knife,

then my finished knife and sheath.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Drop Bear]

That's awesome.  HMMMM new hobby idea

[kmcrosby78]

Look out catfish!! Looks like it will do the trick - nice and solid!! Clever sheath too - goes to show what a little research will unveil. Well done!!

[Binder]

Yeah, will be replacing a few dodgy sheaths on my filleting knifes with these,  for $3 a metre and literally a minute or two to make -  it is hard to go past the PVC pipe, and you can sand and paint it if you want a less utilitarian look !

Here is a link to making the sheath. Bloke has a newer video with better music, but it is not as informative. I used 25mm pipe, probably could have got away with 20, but the 25mm was cheaper at Bunnings anyway (go figure).

 

[Tybo]

Awesome! I'm looking at making something similar this year(if I have time). Mine will be more a small crucible, hopefully capable of melting copper and brass in order to cast. 

Any idea what temp your furnace gets to? Also what are using as your air pump? 

[benno573]

That's an awesome idea on how to make a sheath, thanks for posting @Binder

[Binder]

6 hours ago, Tybo said:

Awesome! I'm looking at making something similar this year(if I have time). Mine will be more a small crucible, hopefully capable of melting copper and brass in order to cast. 

Any idea what temp your furnace gets to? Also what are using as your air pump? 

Forge gets hot enough to burn steel quickly and easily! and if you have not woken up to it burning, it melts next. Have to be quite careful. It would easily melt your brass etc.

 

For air I used a bilge blower I bought from whitworths on special for $30, 450 litre a minute unit I think -  lots of blokes use a hair dryer, but I figured the bilge blower at $30 was about the same price and it is easier to divert some air flow than ends up with not enough. But I have found I divert a lot of air!  I have a T piece on the end of the blower, and I leave one side totally open, the other goes to the forge, where I have another T piece leading up to the pot, with an adjustable plate on the other side of the T piece, often I have that mostly open as well. I think a hair dryer would do the job quite well.

 

My son made a forge for melting brass and aluminium first, that is what got me interested in making my own forge. He powers it with used engine oil and uses my petrol leaf blower as an air supply. Lets just say Tim the Tool Man Taylor would be proud of him, "more power" being an understatement - first time he fired it up - it melted the 44 gallon drum he made his forge out of, as well as the cast iron mortar he was trying to use as the crucible to melt the aluminium......he takes a little more care about controlling the oil feed after that (started with a garden hose siphoning oil from an overhead bucket in to the outlet of the leaf blower with no restriction on flow at all) , has put a tap on it to control oil flow now. 

 

 

[Tybo]

Very cool. Yeah for $30, seems a very economical blower. I have a Makita battery blower which I was going to use. I've heard of crucibles collapsing under the heat, seems quite common. I was going to use a cut down gas bottle as my crucible, and use hardwood also, so hopefully it doesn't get too crazy but who knows. It's all learning I suppose, cheers for the tips. 

[Binder]

no worries, let us know how you go when you get around to having a go!

[Binder]

Okay it finally got cool enough again on the weekend to fire the forge up again.

Been going to have a go at making one of these for a while, just didn't fancy playing with the dragon breath in 30 degree plus weather, so have not had an opportunity to do it!

 

A cheese cutter made out of 304 stainless steel, (18 - 8 in the old money) with .6mm stainless mig wire for the cutting wire.

Being a 300 series stainless it cant be hardened, (no carbon in it) but stainless is quite a bit harder than mild steel anyway, it should last a lifetime.

So impressed with my $4 delivered to my door 0.5m length of 6mm diameter stainless from Hong Kong via ebay I have ordered a few more lengths of it. (Cost $20 plus postage in Australia)

 

 

 

[Binder]

Well I got ambitious and decided to bring a log down from the back yard to put the lump of steel Ray gave me on. I want to use it for a striking anvil. Cleaned up really nicely.

Nearly blew a foo foo valve getting the log in to the wheel barrow and down to my forging area., but looks like it will work well.

 

 

 

[Binder]

Well I just cant help myself - been watching a 25kg balance mass on Ebay last few days and decided to bid on it. Got it for 27 bucks. Also going to use it for an anvil, some nice curves right way up, might add some more if I get ambitious with the grinder. Or I can turn it upside down and it is perfect for a nice big flat area to beat on.