Forging a clip point Bowie to shape

[jbaron]

http://www.jordanknives.com/grinding.htm

I think this guys ricasso lines are really nice he uses a small wheel to grind them in.

[Kevin]

nice booooowie btw Kev ... except that sharp transition where nasty things can grow ..... i much prefer a gentle transition for ease of cleaning and maintenance

Yes...Boooooooweeeee

This transition its more traditional for the style I wanted.

As for cleaning and maintainence of the transition..I think your aving a laugh .... providing you give the proper care and maintainence a carbon steel knife deserves ,you dont have to spend any additional care or maintainence for this transition compared to another style....unless you think to hard about it

The transition is not as sharp an angle as it looks in the photo..it is slightly hollow

[Kevin]

hi kev i really like the shape of that booowie it looks super rclean. So are you going to do the 3 day quench, that ed fowler suggests? I just got a 3ft by 1 inch rod of 52100 my questions are is it a nightmare to forge and grind? i'm also interested in the smiths you mention that use wheels when i was down doc prices he had a water wheel machine not slow turning but really fast turning and water just sprayed out is this similar to what they use?

Jon
Thats a good link you posted. .

Charlie Ochs does the same on a contact wheel and makes a superb boiwe.fighter (The Spec Ops knife).


52100...I think it forges about the same as O1 for stiffness...

It seems to air harden, as the grinding/filling was harder than say 10XX or 5160.

Definately triple normalise and anneal (over night) to refine it again.

I went with the 3 day quench as sugested by Mr Fowler.....who uses a slow quench medium..known as Texaco Type A oil...he says its an 18 second quench..I havent been able to get hold of any of that yet.

Its a new steel for me so I have lots to learn myself.


Charlie Ochs uses 52100 and does a very quick quench in water (in his video)...and I know another maker who uses 52100 all the time and triple quenches in water......so who do you listen to?.........answer....BOTH.
I think you have to experiment and find out yourself, and see what works for you.



I pretty much use warm peanut oil for everything, have tried other mediums..I always come back to it.

Before I forged this booowee...I made two test knives out of 52100.....and went through the same procedure on both that I was intending to use.....triple edge quenches, and triple temperings..I then did some cut tests and bent them 90...They needed to be flexed a couple of times (back and forth) before they eventualy snapped. I was happy with the grain, silky grey, ...so this is the method I am using at the moment.

I have some info from the 52100 supplier on heat treatment..they suggest its an oil quench..but if its a thicker section (thicker than 1/2 inch thick) they suggest a water quench may be necessary for full hardness.

These are the analysis specs from my supplier.

Carbon.... .95 to 1.10
Mang..... .25 to .45
phos.... .025 max
sulpjur.. .025 max
Silicon ... .20 to . 35
Chromium... 1.3 to 1.6

Rc at quench is around 66Rc!........
Their chart shows that tempering at 300F should achieve 65 Rc......400 F about 62/63 Rc.....500F ..about 60Rc
These are approximates....and test pieces were 1 1/2 inch discs x 13/32 inches, quenched in oil from a 1525 saltbath and tempered at different temps for an hour each.

I did two temperings at 400 F (2 hrs each).....but wanted a darker color in the steel, so went to 450 F...its a purply dark straw colour...I dont usualy go that dark on other steels...but checking with my rc files , I am still above 60 rc.

[MushiSushi]

Wasn't completely having a laugh, more of a little chuckle I think that sharp transitions tend to collect grime if you aren't careful about cleaning, especially in a do all work knife that might be used to prepare food in the field .. you don't want too many nooks and crannies where germs can grow. Something easy to wipe down, a sharp transtion would need more careful wiping. That's my theory and i'm sticking to it :p

[Kevin]

Wasn't completely having a laugh, more of a little chuckle I think that sharp transitions tend to collect grime if you aren't careful about cleaning, especially in a do all work knife that might be used to prepare food in the field .. you don't want too many nooks and crannies where germs can grow. Something easy to wipe down, a sharp transtion would need more careful wiping. That's my theory and i'm sticking to it :p

I guess as smooth as glass and as polished as a mirror would be perfect then...but sooooo boring (IMO)... lol.

[RogerPinnock]

Really interesting and informative posts coutel - thanks! And a real sweet-looking bowie as well.

Roger