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Some knives

Lorien said:
that conjures up a much more romantic image than what I do!

The reality of heat treating, the way I do it, is pretty boring for most people. I'm kind of into it- it's all about precision and understanding some of the metallurgical science behind how and why the alloys I use are developed, and following strict guidelines wrt quench rate curves, austenitizing temperatures, tempering temperatures etc.

I know a few guys who've extracted blooms from sand and then forged blades from it. While I respect the tradition and dedication of all that, and enjoy forging myself, there really is no comparison, performance wise, between blades made that way and blades made from many of the alloys available these days.

There is art and science wrapped into knife making, which is why I enjoy it. I think there is room for any and all interpretations of how to go about it, my angle is mostly centered around ergonomic interface, and cutting performance.
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I definitely agree with you here. IMO forging is more suitable for wrought ironwork or other forms of shaping. Many people aren't familiar with the term bladesmithing apart from blacksmithing. As you said, bladesmithing requires precise heat treatment for the metalurgy used for the blades purpose along with proper edge geometry.
As for Damascus steel, I see that as an art that pays no benefit to the performance of a bade but only the appearance. Most Damascus is made from 15n20 and 1085 carbon steel which are two of the most standard carbon steels with very limited hardenability. It takes quite a bit more time and money to make a stainless Damascus blade which still looses toughness over the process of repetitive forge welding compared to a blade made with high grade blade steel like S35VN or CPM Magnacut.
 
Yes, the many types of alloy steels have many benefits for knife making. However, it is good to remember that these various types did not exist some years ago. Damascus was a step forward to get a robust tougher material that was somewhat flexible and could hold an edge. It has also been stated by some that the method of making the legendary original Damascus has long been lost. I don’t know. Though it would seem to have been amazing compared to a cast bronze or cast iron knife/sword during a time when any metal was valuable and in many cases reused many times. The amount of work to get the metal and then work it into a useful tool is very much unimaginable by people today.
It is also amazing some of the swords that have been found that are many hundreds of years old in swamps, bogs etc. still in almost useable condition that were made from meterite metals and perhaps some made by processes that were not thought to be possible at the time.
Some of the “Damascus” I have seen at a few shows lately varies from painted, laser?marked, etched etc. junk, in many cases not even two alloys joined together with glue, LOL.
A rant, perhaps. I still enjoy seeing knives made by people that take some pride in the pieces they have made. A good tool that feels proper in the hand, fits and can do its job can sometimes be hard to find in this time of mass production of things that are barely one step away from being in the garbage.
 
Are there any knifemaking shows / meetups in Calgary? I saw a gathering years ago at Reynolds museum 'metal artisans' theme or something like that but I dont believe it was a annual event.
 
PeterT said:
Are there any knifemaking shows / meetups in Calgary? I saw a gathering years ago at Reynolds museum 'metal artisans' theme or something like that but I dont believe it was a annual event.
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Not a dedicated "knife show" but at the spring Easter gun show there are always several knife makers there with tables full of "lovelies"
 
historicalarms said:
what do you use for a stitcher?
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bought a Techsew 5100 about a year ago, and it paid for itself several times over!

Prior to that, all my sheaths were hand stitched and it became apparent while doing batches that there was no future in it for me. Way too hard on my gen x bod. If I do want to hand stitch something, I can use the machine to piece the stitching holes perfectly, so even hand stitching is more efficient with a machine.
 
When the wife & I started shooting competitively in our younger years we couldnt afford "store-bought" rigging so I built our own holsters. For the job I bought a hand awl...man, it didnt take long to discover my hand and that awl and bull hide didnt all work as planned. we needed 4 holsters but after doing one, my hand was so sore I could hardly grip the steering wheel of the Kenworth. I improvised by chucking a leather sewing needle in my shop drill press, threaded it same as the Awl and used the mechanical advantage of the quill to punch through that leather...worked like a charm. We have "store-bought now but those home-builts (25 yrs ago now) are still being used by other new shooters that they were handed down too.
 
I’ve always carried a hand stitching awl with me while camping the last time using it was stitching up the shot bag made by a shoe repair shop that left enough to fill and sew.
 
Lorien said:
bought a Techsew 5100 about a year ago, and it paid for itself several times over!

Prior to that, all my sheaths were hand stitched and it became apparent while doing batches that there was no future in it for me. Way too hard on my gen x bod. If I do want to hand stitch something, I can use the machine to piece the stitching holes perfectly, so even hand stitching is more efficient with a machine.
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@Lorien Is that brand Techsew good ie reliable? e.g. https://www.techsew.ca/collections/...echsew-20u53-zigzag-industrial-sewing-machine. Is this one for $1100 enough money to get a quality machine?

I bought a Japanese machine for my spouse - it worked briefly - we tried to get it fixed 3 or 4 times. Different techs, works for 30 minutes and starts screwing up again. Janome. disappointing. Dealer is excrement. I'd like to get her something that actually will work and stay working. I get the impression many many machines simply don't work very well and need a lot of work?
 
Janger said:
@Lorien Is that brand Techsew good ie reliable? e.g. https://www.techsew.ca/collections/...echsew-20u53-zigzag-industrial-sewing-machine. Is this one for $1100 enough money to get a quality machine?

I bought a Japanese machine for my spouse - it worked briefly - we tried to get it fixed 3 or 4 times. Different techs, works for 30 minutes and starts screwing up again. Janome. disappointing. Dealer is excrement. I'd like to get her something that actually will work and stay working. I get the impression many many machines simply don't work very well and need a lot of work?
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Techsew is a Canadian operation that's been around awhile. I haven't had to contact them for any service, but the machines have a warranty and the company does promote their service, so I've put a fair amount of trust into that.

I'm really not an expert with these machines, so I'm probably not the right guy to ask for an informed opinion. That said, my machine is a beast and it's been great so far.
 
Just out of curiosity has anyone tried out these hand cranked machines? I’ve been watching them for years thinking canvas covers for machinery or old style tool wraps ( A go kit with all your favourites.)
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