Pattern welded Patch knife

[JamesG]

Maybe this well be a patch knife.It was forge welded from a missed up pattern welded bowie . So i cut it up and stach the bevels opposite of each other, then forge welded it back togeither. Etch in vinger.Steel is file and steel banding

 

[NRAJOE]

That is a beauty! :hatsoff:

 

[fatboy]

Cool have you ever messed with cable

 

[RickD]

Your making some nice knives

 

[omarick1948]

Woooow! .... That is real nice! :thumbsup:

Keep it up! :hatsoff:

 

[JamesG]

Thanks for the nice words. Lhunter I do like to work with cable i just do not post it because it not in the right time period. If you would like i can send you a email with my photobucket link.

 

[rabjr]

Very nice. :thumbsup:

 

[Troy Allen Christianson]

A superb piece of work! :thumbsup:

 

[Curtis Makamson]

That looks really good

 

[chipper]

How did you make the knife? Did you use gas? Did you use a trip hammer or a simple hammer and anvil?

Regards
Loyd Shindelbower
Blacksmith
Loveland Colorado

 

[JamesG]

Thanks for the nice words all. Loyd this knife was made from a bowie that did not weld up good.
So I cut the tip off the knife and Cut the rest of the blade into four equal pieced,Stacked the bevealas opposite of each other .Wire welded the ends then add a handle .I use a mesquite wood to forge or forge weld in.I do all my work with hammer and anvil.

 

[chipper]

You da man. That's what I attempt to use but with no luck yet.

Do you use flux?

How big a hammer?

Do let it spark? All the movies about samuai sword welding show the metal sparking like the dickens. I don't see how that works.

Did you tack that scrap metal on with a wire welder first? I see alot of folks doing that.

I've been doing some small garage door spring. I let it cook till wet butter. I use quick weld and beat the crap out of it with like a 2-lb hammer. It never sticks though. I can weld chain every time. I'm kind of getting good at making tomahawks if I keep it really thin. Anything over like 1/16 of an inch just comes apart.

Any suggestions for the wood-be welder?
Thanks

 

[JamesG]

Loyd I use file and some banding stripes from lowes the wide one. I use 20 team boax soap. I wire weld a rebar handle on and then Bring it to yellow .I try not to make it sprackel since you burn carbon. I use a 4 pound hammer and tap the piece firsr couple hits. Then grind all the weld off the sides. Then take a squre face hammer and then start draw the billet it out. All i can say is practice and practice.

 

[chipper]

Neat trick, I can't wait to try. Thanks.

Regards
Loyd Shindelbower

 

[paulvallandigham]

I would think you have to use a flux to get the steels to weld under heat. The only time I got any "steel"(?) to weld without flux was a vent pick I was making from a coat hanger, with a fancy, flattened and curled handle end. I brought the flattened end around using a small rod to form a heart shaped loop, and then brought the end to the shaft. I heated the to parts to orange-white in color, using needle nose pliers to clamp the two pieces together, and when they were up to color, I move the pliers off, And hammered the shank and this end piece together. They stuck!

I was actually taking this last attempt before running up to the grocery store to buy a box of 20 Mule Team Borax Soap to use as flux. I think I still have that vent pick around here someplace. Boy, was I surprised. I suspect that part of the reason it stuck together was it was of the same metal, and it was low carbon steel- it had been a coat hanger, after all.

I think if you use the Borax to flux the layers you should have no problems getting the metal pieces to heat weld together.

I watched and questioned another blacksmith at length while he was forming an axe head. He told the crowd that he was using " flux " to help the two sides of the flat metal weld together, but he didn't tell them what the " flux " was. I quietly asked him if it was Borax, and he smiled, and told me, " 20 Mule Team " every time! He asked me how I knew to ask, and we had a great conversation, as I watched and learned how he made an axe head, with a harder steel bit fitted, and welded to the front edge.

 

[fatboy]

My understanding is modern steels won't hammer weld together very well if you dont use a flux wrought iron was a diff story, You can weld that without the aid of flux. The flux keeps the O2 and dirt out of it and the flux glass's up it helps keep from burning as quick. I was watching a friend do a demo on pattern weld blades and he use's borax gets it hot & covers with flux and bring's it up to weld temp in his gas forge. He had the aid of a power hammer his starting billet was probably 3"x8"x 1-1/2"wide. A few sparks coming off is one thing I think giving the telling sign's that your ready to weld , then theres the full crap I just burned it to death and cry . I dont think you want flux between layers you will have problems flux the outside after wire brushing heat and tap

 

[fatboy]

I've been doing some small garage door spring. I let it cook till wet butter. I use quick weld and beat the crap out of it with like a 2-lb hammer. It never sticks though. I can weld chain every time. I'm kind of getting good at making tomahawks if I keep it really thin. Anything over like 1/16 of an inch just comes apart.

Hey Loyd we just did some welding using the garage door spring on Sat had done a lap weld got it orange brushed it and fluxed it I just dipped into the can coated real well. Heated it up till I saw a few sparks come up out of coals pulled it out and gave a nice firm hit just to get it together put it back in again and finished it up wich is a fire steel now, but is a bit crooked but still works we were trying to see how fast we could make one . Let me know if you ?'s im not a expert smith but will help if i can

 

[chipper]

Thanks for the help. I have a dude that was helping me briefly, he uses no flux whatsoever, but he does use a power hammer. He says once you go with out flux you'll never use it again.

My problem is talking to folks that make pattern welds with just a hammer and charcoal. They are far and few between.

My impression with flux is, I've noticed flux acts like it lowers the welding temperature. The metal looks too cold to weld, I add flux and walla, it's ready to strike.

I think from what you mentioned, I need to use a smaller hammer or hit lighter on the initial strikes. I'm probably blowing out the hot metal and exposing stuff that won't weld. I've noticed too that the videos all show very thin slices of material being welded together. I think I need thinner stuff to work on.

If everything goes right I'll probably try the file welding thing tonight after work, It looks like a good starting point.

Thanks guys for the help.

Regards
Loyd Shindelbower
Blacksmith
Loveland Colorado

 

[fatboy]

Loyd sending you a IM - James sorry for turning your post into a forging how to