[TheForge] A not so spectacular failure

Fri Aug 22 13:19:11 2003

Thanks Grant:

Not being a bladesmith there're a lot of the tricks of the trade I don't
know. I'll pack the tip away in my mental tool kit as a keeper.

It seems though Lindsey's knife isn't a writeoff after all. There's enough
tang left to fashion a button tang or maybe use as it with or without a
rivet. I remeasured and there's closer to 1 1/4" of tang remaining. I'll
pass the info on to her so she can find a local bladesmith to help. I sure
hope she finishes it rather than frame and hang the broken pieces.

Yeah, Lindsey's plenty gutsy and picked up the basics not only quickly but
very well. I wouldn't have let an average student go for a knife so early on
the learning curve. Just too much chance of failure and a loss of confidence
early on. "Normally." <grin>

Lindsey left for Virginia the 19th. and I just got her "safe arrival"
message last night. Some lucky smiths down there are going to get to work
with her now. I'm so jealous. <pout pout>

Frosty
------------------------
If it ain't forged
it ain't real.
Wrought iron is.
The FrostWorks

Meadow Lakes, AK.

----- Original Message -----
From: "gblacksmith" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2003 12:14 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] A not so spectacular failure

> Frosty:  Bummer about Lindsay's knife.
>
>     Bless her heart for trying a not-so-easy project for a beginner.  I
had
> this happen to me once when I was a newby knife-maker.  I determined that
> the reason was my failure to maintain heat at the junction of the tang and
> blade, after it had been formed.
>
> My remedy was to make sure the tang junction was heated with each heat and
> to cease striking before the tang junction had lost its color.  Tongs near
> this area also draw heat away very quickly.
>
> Hell, she's young enough to break many more knives as she travels along.
>
>
> Grant