Gin 498 Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Yes he is,- some friends of mine have his Fieldcrafter knives, and they are doing most everything with them. Great blades. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted April 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2015 (edited) Got a bit sidetracked with other things as you do but got back on to this today. Blade having 3 x non magnetic treated, now heated light cherry red. and quenched in Lydl's finest cooking oil Double tempered to bronze (held it for 10 miniutes before air cooling) then tried an edge but too hard to take a decent edge Tried a light blue temper and it takes and holds an edge unbelievably well. Carved up a chunk of 2" x 2" and it will still slice a piece of paper edge on held between finger & thumb. Edited April 11, 2015 by GruffaloGriff 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted April 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 12, 2015 (edited) Tempering information for M2 HSS taken from here http://www.westyorkssteel.com/tool-steel/high-speed-steel/m2/ full PDDF data sheet top rh corner of page. Hardening Pre heat the steel in two steps; 450-500°C then 850-900°C. Then continue heating to the final hardening temperature of 1200-1250°C and ensure that the component is heated through. Care must be taken not to allow the component to remain too long at the hardening temperature. Quench in warm oil or brine. If quenching in brine allow the tools to equalize, then complete the quench in air. If quenching in oil remove the component from the oil at about 500°C and then air cool. M2 high speed steel is also suitable for vacuum hardening. Tempering Temper the component immediately after quenching. Heat uniformly and thoroughly to the selected tempering temperature and hold at for at least two hours (one hour per 25mm of total thickness). Double tempering is essential and for tools cut by wire EDM triple tempering is strongly recommended. Temperature [°C] 500 550 600 650 Hardness [hrc] 64 65 64 61 So looking at the color/temp chart i have- blue to light blue is potentially between 64 and 61 HRC if i am anywhere even close to that it will be the best blade i have ever made. Edited April 12, 2015 by GruffaloGriff 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
midnight 657 Posted April 13, 2015 Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 Looks great !! You have done your home work on this one !! Remember steel can't be to hard to take an edge , it's just hard to achieve the edge and its brutal . Iv never used hss so will follow your reading on it . The stainless has polished up nice . 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted April 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2015 (edited) Cheers Midnight, bit more polishing yet but it is coming up nice. Got the acid now for the etch it says warm it up for faster results-assume a stainless pan would be ok and a plastic tray for doing the etch? "You have done your home work on this one !!" Not like me at all, usually just jump in with both feet Spent too much time on this one to muck it up now. "Iv never used hss so will follow your reading on it" Pm me your postal address midnight and i will send you a blank to play with next time i get the forge fired up, would be interesting to see what a pro makes of my DIY San Mai. Edited April 13, 2015 by GruffaloGriff 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
midnight 657 Posted April 18, 2015 Report Share Posted April 18, 2015 Thanks that's great !! I would like to see how it works etc . I wouldn't warm etch it . You might end up with a lip where it becomes stainless . I don't think it will need more that 20 mins in a cold solution . Iv not really made anything in the last 10 days , tested the new pair I have pretty well tho , we fired 88gram of shot from my sons shotgun at ten yards at one of the larger new designs , it loved it ha ha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted May 3, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) Delayed again getting this finished. Actually the main reason was i couldn't decide to go with no guard on put a guard on. I preferred the look without a guard but it didn't feel right in my hand, sharp on the back corner of the blade. I played about with ideas but couldn't come up with anything i was happy with, so put it aside to let the old cogs in the back of my mind work on it for a while, eventually a light-bulb came on and i set to again yesterday. Came up with something that looks good and feels right. Forged up a bit of 6mm A4 stainless rod. Shaped it up Welded it on Final blend in and polish ready for acid. Forged up a couple of more blanks when i had the forge fired up. This one has your name on it Midnight. Edited May 3, 2015 by GruffaloGriff 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
midnight 657 Posted May 11, 2015 Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 I look forward to working on it griff . I like the idea of the guard like that ! I might try something similar some time in brass or something . Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted May 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 11, 2015 Well finally got this one finished! Tried the acid dip, was a bit warm still when i dipped it as as you rightly said midnight in left a ridge, only in 10miniutes but worked faster than i expected! As there is not a lot of carbon in sight, by the time i got it honed up there wasn't much contrast showing so i decided i preferred the polished look. End capped wit a silver American Buffalo Nickle 5 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
midnight 657 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 It looks great !! The weld etched up like a fish scale pattern . As a finished knife it really looks good . It will be interesting to see how it handles salt water , blood etc 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted May 12, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 Cheers midnight, i am quite pleased how it turned out especially as it was made up as i went along, but then again most stuff i make is! Just need to get round to making a sheath for it, like the look of those wet form ones, need to read up on that. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kanny 20,480 Posted May 12, 2015 Report Share Posted May 12, 2015 A great read this thread thanks for sharing...The knife looks great griff im staggered at just how much work goes into these knifes. Atb kanny 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GruffaloGriff 1,858 Posted May 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted May 13, 2015 (edited) A great read this thread thanks for sharing...The knife looks great griff im staggered at just how much work goes into these knifes. Atb kanny Thanks kanny. It has been fun documenting my experiment and posting the info up. Hopefully others will have a go at making a DIY Sam Mai and can benefit from my trial & error thread. Midnight and others have been helpful in sharing info that has helped me in the process. Best way to learn is from others experience. Edited May 13, 2015 by GruffaloGriff Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sussex 5,777 Posted May 14, 2015 Report Share Posted May 14, 2015 Been a great read from start to finish , well done to you & midnight for his input .. 3 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Francie 6,368 Posted February 1, 2016 Report Share Posted February 1, 2016 Great thread lads, keep her lit 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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