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I'm in. I primarily do blacksmithing, both artisanal (meaning pretty and more or less useless) and functional (meaning knives/tools). I love learning about various crafts, and I'd enjoy receiving anything handmade. Bonus points for learning how it was constructed.
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Oct 19, 2020 03:34
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immoral_ posted:According to my tracking number, my package arrived last week. Same, minus the overwrap and Oklahoma parts. If you received a USPS box last week from someone you don't know in WA, that was probably me, and you should feel free to open it.
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Dec 3, 2020 21:04
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A gift arrived! I received a fantastic set of matching coasters in the mail today, which immediately became the nicest coasters in my house:  Action shot showing an admirable level of coastering in the defense of my sideboard:  Finally, a bonus shot of Lamia attempting to eat the box in which they were delivered, because she is not bright:  Thank you, oXDemosthenesXo!
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Dec 12, 2020 01:10
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Glad it arrived safe and sound, I had a ton of fun putting it together! Abbreviated build log follows: 1. Starting out with ~14" of 1084:  2. Forging the first arm. Should I ever do this again, I'd build a jig instead of freehanding it:  3. Both arms forged out, some rough profiling, and makers mark:  4. Adding the clay (technically, furnace cement) to the areas that I don't want hardened. For folks unfamiliar with this, you harden this particular type of tool steel by heating it up to what's known as the "critical temperature" (~1350F) and then rapidly cooling it. If it cools quickly enough, it solidifies in a hard, brittle form known as martensite. The clay provides a layer of insulation that prevents this rapid cooling, causing it to instead transform into softer, more malleable forms like pearlite:  5. Post-quench. For this, I used canola oil heated to ~100F. Notice that the clay applied above has bubbled up, this is both good and bad. Good because the additional volume and voids provide great insulation, bad because it's extremely fragile and if I accidentally bump it against anything it immediately disintegrates. Luckily, I didn't have anything break off until the actual quench. Personally, I find that this is the hardest part of making a knife:  6. Post-quench, post-temper cleanup. The initial hardened steel is very brittle, so it needs to be softened up a bit so that it doesn't crack under usage. For this knife, I did so by baking it at 410F for about three hours. What you see on the blade now might look like a "hamon" (the demarcation line between the harder martensite and softer steel), but is actually just a difference in oxidation. Which is a little bit of a shame, because it's super dramatic:  7. Initial polishing. You can see a shadow of the actual hamon here:  8. Handle attachment and etch. In order to both provide a little corrosion protection as well as highlight the hamon, the blade was etched with dilute ferric chloride. This oxidizes the surface of the steel and affects the hardened and soft areas in different ways, bringing out the contrast:  Super excited to see what you make with it, GEMorris!
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Dec 19, 2020 01:57
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