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Forge
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Permalink Reply by Jan Carter on
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Ian,
My husband uses a gas forge and so do many members of the Knife Makers Guild. Getting into the hobby can be a bit costly so mack sure it is something your going to like. Start with a soupcan forge, there are a good number of videos on it. Simple and cost effective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIRTcmR6sSk
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KNIFE MAKING BEGINNERS group
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In MemoriamPermalink Reply by D ale on -
!! . Thanks for the post, Jan . !!
This looks like just what I need to get into some simple heat treating.
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To date .. I've been grinding already tempered steel to shape & then incorporating into a knife build.
Grinding tempered steel has a multitude of issues. A). It is simply difficult. B). It's also really easy to damage ..or.. at the very least .. change the existing temper.
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Thanks again for posting the link, Jan !!!
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Dale,
You are welcome! Donnie did not get the forge he uses not until we moved in to the GA house. So three years he used that "soupcan" forge. Tip?? He actually used a pineapple juice can, more width and length
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Permalink Reply by Ian on
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The soup can your husband made Jan was it filled with normal plaster of Paris or the one they use in hospitals thanks
Jan Carter said:Ian,
My husband uses a gas forge and so do many members of the Knife Makers Guild. Getting into the hobby can be a bit costly so mack sure it is something your going to like. Start with a soupcan forge, there are a good number of videos on it. Simple and cost effective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIRTcmR6sSk
Also join us in the
KNIFE MAKING BEGINNERS group
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sand and normal plaster of paris
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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Dave S. on -
I know this is old post and jan don't want to step on your toes but sand and plaster is not the best material for this...I have built a bunch of forges over the past couple years....first you need a metal shell it can be some 1/4 in thick stuff but doesn't need to be I made 1 from vent pipe its basicly thin sheet metal bent into a pip very very thin.....then yes there is some "cement wall designs" but they take forever to heat up the best option is stuff called kaowool or inswool it looks like house insulation but is white and 1 or 2 in thick you wrap that around the inside of the metal shell lastly you paint the wool with "satinite" its a powder you mix with water and paint on it keeps the heat in better than te wool alone but also keeps the fibers from the wool from coming out and going in to your lungs...there are some company's that sell forges with nothing on the wool wich is very bad think about inhaling tiny particles of insulation NO GOOD! then you can add things like a fire brick floor and then you can make the burner as well either a venture burner or a forced air burner depending on the size of the forge and what you plan on doing with it....
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KnifeMakerPermalink Reply by Andy Larrison on -
Good information Dave. We use the kaowool here at my forge (industrial forging) for various things and it will hold up to heat. I agree with your comments on keeping the fibers contained, that stuff will go everywhere if youre not careful.
A small homemade forge is on my bucket list....but down the list a ways and never too far from my thoughts. I'm glad you brought this thread back to the top and it would be nice to see others post pictures and/or comments on how they set up their do it yourself forge's.
Dave S. said:I know this is old post and jan don't want to step on your toes but sand and plaster is not the best material for this...I have built a bunch of forges over the past couple years....first you need a metal shell it can be some 1/4 in thick stuff but doesn't need to be I made 1 from vent pipe its basicly thin sheet metal bent into a pip very very thin.....then yes there is some "cement wall designs" but they take forever to heat up the best option is stuff called kaowool or inswool it looks like house insulation but is white and 1 or 2 in thick you wrap that around the inside of the metal shell lastly you paint the wool with "satinite" its a powder you mix with water and paint on it keeps the heat in better than te wool alone but also keeps the fibers from the wool from coming out and going in to your lungs...there are some company's that sell forges with nothing on the wool wich is very bad think about inhaling tiny particles of insulation NO GOOD! then you can add things like a fire brick floor and then you can make the burner as well either a venture burner or a forced air burner depending on the size of the forge and what you plan on doing with it....
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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Dave S. on -
I have found so many people think a forge build is so complicated and I have walked new knife makers through it and every single time they say OH THAT WAS EASY!!
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LOL Dave, no stepping on toes here. I usually tell folks to start with a soupcan just so they dont spend money deciding it is not for them. I know too many that went all out, got a forge, anvil, tongs, steel...only to discover they would rather do stock removal
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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Dave S. on -
something as small as a soup can yeh you could go with something like you described the bigger that gets the longer it will take to heat up...this is why kao wool or inswool is a better option...but it all depends what your trying to accomplish as well....my first forge was simply to heat treat I forged 2 or 3 knives and realized very quickly stock removal was for me but we wont go there now that is a whole other argument LOL so yeh it was used mostly to heat treat carbon steel...I made a longer forge when I did a sword. Then I started experimenting with damscus and it interests me but ALOT of work doing it by hand....Now this summer I got a hydrolic press and made a bigger forge and made bigger burners (both venturi and forced air) Also flux (I use borax) eats through everything the fire brick floor offers the most protection but it eats right though the satinite and wool where it meets the floor.....bubble alumina isn't "flux proof" but is "flux resistant" so I layered that there where the floor meets the wool....works great...unfortunately I haven't had much work with Damascus (all my knives these days are stainless so I use stainless Damascus made by others) it was to hot to stand near a forge all day in the summer. I was hoping to get time with it this winter but it will be put off until after feb 1st from now till then my focus is getting as many knives done as possible before the web page goes up.....ok got off topic lol anyway my point is each forge I made was made and designed for slightly different things one is better for Damascus one is slimmer and longer for heat treating long stuff ect...I have seen makers that do a lot of Damascus use vertical forges and use the cement option...BUT the smart ones layer in the wool and then cover with cement to make it heat up quicker every forge has a purpose....
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I totally agree Dave. After the decision was made that forging would become his hobby instead of stock removal a regular forge was built for him using the wool and firebricks. It keeps him happy and interested lol. Dont tell but he may be getting a heat treat oven for an early birthday present lol
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FeaturedPermalink Reply by Dave S. on -
A heat treat oven is key it was for me and was a bday present for me as well when I started I tried to use one of those cheap 4x36 grinders with the disk on the side...lets say the knives I did on that were not the best and oh yeh my hands yeh my hands were ground more than the knives my father asked me what piece of equipment do you want (I don't think he expected me to come back and say a $2500 kmg grinder but he got it for me....a couple months later my dad asked me again what do you want for your b day again I don't think he though I was going to come back and say a $2000 + heat treat oven but again he got it for me! I knew early on I wanted to work with stainless so I needed that and I got my own dewar for liquid nitrogen as well. dad passed away pretty soon after I got that oven I wish he could see what I can do with the equipment he got me. but yeh all my knives are stainless well kinda I do collaboration's with my friend who is actually a forged in fire winner he forges everything and uses carbon but other than those all my stuff is stainless these days
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