Knives for Little Rock

[kbaknife]

I'll try to post up some of the knives I'll be taking along to Little Rock. And if any one else wants to contribute to this thread - that's fine by me.
This one is a San Mai Hunter made of 1095/420SS and Stabilized Walnut Burl.
The bottom pictures are how the billet started.
The core is 3/8" 1095 and the laminates are 1/4" 420 stainless steel. 2 1/2" long.

[srtben]

Clean and classy. Nice work Karl.

[Lin Rhea]

Keep em coming Karl!
 

[Doug Campbell]

Looking good buddy, hope I can get something done in time...  

[kbaknife]

Here is a rather large Bowie which is one of a "brother-sister" set. This is for a Marine home on leave and it gets a matching hunter for his sister.
They're actually driving from Ohio to Little Rock to pick up the set.
It's a San Mai Bowie and will get a stainless guard and some stabilized Franquette Walnut for a handle.
The first shows the original San Mai bar right as I forged it down from a billet of 3/8" 1095 and 2 pieces of 1/4" 420 SS. The original was about 5 inches long and then drawn out to what you see here.
Then a drawing to see how she might look.

 

[kbaknife]

Here are pics right after it was hardened, tempered, and then a little clean-up grind:

[kbaknife]

Here is how this one turned out:

[Doug Campbell]

Another winner buddy.    

[D.Ellis]

Looks like an effective chopper as well as a sticker.    
Seeing that little floating remnant of the stainless cladding at the tip makes me wonder if you could do more of that the full length of the edge. If you did some surface manipulation and then forged it flat? I know next to nothing about working with this type of san mai, so maybe it'd be a recipe for disaster?
Darcy  

[mj seratt]

Where and when is this Little Rock event?  Is it open to the public?  
I'm in West Tennessee, and would really like to attend.

Murray

[kbaknife]

Here is a link to the show - you'd better make it!! There will be a handful of us there.

http://arkansasknifemakers.com/arkansas-custom-knife-show.html

[kbaknife]

Originally posted by D.Ellis:
Looks like an effective chopper as well as a sticker.        
Seeing that little floating remnant of the stainless cladding at the tip makes me wonder if you could do more of that the full length of the edge. If you did some surface manipulation and then forged it flat? I know next to nothing about working with this type of san mai, so maybe it'd be a recipe for disaster?
Darcy      

That's a good observation, and I will return to this later this evening and explain how I make my San Mai and my philosophy behind it.

[kbaknife]

Alright - in fact, that "floating remnant" is simply what is left of the remaining character - just like the rest of the stainless that you see - after the blade is ground.
Here's how I do it, and a bit of my San Mai philosophy:
Making Stainless/Simple Carbon San Mai is a lot like trying to glue a Gummy Bear to an ice cube.
They're both happy by themselves, and would rather not be connected.
In fact, every possible variable is against that happening.
I've seen some guys start with their three components so close to their final thickness/dimension that once they get their initial weld, they do very little more forging.
I am of the opposite inclination - I want my San Mai billet to remain at welding heat as long as possible and spend as much time under the press and power hammer as I can get it to do so.
So, I start with a 3/8" thick 1095 core and .280" - well over a 1/4" - stainless jacket on each side.
When getting my initial weld - which I do twice and which must be in an oxygen free atmosphere - I soak for nearly 1/2 hour. After the weld, I want as much carbon and alloy migration as feasible. I want those components to become ONE!
And they do.
I've tried everything I can possibly do to destroy one of these blades and I can't get them to fail.
I draw out my billet almost to my final thickness incrementally by about .020" per reduction with flat dies in my press.
On the next to last pass I reduce the steel with round drawing dies. Those create those undulations you see along the bottom edge.
Often I have referred to this San Mai as a really good demonstration of what is happening inside our steel when we use drawing dies.
Them, when I flat grind it, we get to see the highs and lows of the drawing dies.
That remnant you refer to out there at the end is simply where the 420 SS was pushed into the 1095 with the drawing die. When I did the flat grind and got thinner along the distal taper, I sheared off the spot between the draw bites that was more 1095 than 420.
So, when some guys make their San Mai and start at a dimension that is already thin and near their final thickness, they don't have the time/mass to do drawing functions, so they saw-cut into the edge a lot like when making ladder Damascus.
There are things I could do with a ball peen hammer to put in more activity along the line.
Truth is, I just don't see any other San Mai out there quite like mine, so as long as it remains recognizable as mine, I think I'll just leave it like it is.

[Lin Rhea]

I appreciate you posting that explanation Karl. It was very understandable.

It also gives insight into not only how a knife maker who is in it as a livelihood thinks but also how one's equipment play a part in the recognizable results of that maker's work.

For anyone reading your posts, a lot can be learned. Testing to destruction for instance. Who but someone who insists on making the absolute best hand made product would even consider that?

[D.Ellis]

Thanks Karl........lots of info there, and good insight into your knife making philosophy...... It ain't broke and don't need fixed that's for sure!    
I'm just a sick individual who's never content to do the same thing too many times in a row......that, and a blade junkie with too much enthusiasm maybe  :D  

While on the topic. Have you done a dagger with this steel before.......cause that'd be AWESOME!

Darcy  

[kbaknife]

Originally posted by D.Ellis:

While on the topic. Have you done a dagger with this steel before.......cause that'd be AWESOME!
Darcy      

No - not yet - but a stainless San Mai over Damascus dagger might be cool.
And there is one I need to make.    

[Fallguy]

Nice Job!!!!! I have been looking at your Gunflint Bowie style and envisioning a San Mai blade. It is fantastic. Now I just need to true northwoods handle material.  You and traded some e-mails a while back on this subject. Once again Nice Job Karl.  

[kbaknife]

Originally posted by Fallguy:
Now I just need to true northwoods handle material.  You and traded some e-mails a while back on this subject.    

Some good northern Minnesota maple burl or black ash burl.    

[Bobby Urban]

"which I do twice and which must be in an oxygen free atmosphere"

How does one achieve this oxygen free atmosphere?

I have read about stainless to carbon san mai using a tig welded box with a paper towel and WD40 inside to deplete oxygen but it seems daunting.  Is this something you are doing?

The smith would weld the whole thing together in a press and then grind the box away leaving a billet.

[Fallguy]

Black Ash burl sounds like a killer package. I will have to get my name on your list.