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Thor II Software Download

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Steve Culver
Posts: 827
Prominent Member Master Bladesmith/ABS Instructor
Topic starter
 

Some of you have heard about a software that will display twisted damascus patterns. This software is called Thor. It is now available on the internet as a download.

Thor was developed by a knifemaker/blacksmith who lives in Cologne, Germany. His name is Christian Schnura. Christian first developed the Thor software some years ago, to run on 16 bit computer operating systems. The old software will still run on older Windows operating systems, but will not run on the newer 64 bit systems.

I contacted Christian about 10 months ago and asked him if he had thought about re-scripting Thor to run on 64 bit systems. He has done the re-scripting and has renamed the software Thor II ©. Christian sent me the link to his web site, where Thor II can be downloaded. He has asked me to share this software to all who can use it.

The ThorII file is a zipped file. You must download it to your computer and then use an application (like WinZip) to extract the Thor II files.

Thor II Download

For anyone familiar with the first version of Thor (which was only in German), Thor II is much improved and contains new features. There are language packs included, so the user can choose his own language. There are several damascus patterns preloaded to Thor II. Several of these patterns were found in old damascus shotgun barrels. There is now a function to do mosaic arrangements of the billet stacking pattern. You can do 2x2, or 3x3 mosaic stacks. There is a “Burn-off simulation”, which allows the user to select a percentage of material to remove from the display, representing forge scale loss of the pattern.

Your own patterns can be loaded to Thor II, by clicking “File”, then “Open”. A menu of folders on your computer will be opened.

Christian is looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks of his new software. Please note below, Christian’s request that Thor II only be used privately.

This program is freeware and may be used and disseminated privately. Commercial use is not permitted without my permission. Christian Schnura.

 
Posted : 04/02/2017 9:04 pm
Posts: 65
Trusted Member Apprentice Bladesmith (5yr)
 

I downloaded it and tried it. It is pretty neat. I can see its utility when designing a knife pattern. I would think that you would have to get a feel for how your pattern develops in steel in relation to the patterns the software generates. It is cool to be able to predict the final design but I don't really know much about Damascus tho.

 
Posted : 05/02/2017 5:31 pm
Steve Culver
Posts: 827
Prominent Member Master Bladesmith/ABS Instructor
Topic starter
 

I would think that you would have to get a feel for how your pattern develops in steel in relation to the patterns the software generates.

I'm pretty surprised at how accurately this software predicts what the damascus pattern will look like in steel. As far as how the pattern will look after forging into a knife blade, that is a matter of material control during forging. Smiths who are experienced at forging damascus blades, will understand how to control stretching of the pattern during forging.

I'm curious; this thread has had nearly 200 views. Has anyone else downloaded Thor and tried it out? Anyone got questions about downloading or using Thor?

 
Posted : 06/02/2017 9:09 am
Posts: 181
Estimable Member Apprentice Bladesmith (5yr)
 

Does anyone know if it will it run on a Mac?

 
Posted : 06/02/2017 9:16 am
Posts: 87
Member
 

I downloaded but haven't done anything with it other than poke around. I'm a few years out from trying Damascus. was out of curiousity more than anything because its an app

 
Posted : 06/02/2017 11:00 am
Joshua States
Posts: 1157
Member
 

Call me "technically challenged", but I cannot figure out how to use this......

Joshua States

www.dosgatosforge.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg

https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71

Also on Instagram and Facebook as J.States Bladesmith

“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”

 
Posted : 07/02/2017 10:11 pm
Steve Culver
Posts: 827
Prominent Member Master Bladesmith/ABS Instructor
Topic starter
 

Call me "technically challenged", but I cannot figure out how to use this......

Here's a few instructions to get you started. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />

To view the patterns which are preloaded to Thor II, click “File” then “Example”.

To load your own patterns, you will need to have them on your computer. If you don’t have software to generate your patterns, it is possible to hand sketch them and either scan them to your computer, or load to your computer a photograph of your sketch. Crop the photo, or scan, to the edges of your sketch. Save it to a location where you can direct Thor to open it.

Click “File” then “Open”. A pop up menu will open for you to select your sketch and load it to Thor. The earlier version of Thor required that your pattern be converted to a bitmap before loading into Thor. Thor II will function with nearly all image file types.

You can also load your pattern by selecting “File” then “New”. This will open a blank screen in Thor. You can then do a copy and paste of your pattern. Although, your pattern dimensions must be sized to exactly fit the Thor screen. I haven’t played around with it enough to know what those dimensions are.

Under the “Edit” menu, you’ll find “Burn-off simulation”. This setting allows you to select a percentage factor to choose, which will remove some of the edges of the Thor illustration. The intention is to represent the effects of a degree of material loss to forge scale.

Also under the “Edit” menu is “Mosaic”. This allows you to set up a 2x2 or 3x3 stacking of the billet stacking arrangement that is loaded to Thor. There is a red box around one of the patterns in the Mosaic screen. You can click on the other patterns to select them individually. The selected pattern can be flipped and rotated to different positions. Clicking “OK’ will load the new mosaic arrangement to the Thor preview screen. Selecting “Mosaic” again, will allow you to do another mosaic arrangement, using the previous mosaic pattern.

At the bottom of the Thor screen are found “Grinding” and “Twisting”. The twisting setting changes the twist rate of the display. Changing the twist rate slider immediately changes the display. (At least it does on my computer)

The “Grinding” slider changes the depth of stock removal into the twisted bar illustration. After changing the position of the grinding slider, you have to go to the “Edit” menu and select “Refresh” to see the results.

The “Animation” menu has an interesting, though maybe not too useful function. Clicking “Play” will display an animation of the changes to the patterns as it is ground all the way through the twisted bar.

The “Settings” menu is where you can make selections to change the visibility of the scalloped edges of the twisted rod illustration.

 
Posted : 08/02/2017 11:46 am
Joshua States
Posts: 1157
Member
 

Thanks Steve.

Believe it or not I had just about all of that figured out except the create a pattern drawing and load it part.

I was originally thinking that this was a "build a billet & see the pattern develop" software so it had me stymied. I kept trying to find where I specified # of bars, thickness, manipulation, etc.

So I suppose you just make a drawing of the end grain of your billet and see what happens when you twist & grind it.

The examples are pretty nice. A couple of patterns in there I have not tried. It was good to see them.

Thanks for the info.

Joshua States

www.dosgatosforge.com

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdJMFMqnbLYqv965xd64vYg

https://www.facebook.com/dos.gatos.71

Also on Instagram and Facebook as J.States Bladesmith

“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”

 
Posted : 08/02/2017 10:53 pm
Steve Culver
Posts: 827
Prominent Member Master Bladesmith/ABS Instructor
Topic starter
 

You can use graph paper to do a sketch of your billet arrangement, take a photo of it, use your photo editing software to crop to the edges of your sketch and save it to your computer. Then, load the image of your sketch to Thor.

It is easiest if you can generate your sketches on your computer. There are many drawing applications that can do this. Even Microsoft Word can do simple block patterns. The image below, I created in just a few minutes this morning in Word. Go to the “Insert” menu and select “Shapes”. I created this pattern in Word and saved it as a PDF file. I opened the PDF in my photo editing software, cropped to the edges of the sketch and saved it as a JPEG. Then, loaded it to Thor.

 
Posted : 09/02/2017 10:19 am
Posts: 8
Active Member Journeyman Bladesmith
 

I made a short video of how to create a new pattern for Thor II with microsoft powerpoint. You could also use Word or Excel or any other program that lets you make images.

Hope it is helpful to someone.

[media] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTncr9OIGU8&t=210s [/media]

 
Posted : 26/03/2017 6:53 am
Posts: 1
New Member Apprentice Bladesmith (5yr)
 

I fear I’m late to the game on this one. The links here are dead. Anyone know where I can still download a copy of this program?

 
Posted : 24/05/2022 11:16 pm
Joshua C States
Posts: 341
Reputable Member Journeyman Bladesmith (5yr)
 
Posted by: @tdoyle200

I fear I’m late to the game on this one. The links here are dead. Anyone know where I can still download a copy of this program?

Try this one:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AVPwQoa3cm3cqGcao0Rfvr1dnk9A42eB/view?usp=sharing

“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”

 
Posted : 03/06/2022 7:54 am
Joshua C States
Posts: 341
Reputable Member Journeyman Bladesmith (5yr)
 

Here are a couple of generated visuals that show how a twist changes the deeper you grind into it.

“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”

 
Posted : 03/06/2022 8:02 am
Joshua C States
Posts: 341
Reputable Member Journeyman Bladesmith (5yr)
 

And this one

 

 

“So I'm lightin' out for the territory, ahead of the scared and the weak and the mean spirited, because Aunt Sally is fixin’ to adopt me and civilize me, and I can't stand it. I've been there before.”

 
Posted : 03/06/2022 8:02 am
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