Personally, I use 1095 and always have. I have some old stock 3/8" thick 1095 that has more vanadium than today's stuff and actually a bit of manganese to make it etch really black.

After my billet is mostly drawn out to length and width, I go up on edge, forge down the ricasso to its final width and then draw out the tang on my power hammer. I find those very good tests of the weld, since I'm upsetting it dramatically, and never have any delamination.

I do not forge in any distal taper or forge the tip. We want to keep that center in the center!! The tip is the only thing I saw cut. The rest of the profile is forged.

So basically we could say it's 2 dimensional forging.

I use 410 stainless since I can get it in 1/4" plate.

I like the transition zones. 1095 has some carbon to spare.

This is how I forge a San-mai blade - the corners on the anvil are 10 inches:

Thanks Ed & Karl for the responses. I'm going for some kitchen knives or carvers for the art show in November. I will post some pics of the process and the finished products.

Karl, it looks to me like you do not forge the bevels in, is that correct?

With two layers of 1/4" SS and one layer of 3/8" 1095, that's a pretty thick slab. How wide are the pieces and how much of the resultant welded billet did you use for that Bowie?

Typically, I do the math and figure my end bade volume in cubic inches and translate that back to my starting stock. I imagine there's a good bit of wasted material in this process.

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Thanks Ed & Karl for the responses. I'm going for some kitchen knives or carvers for the art show in November. I will post some pics of the process and the finished products.

Karl, it looks to me like you do not forge the bevels in, is that correct?

With two layers of 1/4" SS and one layer of 3/8" 1095, that's a pretty thick slab. How wide are the pieces and how much of the resultant welded billet did you use for that Bowie?

Typically, I do the math and figure my end bade volume in cubic inches and translate that back to my starting stock. I imagine there's a good bit of wasted material in this process.

Like I said - it's 2 dimensional forging. I don't forge in any tapers in any direction. As Ed also said, it's quite a bit of stock removal.

My pieces are 1 5/8" wide.

I have no idea what this means - "how much of the resultant welded billet did you use for that Bowie?"

All I did was saw cut the tip and used almost everything else.

|quoted:

Thanks Ed & Karl for the responses. I'm going for some kitchen knives or carvers for the art show in November. I will post some pics of the process and the finished products.

Karl, it looks to me like you do not forge the bevels in, is that correct?

With two layers of 1/4" SS and one layer of 3/8" 1095, that's a pretty thick slab. How wide are the pieces and how much of the resultant welded billet did you use for that Bowie?

Typically, I do the math and figure my end bade volume in cubic inches and translate that back to my starting stock. I imagine there's a good bit of wasted material in this process.

Hey Josh I thought I would chime in on your San Mai kitchen knife project since I just finished one kitchen knife and split the core on another(first real try). My billet was .250 a203e,.064 15n20 and core .188 of 52100 comes out to .816x 11 3/4x 1 1/2 drawn out to 28 x 2 no taper and about .156 with scale. That gave me two 1 7/8 x 9 7/8 chef knives (well one) the one that made it is .109 at the bolster. My next two I cut the billet in half to make it easier to deal with. I hope those numbers help.

|quoted:

Hey Josh I thought I would chime in on your San Mai kitchen knife project since I just finished one kitchen knife and split the core on another(first real try). My billet was .250 a203e,.064 15n20 and core .188 of 52100 comes out to .816x 11 3/4x 1 1/2 drawn out to 28 x 2 no taper and about .156 with scale. That gave me two 1 7/8 x 9 7/8 chef knives (well one) the one that made it is .109 at the bolster. My next two I cut the billet in half to make it easier to deal with. I hope those numbers help.

Thanks Gilbert. That's what I was looking for. I have started a few of these and will post the WIP and finished pics in Show & tell

Quote by Derrick Wulf:

Is acraglas an epoxy? Is it impervious to higher temperatures? Again I'm not at all disputing that adhesive polymers are incredibly strong under normal conditions, just looking for some data on thermal effects and potential long term (as in decades) degradation.

I do appreciate all the responses. So far I'm getting the sense that many knowledgeable and experienced makers trust these adhesives implicitly, and when I see a big bowie handle with no visible pin, finial, or buttcap then perhaps I'm not missing anything after all; it's probably held in place by nothing more than epoxy.

Ed might be out o pocket at the moment so I will add a thought.

I cant speak knowledgably about the thermal effects and degradation. The reputable epoxies are very reliable these days and probably will last much longer than we will. That said, I subscribe to the notion of mechanical fasteners. I want to see the means of construction visibly. I want to SEE it, or evidence of mechanical fastening. Evidently you are of that mind too Derrick.

However I don't assume a reputable maker hasn't taken pains to use mechanics even if I cant readily see them. Will I ask? YES I will. <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> I'm just the curious sort I suppose. I will assume that a maker who uses epoxy as his only means of attachment has weighed the factors and has his/her reasons for doing so.

Above, You asked about hidden finials. Karl answered quite well I think. Also, as you know, Karl's work is well known as being solid and precise.

If you're speaking about the difference in external finial and flush fitting recessed head; the only difference could be external part. Below the surface it very well could be the exact same mechanical attachment, which is indeed hidden as far as mechanics are concerned. To hide it from the eye is another matter. To make it invisible (which is entirely possible), we would consider additional factors such as matching material, tight tolerance, etc. but it leads to another interesting aspect of this discussion for myself.

Our eye of discernment. One of the most fascinating things about presenting knives and looking at other's knives is the ability (or not <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />) to discern the maker's juggle between design and construction. Some are totally exposed intentionally with nowhere to hide while other types of construction are meant to be a challenge, a puzzle, and a point for discussions now and serve as a reference into the future.