After taking the ABS intro course last month (with Brion Tomberlin and Christoph Deringer, and Nick Rossi assisting, @NESM) I've got a bunch of forged blades, and have started working on my first guard/handle for a hidden tang blade. I hogged out a rough hole with a drill press, and to fit the hole to the tang I've decided to try making a couple of floats, similar to the ones that Lie-Nielsen makes. See photos below.
I've got the basic tapers forged out and ground flat(ish), and was about to file in the teeth using a triangular or even feather file. But then it occurred to me: when I go to heat-treat them, all those teeth are going to have acute angles in the bottoms of them. Am I just asking for terrible cracking in the gullies of the teeth? But if I heat-treat first, filing the teeth in afterwards is going to be a bear of a job. I'd probably destroy some nice files doing it.
Suggestions/advice?
That's an interesting project David.
I have not made one of those so I am not really speaking with experience. However if I were to make one, I would think I'd need to heat treat before cutting any teeth and then grind the teeth with a surface grinder type machine.
That said, I would also be looking into a process that would use historic techniques. Some times the old ways have an application in our modern projects.
David - while you are not trying to case harden - there is a great video on youtube from ClickSpring on making and hardening files. In his case hardening steps, he cuts the file teeth first, then wraps the file in a carbon paste and clay - then heats and quenches. Maybe the bit of wrapping in a protective clay layer would keep your work from cracking?
I think this idea might allow you to cut your teeth wile soft and still harden with some success.
Here is a link to the video I am talking about:
Thanks, Lin and Jim!
I'll definitely check out that video; that's a great idea. (ClickSpring is amazing.)
