I always sanded the precut 2"X3" pieces to 220 grit. I recently took a class with Mokume expert Todd McDonah and he has a different method of cleaning...

BTW-What method have you been doing?

Somewhere on this forum I did a how-to on making mokume gane by almost the very same method you describe. Except, I do it in the forge and don't bothe...

5160 has a high chromium content that quickly forms a chrome oxide layer that likes to bugger the weld. It really doesn't like to weld to itself, but ...

Save a photo to you desktop compute or phone. Open a browsers and go to: Online Photo editor - Pixlr.com image edit. Choose Launch PixlrX Open th...

Can you post a photo of your wiring terminals and the connections?

This is a perfect opportunity to try typing: Search+ "plunge" into the Google search bar. (I got 2,300 results.) There are many different ways to ...

I was mystified at the bladesmithing use of thousanths to measure just about everything. As Matt ponted out, 0.003 is three-thousanths. 0.03 is three...

Kale, welcome to the madness! 😀 Believe it or not, if you are a beginning bladesmith right now, you have a very big advantage over guys who started...

What Kevin said. I have always used the cratex wheels and polished that spot. I tend to make very square plunges though, when most people make them ra...

Another couple of things to know about cable is that it typically has a lot of gease imbedded in it. This must be removed before attempting to weld. I...

Good plan if you are preparing for your JS test. I think I only worked on mono-steel knives for almost 2 years right before I tested. it was painful...

I watched the process on FB, Truly inspirational work.

So let me ask you a question. Did you shape this handle on the blade after glue-up, or off the blade before glue up? So think about this for a min...

You asked for critique on fit and finish. It's difficult at best to critique from photos, but I will offer what I can. I do this the other way aro...