There's is a lot at play here, but I do not think any of it relates to P content because I am not adding anything to the melt that would contribute P....

I cut the bar open to see the interior, and set about forging the bar into a blade. I found out the hard way that this steel doesn't really like too m...

I also have an IG account under J.States_BladesmithFor anyone intersted in following, I use social media primarily for business and knifemaking. You w...

I have two FB pages Dos Gatos Forge J.States Bladesmith

Last week I put a couple of pucks through a series of roasting cycles and tried again over the weekend. Here is a link to the latest process.

Forging these out has been quite the steep learning curve. The carbon content is somewhere in the 1.5% to 2.0% range making them rather fragile. The f...

I have made six "pucks" or "ingots" all in the 1 kg range using a small variety of carbide forming alloying elements, or just adding carbon to pure ir...

The following is just my opinion, so take it for what it is worth. The performance test is designed to show the smith's ability to produce a blade w...

Is this your most recent work?

I second the benchtop mill as the next item in your toolkit. Especially if you are planning to test for your JS. Guard slotting is much more accurate ...

Looking good Matt. You will rapidly find that making specialized press dies is your next endeavor! I have seveal sets: Flat for welding, drawing die...

Is the knife at the bottom of the photo the shape you plan to use for the test?

You have a rotary tool. Try using these:/p> They come in a variety of grits and are perfectly flexible to comform to those curves.

Thanks Kevin. Here is a closeup of the blade  Etched-blade-2.jpg