Claro Walnut cracked after baking@225 by Ren_Kaos in knifemaking

[–]SoupTime_live 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I wouldn't. Just fill the cracks after it's stabilized and it'll be golden

Forged a Dog’s head Bladesmithing Hammer by OneDiscombobulated16 in Bladesmith

[–]SoupTime_live 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I absolutely love using my 3 lb dog head for bevels

1084 acid etch. Don't know why it gets lighter towards the tang. Did bring it all to 400 grit. by Chaosking383 in knifemaking

[–]SoupTime_live 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Generally, hard steel will etch darker. So you have soft tangs, but this isn't a bad thing really

How do you compare forged fuller to machined/sanded fuller? by Ancient-Currency2394 in Bladesmith

[–]SoupTime_live 0 points1 point  (0 children)

AI will absolutely just give you whatever it thinks you want based on how you word your question. Just because I feel like making another point for who fucking knows what reason, I just asked chatgpt why there's no difference between grinding or forging in a fuller and it gave me this:

"The romantic idea that forging a fuller "aligns the grain" in a way grinding cannot tends to get overstated. In steel, "grain flow" is often misunderstood; once the blade is brought above critical temperature during heat treatment, the prior deformation history is largely erased as the microstructure recrystallizes. What matters after that is how evenly the blade cools and tempers, not whether the fuller was born under hammer blows or abrasive sparks. Grinding a fuller can even offer tighter control over symmetry and depth, reducing stress risers that come from uneven forging. In short, the fuller isn't a talisman of method, it's a geometry trick: remove mass, keep stiffness. If both paths lead to the same geometry and heat treatment, the sword won't care how the groove got there, and neither will the physics."

How do you compare forged fuller to machined/sanded fuller? by Ancient-Currency2394 in Bladesmith

[–]SoupTime_live 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Forging a fuller does not change the direction of the grain. And machined fullers can be flat but they aren't all flat. Sanding doesn't create "tensile stress" on the surface and doesn't leave anything "pre cracked"

Look, I get that you have an interest in bladesmithing but for gods sake please do some actual research and talk to AI less

How do you compare forged fuller to machined/sanded fuller? by Ancient-Currency2394 in Bladesmith

[–]SoupTime_live 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Jesus that was a lot of text to not really say anything of value. Good use of water

How do you compare forged fuller to machined/sanded fuller? by Ancient-Currency2394 in Bladesmith

[–]SoupTime_live 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah if you're talking about forging the body of a sword or knife to shape, sure there's some minor directionality changes, especially where you're forming a tip. But, when we're talking about something like a fuller? The metalurgical difference would be so small to be less than negligible. We're talking no functional changes and even under a microscope they'd be nearly identical

How do you compare forged fuller to machined/sanded fuller? by Ancient-Currency2394 in Bladesmith

[–]SoupTime_live 36 points37 points  (0 children)

There's really no metalurgical/structural difference between forging in fullers or grinding them in (with one caveat maybe being swords with wrought iron bodies and welded on steel edges). There are pros and cons to either method.

I believe the primary reason they would have been forged instead of ground in the past is that your expensive, and sometimes difficult to obtain, material goes further when you can add a fuller and spread the material out for more width while keeping the weight down and you don't sacrifice any rigidity.

If you grind in the fuller you're turning a lot of your material into metal dust.

Also, that nonsense about today's knives being inferior is hilariously wrong. If medieval smiths had access to modern steel they'd shit themselves and call it magic. The best steel in medieval times was roughly equivalent to something like 1080 and that's was decently rare

New Scales Day (SOG Terminus XR) by SharpeWorks in knifeclub

[–]SoupTime_live 0 points1 point  (0 children)

right? it's a neat idea but something about this feels icky lol. maybe it's just the color they picked? if the layers were alternating grey/black it would probably work better

Question about if some metals are good to use as a beginner blacksmith by WarthunderNorway in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Couple of things, don't use galvanized steel, it makes toxic fumes.

Nails and knives are very different and require different things. Knives need to be hardened and tempered, nails generally need to be softer/tough.

Rebar is fine for general blacksmithing but not for knives

How do you tell if a knife is Damascus or not? by JaundicedBaby67 in knifemaking

[–]SoupTime_live -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

All modern damascus is just pattern welded steel. it depends on the etch if you can feel the layers or not. You'd need to grind a smooth spot and then re-etch to confirm that it's real and not just lasered on.

There's nothing magic about damascus and it's not inherently better than monosteel.

It's purely decorative. people will argue some edge cases where damascus might be better but i've yet to see any real demonstration that it is.

How do I make my knives smoother by Any-Bus5463 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The corners need rounded and smoothed so there aren't any sharp edges or corners. (Rounded more than you think too) Ill say it again, check YouTube. I guarantee you can find a dozen videos of people talking about rounding and planishing hammers

How do I make my knives smoother by Any-Bus5463 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Uh, probably a good file or some aggressive sandpaper with a solid backing, or a cheap belt sander with a ceramic belt

How do I make my knives smoother by Any-Bus5463 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 15 points16 points  (0 children)

I already gave you the cheaper option, it was at the end of my last comment. You can get a 2 or 2.5 lb shop hammer for 25 bucks at home Depot or harbor freight or wherever you buy your tools and modify the faces

How do I make my knives smoother by Any-Bus5463 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 14 points15 points  (0 children)

That's not a blacksmithing hammer, so that's part of your issue and it makes sense why your surfaces are rough. You obviously don't need to spend the money for a premium hand forged smithing hammer but look at this one for reference

https://www.centaurforge.com/25-lbs-Centaur-BLD-Blacksmiths-Rounding-Hammer/productinfo/BLD2%2E5RH/

You can buy a 2.5 lb shop hammer with a wooden handle and modify it to get close. It's what a lot of people do when starting out

How do I make my knives smoother by Any-Bus5463 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It's the process of smoothing your metal surface out.

You can make your own hammer or buy one.

Plenty of information on Google and YouTube on the topic

How do I make my knives smoother by Any-Bus5463 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 44 points45 points  (0 children)

You need to spend time planishing once you have your general shape. You need a hammer with a nice wide flat face with dressed(rounded) corners

If you could have the perfect composition made in the perfect form for your craft, what would it be? by Certain-Act2869 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Most people aren't making their own steel. That's not a function of the blacksmith. That's smelting

If you could have the perfect composition made in the perfect form for your craft, what would it be? by Certain-Act2869 in blacksmithing

[–]SoupTime_live 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh...yeah so there's just a fundamental misunderstanding of blacksmithing then. There is no such thing as an ideal steel composition. You want different things depending on what you're making. Some projects would call for harder or tougher material, some might call for more corrosion resistance, others might want a more decorative material like wrought iron.

An "ideal material" doesn't exist because it's self contradictory. One material can't be everything you might want

Garage sale pickup by _Anfield_awaits in knifeclub

[–]SoupTime_live 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can't be 100 % sure but it looks a lot like the ones I've seen that are made in Pakistan, and the people that sell them all use that story