My other hobby filling time in isolation. Finished page 8.

[SJLB]

They look really good already, great job Duncan

[DJ.]

Thanks
I'm still thinking about the handles. They will either have blocks of wood, or possibly stacked pieces of micarta, maybe with a threaded end cap.

[Crunchie Gears]

What you dicide brillant

[Weathers]

Amazing Duncan.

So you have made these knives. What else have you made in the past? And these aside (as I think Paul said above) they are priceless. What’s the most rewarding item you’ve made?

[ChrisL]

Just catching up with this, fascinating, and defo on my to do list (just need to live to 140!). Looks like you've got a real talent there, love the styling of the blade....

[DJ.]

Amazing Duncan.

So you have made these knives. What else have you made in the past? And these aside (as I think Paul said above) they are priceless. What’s the most rewarding item you’ve made?

I've made just over 30 knives since 2001, and I'm not sure which has been the most rewarding. I've also made a couple of hatchets and some pattern welded napkin rings as a wedding present for my wife's neice. If you're interested, I've recently resurected my old website which is now hosted by my future son-in-law here:
https://henryandlizzy.uk/duncan/knives.html

Just catching up with this, fascinating, and defo on my to do list (just need to live to 140!). Looks like you've got a real talent there, love the styling of the blade....

It's definitely worth trying if you think you'll like it. There's nothing quite like taking a lump of steel and in a relatively short time turning it into something useful just using forge, hammers, anvil and a vise .

[Tony C]

Very impressive Duncan, I've spent the past few days in the garden achieving not much!

[DJ.]

I'd be willing to bet your garden looks a lot better than mine Tony

After waiting for dusk, I've just heat treated the blades.

First step is to pre-heat our gas oven to 375F. I use a thermometer to check the temperature reasonably accurately. I decided for the first time, I would get my wife to take some photos to make it more interesting for you

I use engine oil for hardening and it is recommended to heat the oil before doing this. I have an old rusty steel bar to heat up and plunge in the oil like this:

Note I'm wearing welding gaunlets and cotton clothes only

[DJ.]

Next the blade is heated to a red/orange colour. The correct temperature is above the critical temperature when the steel structure changes, helpfully the steel also becomes non-magnetic. If the blade is placed in the forge, the tip will over heat and the grain size will grow weakening the steel in that region. If the blade is placed side on to the flames, there is a chance the blade will warp. Consequently, I heat the back edge first while shielding the tip from the flames.

The blade looks a brighter colour in the light of the forge, here is another photo to give a better idea of the colour (it would have been better if it was dark):

The tip isn't warm enough here, so once the back edge is non-magnetic and I have a feel for the colour I'm looking for, I turn the blade so the edge is towards the fire and the tip exposed. Once it is and even temperature along the edge I plunge it into the oil. After the oil stops bubbling, I remove the blade and check if it is straight. If it is, I check the edge with a file, at this stage the file shouldn't bite into the steel and will just skid off. At my first attempt, I wasn't happy the edge near the handle was hardened, so I repeated the process.

Once I was happy, I immediately took the blade to the oven in our kitchen wiping off as much oil as I could. This is because the hardened blade is under a lot of stress and if left untempered for too long there is a chance of it cracking.

The blades are left in the oven for two hours, and I get complains about the bad burned oil smell every time

[DJ.]

I'm pleased to report both blades are still straight with no obvious sign of cracking or delamination:

The lighter zones are where the steel has hardened, and the remaining steel is still soft making for a very tough blade (differential hardening similar to a japanese sword). I can go to bed happy, but it might be some time before the next update as there is loads of polishing to do