# Starting up a new project



## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 7, 2018)

Time to start up an new project!

Made the first pass on shaping the form of the blanks this evening. Now I’m thinking about the small changes that will perfect the form but usually aludes me if l do the grinding in one go.

Have a great weekend everyvone!


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

is it damasteel this time too?


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## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 7, 2018)

Yes I make so few knives each year so I like to use the best available materials in them.

I also really like the look of Damasteel when you polish it to a mirror finnish an then etch it


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## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 7, 2018)

Speaking about great materials I’m thinking about using these as handle material


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

what burl is that?


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

Christian Trajkovski said:


> Yes I make so few knives each year so I like to use the best available materials in them.
> 
> I also really like the look of Damasteel when you polish it to a mirror finnish an then etch it



I feel the same way. if you only do this ona hobby basis you can "afford" to use the very best materials and do everything to absolute perfection. I have only done rehandles so far myself. but i choose what i deem to be the best blades for my projects. the time i spend is worth more than 5 blades. so why hold back?

Right now I'm thinking about getting an amprobe thermometer that takes real K type thermocouples and just use that to flame harden **** at work. 
Just called the swedish importer of evenheat oven and they cost about 20k sek after tax (and 1100$ in the US). go figure.


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## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 7, 2018)

It’s stabilized amboyna

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pterocarpus_indicus

I have never used it before so it should be an interesting experience.


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## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 7, 2018)

inferno said:


> I feel the same way. if you only do this ona hobby basis you can "afford" to use the very best materials and do everything to absolute perfection. I have only done rehandles so far myself. but i choose what i deem to be the best blades for my projects. the time i spend is worth more than 5 blades. so why hold back?
> 
> Right now I'm thinking about getting an amprobe thermometer that takes real K type thermocouples and just use that to flame harden **** at work.
> Just called the swedish importer of evenheat oven and they cost about 20k sek after tax (and 1100$ in the US). go figure.




Yes I know the prices of ovens is absurd in Sweden! Luckily I have gotten some good connections that does my hardening. 

But my other option is to force the wife into glas- or potterycraft so I have a valid reason to dump exorbant amounts of cash on an glorified heatsource


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

regular masur can be really awesome too. this is not the best quality but the no 2 quality. and its completely bad ass if you ask me. but it a lottery with masur. some turns out really good and some not. doesn't matter if you buy the extreme/AA qual. this is oiled with pure tung oil (liberon brand) 15 or so coatings. the white looking bolster on the knife next to it is also masur. completely different!

https://postimg.cc/Sj8wH1W3


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

Christian Trajkovski said:


> Yes I know the prices of ovens is absurd in Sweden! Luckily I have gotten some good connections that does my hardening.
> 
> But my other option is to force the wife into glas- or potterycraft so I have a valid reason to dump exorbant amounts of cash on an glorified heatsource



evenheat also makes molten salt/molten metal ovens. those are probably the ultimate. since the temperature is the same in the whole bath. 

last week i called Kanthal, they are in sweden, they make all the heating wires for all HT ovens in the entire world to inquire about a half tube heating element. I think it was 150mm diameter x 500mm (but only a half tube) but it turned out to cost 6000sek or so plus tax, plus a transformer since it was a 56volt or so element, and then on top of that a controller system. so it will easily end up at more than an evenheat for 20k. 

so here in swe we're phucked no matter how we try to play the game


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## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 7, 2018)

Yes I like birch as a handle material, I have usually used birch root as handle material. I have used a chemical reaction to get the red hue in the handles of these knives.


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

Also if you are thinking about doing you own HT-ing in the future. I'd like to suggest a book for you to read. its the best book about steel i have read so far. its called "bofors handbok i härdning" or similar. 
your local library can order this for you so it comes to your library, then you can borrow it there. its from the 60ies or 70ies. but in that book you will find everything you need to know. and much more. and the writers get to the point. they dont f around.


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

where do you get the birch root? is it almost white before oiling it? it looks like some burl. i have a rule for myself though: no burls. burls are cheating  so i try to get plain woods instead (yeah masur is not that plain though) and pull the max out of them. i get more satisfaction that way.


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## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 7, 2018)

inferno said:


> where do you get the birch root? is it almost white before oiling it? it looks like some burl. i have a rule for myself though: no burls. burls are cheating  so i try to get plain woods instead (yeah masur is not that plain though) and pull the max out of them. i get more satisfaction that way.


I usually buy on tradera if I’m looking for non stabilized otherwise I usually look up ”knivslöjd köp och sälj” on Facebook for the really good stuff. And as I said the Wood is chemically stained.....

Try a little pice of masur and dip it in hydrocloric acid (saltsyra), dip it a short time in a bicarbonate solution after that wipe it with selder linseed varnish. The varnish will polymerise and change color due to the residual acid....


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

i see!  i will try that. 

you should try to get hold of that book!


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## JoBone (Dec 7, 2018)

Thanks for the tip on finding masur. I’ve found Amboyna easily, but not much masur. Now I just need a good way to translate


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## inferno (Dec 7, 2018)

Best places for masur imo is mixfishing.se (old nordellknives.se) and brisa.fi

hey almost all masur is grown in finland so its probably best bought there too. thats my philisophy at least.
they have entire forrestes (spelling??) over there of only masur birch. no ****.


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## JoBone (Dec 11, 2018)

I’m Just finishing my first handle with masur birch, looked so good I purchased a few from brisa.

Thanks for the suggestion, I really appreciate it.


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## Christian Trajkovski (Dec 12, 2018)

Nice!


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## Christian Trajkovski (Jan 15, 2019)

I have begun polishing of the blades prior to etching. I’m halfway through my polishing regimen and the mirror finish is comming along nicely


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## milkbaby (Jan 15, 2019)

How deep does the Damasteel etch? Is there much "topography" or does it mainly produce color contrast? You do hydrochloric/muriatic acid then ferric chloride after?


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## Christian Trajkovski (Jan 16, 2019)

Well it depends on the time in the hydrocloric acid. You can get topography if you keep it in for a little longer or if you do multiple dips with a pass on the buffing wheel in between.

I usually only do hydrocloric acid, Have only experimented with ferric chloride a couple of times but I think it dulls the mirror sheen some.


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## Christian Trajkovski (Jan 16, 2019)

Polish almost done, only a couple of passes on the buffing wheel before it’s time to etch.


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## JoBone (Jan 16, 2019)

Looking awesome


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## merlijny2k (Jan 17, 2019)

Whoosh whát a polish. Care to share a picture of your polishing/ buffing setup?


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## Christian Trajkovski (Jan 17, 2019)

Here is my handsanding ”station” I usually handsand up to 5000 grit. The polish in the picture in the post above is only achieved through handsanding.



After handsanding I buff on four separate wheels going from 5my to 0,1my. The picture below is a knife fresh from the buffing wheel.




This picture is the knife above after etch


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## milkbaby (Jan 17, 2019)

Awesome pics!


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## merlijny2k (Jan 18, 2019)

I never achieved any kind of 'good' polish in any way. Still somehow as an engineer it doesn't make sense we tend to do things this way. Start on a machine driven belt, then toil by hand, and then back to machine. 

Why can't the belt and the wheel meet each other in the middle and need lots of sweat and time to connect them?


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## Christian Trajkovski (Jan 18, 2019)

Yes it would be nice to minimize the ”hand” part in the polishing process


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## Christian Trajkovski (Jan 20, 2019)

Had time to etch and do some photography before the sun set. I’m really pleased with the result


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## Christian Trajkovski (Feb 2, 2019)

Almost finished, working on the handles and had to see what a bit of oil would do to the wood


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