KA BAR Inspired Design - Your Input

Epoxy dye ( not joking). You can get it from most all the knife suppliers. I prefer the powder type. Boat repair and supply shops also carry it. A tiny amount will dye a batch of epoxy for a knife. I use the tip of a toothpick to add it to the mixed resin.

As with most knife glue-ups, using slow cure resin ( 24 hour type) will get the best results. Uncured epoxy cleans up with denatured alcohol, and after it has cured, use acetone.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Epoxy dye ( not joking). You can get it from most all the knife suppliers. I prefer the powder type. Boat repair and supply shops also carry it. A tiny amount will dye a batch of epoxy for a knife. I use the tip of a toothpick to add it to the mixed resin.

As with most knife glue-ups, using slow cure resin ( 24 hour type) will get the best results. Uncured epoxy cleans up with denatured alcohol, and after it has cured, use acetone.
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Excellent, thanks again Stacy.

One more thing please, I’m running the temper cycles right now. What should I go for the final hardness ?

I was thinking 60-61 HRC. Do you think that’s too high for this type of knife in AEB-L ?

Thanks again,
Constantin
 
That is a good target. Anywhere from 59 to 61 works well. A thin sharp blade does fine at Rc60-61.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
That is a good target. Anywhere from 59 to 61 works well. A thin sharp blade does fine at Rc60-61.
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Thanks again Stacy.
Constantin

UPDATE: Just checked and I’m at 62 after the second 2h temper at 350F.

I’m thinking to give it another 1h at 375F, to draw it a bit more and hopefully loose another 1 point or 2.

What do you think?
 
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Say if I would like to draw it bit more, maybe to 59.

Would more time in tempering have an adverse affect on grain growth or anything else ?

I already tempered it for 6 hours. 2h at 300F, 2h at 350F and another 2h at 375F.

I’d like to go for another 2h at 400F.

Thanks again,
Constantin
 
Heli00 said:
Say if I would like to draw it bit more, maybe to 59.

Would more time in tempering have an adverse affect on grain growth or anything else ?

I already tempered it for 6 hours. 2h at 300F, 2h at 350F and another 2h at 375F.

I’d like to go for another 2h at 400F.

Thanks again,
Constantin
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I’m just excited to see what you produce, lol.
 
Went ahead with another temper at 395F for 2h.

Now keep in mind, this is my personal kitchen oven and I didn't yet dialled in the temp accuracy. I'll be testing shortly with some temp sticks to see where my oven is at.

I'm now at 59.5 HRC and happy where I am for this type of knife. Thank you Stacy.

Ready to progress to the next phase.

Thanks all for your input, will keep you posted as I progress. I'm sure I'll have more questions.

Thanks again,
Constantin
 
Heli00 said:
Say if I would like to draw it bit more, maybe to 59.

Would more time in tempering have an adverse affect on grain growth or anything else ?

Thanks again,
Constantin
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Only because it has yet to be addressed by somebody with more knowledge, the answer is no. I really only work with carbon steels so it could be different with some more complex alloys, but I'm pretty sure it's not, at least with the temps used for aeb-l. Sometimes a stubborn blade with a warp(s) will need to be shimmed at tempering temps numerous times in order to get it straight, and as long as you don't get the blade's temp any higher than you're taget, it should fine. The only noticeable effect will be the extra time it takes to get the blade where you want it whether in straightness or hardness.

And I'm with Dustin, I'd like to see how it turns out. Some work in progress pics would be cool as well if you have time. :thumbsup:

~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (Some older vids of some of the older knives I made)
 
Time at temper is sub-critical and will not grow grain. It only affects the hardness and toughness ( inversely to each other).

It also takes a LONG time to affect hardness. Temperature is a far more important factor than time in the equation.
A two hour temper at 395°F that yielded RC59.5, if accidentally left for 10 hours probably would barely drop to Rc59. However, a two hour temper where the temperature drifted to 410°F would make the same drop.
 
Ok, so here is the blade off the belt grinder, it is a full flat grind with a sharp swege.

I will post some pics again once the blade has been finalized, hand rubbed finish, etc.

I took a vid that shows the light bouncing off the angles, but can't upload it. That was what I was after. Unfortunatelly my crappy pics don't properly show that.


IMG-2207.jpg



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IMG-2208.jpg


IMG-2206.jpg


Thanks,
Constantin
 
Looks good.
One thing, the way you formed the spine doesn't give a place to comfortably place your hand and apply pressure.
(It does look good)
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Looks good.
One thing, the way you formed the spine doesn't give a place to comfortably place your hand and apply pressure.
(It does look good)
Click to expand...

I guess you're right. It's not really sharp, but now I'm not sure anymore. We'll see, I may start a new blade.

Thanks,
Constantin
 
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