No, 1000w is not enough. but you can bring the tang near the melting point. I think 2000w is enough.
But I'm not a blacksmith. I only make handles and restore old knives
First Wa style handle
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No, 1000w is not enough. but you can bring the tang near the melting point. I think 2000w is enough.
But I'm not a blacksmith. I only make handles and restore old knives
I measured and marked the angles but keeping them really crisp was a challenge doing them by hand. My belt/disk sander doesnt have a 45 degree adjustment. I guess I will have to rig things up.
Bensbites
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I would love to forge weld 3-7 layer billets. I have thought about an induction forge. My goal now is to get my grinds as nice as my handles.
I found this cheap hobby induction forge. It has 2800W. I think this is the minimum power for forging.
Link:
https://www.real.de/product/3473116...SZoH2iZfhkKSUNfcm9d5riTeoZkxjuesaAmP5EALw_wcB
billyO
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I'm not sure that an induction forge will be practical for home forge-welding, or even work. Heat isn't the most important thing when welding, it just makes things easier. In order to forge weld, a form of diffusion welding (which is really what forge welding is), you need what's known as a 'reducing atmosphere' which (for the purpose of this discussion) is an atmosphere without oxygen. The only way I can see doing that with an induction forge is to have the equipment in a tent or some other enclosure where an inert gas (like argon) is pumped in, forcing all oxygen out. Kinda like MIG/TIG welding or when welding titanium.\
Let me know if y'all want me to go into more detail on what diffusion (forge) welding is.
Bensbites
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While I understand what you are saying, standard forge welding is done in an large fire while blowing air/oxygen in. There are examples of people using induction forges for forge welding online/YT/blade forums.
I think if you want to be precise you need a table or a jig. I actually really like how you rounded off the corners. I’m guessing it feels good in your hand as well.
Admittedly, the rounded corners are what I was trying to avoid, from the standpoint of appearance, but they do feel really comfortable in hand. Next one might be one of those heart shaped half octagonals.
I had an octo handle arrive with super sharp corners recently. Had to round them a bit for comfort and now I love the feel of the handle. 
**Mental note** Next rounded off handle....post on BST and try to get Ian's attention. 
Carl Kotte
Senior Member
Hot dog buns make great soft handles for those with delicate hands. Just saying 
No sharp corners there. Delicious.
Up until you get to that core steel.....crunch
Carl Kotte
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well that bun is a lot more comfortable than those knobby steel Global handles
Bensbites
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this one was mono. maybe it woulda been fine with just the top part of the edges rounded, but that seemed weird. (Or by ferrule rounded did you mean just the top edge, as opposed to the sides of the ferrule?)
Carl Kotte
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Don't remember me on Global knives. It's the worst knife I have ever had. A 10$ Ikea knife is better.
Or this Porsche knives.... Jesus Christ please help us
I quite like mine actually. I prefer it over Ikea knives and Porsche.
billyO
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Just so you don't think I'm a " 'net expert", I've got over 8 years experience blacksmithing and forge welding damascus billets, and yes, I use a propane forge with a forced air blower. What you might not understand is that in order to be successful you need to make sure there is no oxygen in the area of the weld, because Iron Oxide will prevent a successful weld, this is known as a 'reducing' atmosphere. So when we are using a propane or natural gas forge, we have to either increase the gas supply or decrease the air supply (or both) to make sure there is no oxygen in the forge itself. In the blacksmithing community, this is commonly referred to as the 'dragon's breath', which is nothing more than the excess fuel combining with oxygen outside of the forge and burning.
I've not seen practical small shop induction forge welding, so I'll have to look for some videos to see what they are doing. Thanks.
billyO
Well-Known Member
I just did a search for videos on using an induction heater for forge welding, and sorry to say, Bensbites, but found only one video where a blacksmith was using his induction heater to try to weld up a wheat twist handle.
I'm still not convinced that would be useful or practical (and part of me want to question his experience with forge welding, because he failed to even mention if he cleaned the forge scale off the pieces to weld and didn't look like he used any sort of flux which does a good job both cleaning off contaminants and preventing oxygen from coming into contact with the weld surfaces). It took him a couple of tries to get the "weld" to stick which also makes me question the integrity of the weld.
More importantly, however, is that he was using this technique on a decorative piece, not a tool that needs to hold up to sharpening and use. One thing that can happen, even to folks who have achieved their Master Smtih certification and who are following all the historical tried and true methods (reducing atmosphere, use of flux, etc), are inclusions, delaminations, or other bad welds that we sometimes don't discover until the final grinding/polishing of the blade. This then becomes one for the scrap bin. I'd like to see him cut through the weld and etch it with an acid to see how much of the steel was actually welded, and how much was held together just by the wraps getting mushed together,
Finally, I met a couple of guys through the NWBA who make damascus billets for sale to knife makers, and AFAIK, they have not yet been able to be consistent with using their induction forges to weld up billets. I haven't talked to them in over a year, so it's possible they have figured it out since then.
If you have any links to other videos where a smith is using the induction forge to weld, I'd love to see them.
I'm still not convinced that would be useful or practical (and part of me want to question his experience with forge welding, because he failed to even mention if he cleaned the forge scale off the pieces to weld and didn't look like he used any sort of flux which does a good job both cleaning off contaminants and preventing oxygen from coming into contact with the weld surfaces). It took him a couple of tries to get the "weld" to stick which also makes me question the integrity of the weld.
More importantly, however, is that he was using this technique on a decorative piece, not a tool that needs to hold up to sharpening and use. One thing that can happen, even to folks who have achieved their Master Smtih certification and who are following all the historical tried and true methods (reducing atmosphere, use of flux, etc), are inclusions, delaminations, or other bad welds that we sometimes don't discover until the final grinding/polishing of the blade. This then becomes one for the scrap bin. I'd like to see him cut through the weld and etch it with an acid to see how much of the steel was actually welded, and how much was held together just by the wraps getting mushed together,
Finally, I met a couple of guys through the NWBA who make damascus billets for sale to knife makers, and AFAIK, they have not yet been able to be consistent with using their induction forges to weld up billets. I haven't talked to them in over a year, so it's possible they have figured it out since then.
If you have any links to other videos where a smith is using the induction forge to weld, I'd love to see them.
Bensbites
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Thank you for digging into this. I am months to years from starting my forge setup.
Just made another wa style for a project knife. Used curly mango for the handle body, and accented it with a brass face plate and mosaic pin. The brass plate worked out better in my mental design than it did in production, but it still looks pretty cool.
I made a tool using a trim router to cut the tang slot in the end cap. It works really well but I still want to build a small cnc to do that job and others.
I think your handle turned out great and you’ve inspired me to try making a wa handle. I’ve been making oval handles using epoxy resin but they won’t get any love around here. My avatar shows one of them in a copper color.
I think your handle turned out great and you’ve inspired me to try making a wa handle. I’ve been making oval handles using epoxy resin but they won’t get any love around here. My avatar shows one of them in a copper color.
Thanks Greg! Yeah... cutting the slot was the challenging part. I drilled a hole and used a dremel tool to cut the slot, and there is a little too much play between the tang and the slot. It is sealed and tight, but aesthetically it was not as good as I had hoped.
People here do tend to favor natural wood over resin. I personally think they are both cool, and the one on your avatar looks awesome. I have actually just bought and modified a Harbor Freight pressure pot to try some resin casting. I have some really spalted, partially deteriorated wood that might look cool stabilized then cast in some sort of dyed resin.
People here do tend to favor natural wood over resin. I personally think they are both cool, and the one on your avatar looks awesome. I have actually just bought and modified a Harbor Freight pressure pot to try some resin casting. I have some really spalted, partially deteriorated wood that might look cool stabilized then cast in some sort of dyed resin.
I’ve been thinking about getting one of those pressure pots as well. They work well for casting since they eliminate the bubbles.
For me figuring out how to make something and making the tools to make that happen is even more fun than the actual thing I’m making.
Keep posting your new handles as you make them. It’s fun to see what you come up with
For me figuring out how to make something and making the tools to make that happen is even more fun than the actual thing I’m making.
Keep posting your new handles as you make them. It’s fun to see what you come up with
And as you come up with tools, I would love to see those. In fact if you could post some images of the tool that you made to cut the tang slot, I think a lot of people in the forum would love to see it. From what I have read in the threads, that seems to be a challenge for most of us amateur tinkerers. Other than those lucky enough to have a milling machine
If you look at the thread I started (how to cut slots in Japanese collars) I have a few pictures there. Sorry I don’t know how to link it. Here’s one that I took with the new addition of lock down knobs. It really does work well and was easy to make.
Attachments
Kippington
A small green parrot
Have you got a drill press?
Thanks Greg, I found the thread. Your set up works much better than my dremel by hand method. Had no problem using the dremel on horn, but this brass was a B****
