Solar Storm - 1678653 Alberta Ltd

Highlights from a Private 1-1 knife making Lesson. (We are getting close to finish!)

Highlights - Private Knife Making Lessons Some highlights from a Private knife making lesson where we made a 6" 80 layer damascus knife

Wiring Update for the Kiln Build. Now heats to 1600C in 15 min. Although it takes about 35min for the bricks and the rest of the kiln to come to temperature so it doesnt swing around wildly.

I also show how to autotune the PID to achieve somewhat stable temperatures.

All together I saved ~$5k on buying a sword kiln.

Making a Sword Kiln - Wiring Update

Making a Sword Kiln - Wiring Update The kiln worked great, but it took a long time to heat up. I realized I had wired the elements in series instead of parallel. What this meant was that it w...

The long dark of hand sanding… The Long Dark of Hand Sanding

The Long Dark of Hand Sanding #cumai #damascussword #Kopis #bladesmithing

Participaction! Friday's Funny Aug 23
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Friday's Funny Aug 16
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Giving a soul to Medusa. Quenching Medusa’s Revenge

Quenching Medusa’s Revenge Heat treatment of the sword.Normalized at 1600 and 1400, then heated to 1500 and quenched in Parks 50

Normalizing Medusa's Revenge. The Kiln works!
(really looks like a fire sword now)

Friday's Funny Aug 7
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Student making his first Damascus billet! We covered Damascus theory, cleaning, stacking, and welding. Use of the bandsaw and 2x72 grinder. 16 layers of 1084 and 15n20 now ready for tomorrow’s forging where we will learn to use the forge and press, and how to cut and stack them.

Need a Kiln, Make a Kiln
Part 2 of my Kiln Build
Building A Sword Kiln Pt 2

www.youtube.com

We have heat! So far it looks like the total build will come in around $1k CAD for a 40" kiln capable of HTing a sword (2nd video coming next week) Pt 1 of the kiln build is here https://youtu.be/wFnOsytTT-A

Friday's Funny Aug 2
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Need a Kiln, Make a Kiln… Need A Kiln, Make A Kiln Pt 1 - The Fire Brick Box
https://youtu.be/wFnOsytTT-A

Part 1 where I make the “box” for the sword kiln. Part 2 the electronics should be up next week. Subscribe to the YouTube channel to get notified when it lands.

Need A Kiln, Make A Kiln Pt 1 - The Fire Brick Box I need a kiln to heat treat the Kopis CuMai sword. I had been using the pottery kiln from my wifes 3 cats pottery, but it isnt big enough and CuMai needs a ...

How I make the etchant for my CuMai - its different from just Ferric Chloride

Etching CuMai Damascus #cumai #damascus #sword #bladesmith How I etch my CuMai. Its not like regular damascus as the copper will bleed into your etchant and ruin any non copper damascus. I have also needed a bigger...

Friday's Funny July 26
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Test Etch of Medusa's Revenge

Test Etch of Medusa's revent #damascussteel #knifeholder #bladesmith #sword #cumai Test etch of Medusa's Revenge follow along the entire buildPart 1 https://youtu.be/5NYXlaXZAPQ?si=1fOlqoTec2ZJ7mNR

Part 4 of Medusa’s revenge https://youtu.be/fVe---Uo-iE carving the antler medusa head for the pommel

Medusas Revenge Pt 4 - Medusa's Head from Elk Antler Making Medusa's head for the CuMai Kopis. The end of the handle has a carved antler that will act as the pommel for the sword. I wanted to make this piece ...

Medusa is taking shape. Made a test piece out of ceramics, doing one today out of antler.

Friday's Funny July 19
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Part 3 of Medusa's Revenge is posted. Its taking shape! Turned out to be 21" blade instead of 18 and 384 layers instead of 240

Medusa's Revenge Part 3 - Taking Shape In Part 3 we build out our CuMai billet and then start shaping it. It ended up being a 21" blade instead of 18 after worrying that I might not have enough s...

If you squint real hard you can see a CuMai Kopis (video of part 3 Monday)

Friday's Funny July 12
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New design up on the designs page. Medusa's hand. a dagger to accompany Medusa's Revenge. This is going to be an epic build! https://www.solarstorm.ca/designs
This dagger and sheath will be mounted on the Kopis's sheath

Damascus losses

Forging Damascus Steel Loss

Ever wondered how much steel you lose to the forging process when making Damascus? How much does all that forge scale add up to? This a 192 layer billet for the CuMai Kopis build. YMMV.

Started with 16 layers of 1084 and 15n20 in varying thickness from 1/16 to 3/32. Forged it out to approximately 20 in, cut it into 4 pieces each with 16 layers. Forged back out to approximately 18 in, cut it into 3 pieces of 64 layers each. Forged it back out to 16”x2”x3/8”

Started with 5lbs 11.9oz and ended up with 3lbs 0.7oz

its starting to look like a Kopis... See... 2 pieces of 194 layer damascus 16"x2"x1/4" for the outer cladding. That will give 388 layers plus the center and copper. I know the design said 244, but the math didnt work with the steel I had. you can follow the build along at https://youtu.be/5NYXlaXZAPQ Parts design and 1 and 2 are posted. I didnt post this part because the cut and restack is exactly the same as yesterday.

Kopis Day 2 Layering Up Day 2 of Medusa's Revenge. A CuMai Kopis. Today we layer up the 2 billets that will be the outside layers of the steel. The target is to get each side up ...

Day 2 of Medusa's Revenge - Layering Up

Kopis Day 2 Layering Up Day 2 of Medusa's Revenge. A CuMai Kopis. Today we layer up the 2 billets that will be the outside layers of the steel. The target is to get each side up ...

Friday's Funny July 5
Poll - Where are you in your Journey?
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