New Boarder tools I just finished

[BearMan]

Hi All,

Here are a couple new tools I just finished. The double swivel knife blade I finished a few days ago, it works very nice. The boarder stamp, I just finished, is just a prototype. I started out trying to make something unique, I'm not so sure now. hmmm I need to shrink it down as it's about 3/8" wide, & by the time you add the to beveled lines, the whole thing is just under 5/8" wide. Kinda big for a boarder. I will make a couple other changes when I make a smaller one. But I don't think I've ever seen this design before,,,, have you?

All the stamping tools I make, I always try to make them a little different than the originals. I always oil harden the tools I make, which not only makes them pretty tough, it makes them almost rust proof. I have some tools I made over 20 years ago, & they are still going strong, even after, all the pounding I've done.

Please let me know what changes, You think I should make.

Thanks, Ed theBearMan

[JohnD]

Very nice stamps. I could see the border stamp also being used as a seeder to add some uniqueness to a sheridan style carving. The line beveler is something I have been planning on making myself, Maybe this will give me the inspiration to get it done.

If you wouldn't mind, could you give some details on the oil hardening process?

Great post, Thanks

John

[BearMan]

Hi John,

After a few days of "playing" with this new design, I think I'm gonna just start over. I don't really like it!

As far as the "Oil Hardning" process: Start off be getting everything you'll need together. Nothing worse than needing something, & not having it ready. You'll need: The Item You want to harden

A small bucket of water

A propane or MAPP torch & something to light it with

A good strong magnet held in vice grips, or vice. Dont want it to stick to that hot poker!

A Small oil can with oil of course I use 30w

Vice grips to hold the piece you're hardening

Before You start making the tool, You should Aneal the stock by heating it up to about 1500deg, & then let it cool down Very slowly. Just heat it up, usually a bright Cherry red, untill the magnet is not attracted to it, & then just set it aside & let it cool down naturally. By doing this, it make the stock a lot easier to cut & file. It also aligns the molecules inside.

AFTER You have shaped, & polished the tool You've made, Now You are ready to Harden it. Heat it up, starting about half the way up the stem, working toward the tooling surface. This compresses the molecular grain toward the tooling surface making it more durable. As it heats up, You will see a color change happening; first a shiny silver, then a light golden color, then a "straw" color, this is when You coat it with oil. Yes, it will smoke ALOT. This will cool the tool down some. Heat it again, using the same process. As it passes through the "Straw" color, it will go fairly quickly to a blue color, just before it starts turning red. The tool is not at about 1300-1400deg. Turn off the torch. At this point: follow this closely! Quench the tool in the water, & IMMEDIATELY take it out of the water, when it comes back to the "Straw" color, then You can put it back in water & leave it untill cool. Just a few seconds.

This process will take a little practice but it's not as hard as it looks. The tool should be nice & dark Blue, & shiny.

Note: this process is for Carbon Steel. For Stainless, it's a little different.

I hope this helps, Don't Burn Yourself! This stuff is HOT!! Ed

[JohnD]

Awesome, Ed.

Thanks for the excellent post. I will definitely try this. I have some short pieces of scrap round stock that I can practice on to get the feel for it.

I keep a 3ring bimder of all the useful info that I find on this site and others and this will be going into that today. Thanks again for taking the time.

John

[trastu]

very good tools. I am very fond of designs, could teach any more photo of the tools. a greeting.

[TwinOaks]

I really hate to contradict you, but you have some inaccurate information posted in the hardening process. Oil hardened is just another way to say oil quenched. Dipping/coating the steel in oil and then REHEATING it effectively removes any hardness you've imparted. Different types of steels react differently in the hardening process as a result of the percentage of non-iron elements. In basic steel, it's iron and carbon. You can add various things to the mix and get varied results. All these additions to the basic matrix causes subtle changes in the latticework of iron and carbon molecules (and to get technical, the way the martensite and pearlite crystaline lattice lines up). When hardening, oil is used in place of water because it cools (quenches) the steel at a different rate, which causes the steel to harden differently. Incidentally, better results are obtained by preheating the oil to 90-100 degrees F- you're less likely to warp things. Too rapid of a quenching can cause the steel to crack, so no cold water. Now that things are hardened, they need to be tempered so that the steel is tough, but not brittle. You can do that by soaking the steel (plain high carbon steel) at about 400 degrees for an hour (this means "clean it really well, and bake it using the timer on the oven). When you do this, it loses some hardness, but not enough to detract in a tool setting. Once the steel has normalized and destressed itself, you're good to go. Oh, after tempering it, just let it cool by itself. So, coating with oil and reheating is pretty much just a way to burn some oil.

Please note, this is for tool making we're talking about here- I don't think leather stamps need to be taken through several hardening/annealing steps, or allowed to cool while pointed towards magnetic North. In other words it's for heat treating a stamp, not a Tim Lively knife.

Edited October 2, 2008 by TwinOaks

[BearMan]

Hi,

It sounds like you know alot more about Oil Hardening than I do. The process I laid out helps to make the tool more rust resistant, than increadably hard. At least thats what my experiance is. I guess I didn't make myself very clear about that. Some of the tools I've used this process on, I've used for almost 20 years, with no sign of corrosion. & I live in Florida. Sorry if I had mislead anybody. & Yes You are Very Right, We are talking about stamping tools, not High end knives. This proceedure wouldn't just work for those.

Ed

I really hate to contradict you, but you have some inaccurate information posted in the hardening process. Oil hardened is just another way to say oil quenched. Dipping/coating the steel in oil and then REHEATING it effectively removes any hardness you've imparted. Different types of steels react differently in the hardening process as a result of the percentage of non-iron elements. In basic steel, it's iron and carbon. You can add various things to the mix and get varied results. All these additions to the basic matrix causes subtle changes in the latticework of iron and carbon molecules (and to get technical, the way the martensite and pearlite crystaline lattice lines up). When hardening, oil is used in place of water because it cools (quenches) the steel at a different rate, which causes the steel to harden differently. Incidentally, better results are obtained by preheating the oil to 90-100 degrees F- you're less likely to warp things. Too rapid of a quenching can cause the steel to crack, so no cold water. Now that things are hardened, they need to be tempered so that the steel is tough, but not brittle. You can do that by soaking the steel (plain high carbon steel) at about 400 degrees for an hour (this means "clean it really well, and bake it using the timer on the oven). When you do this, it loses some hardness, but not enough to detract in a tool setting. Once the steel has normalized and destressed itself, you're good to go. Oh, after tempering it, just let it cool by itself. So, coating with oil and reheating is pretty much just a way to burn some oil.

Please note, this is for tool making we're talking about here- I don't think leather stamps need to be taken through several hardening/annealing steps, or allowed to cool while pointed towards magnetic North. In other words it's for heat treating a stamp, not a Tim Lively knife.

[weaselrunner]

Try thttp://stleather.blog.com/his site / blog - about 2nd one down for an idea on making stamps note his is ment to be heated for "branding" but it's something build on.