WIP The most EPIC kitchen knives ever! WIP

Whats up guys and gals. I hope you are felling blessed and doing well!!
We are getting ready to start on a project and I wanted to share it here on the forum with you KNIFE NUTS! So, I imagine your thinking whats so EPIC about this knife Randy? Im gona tell ya.

A year or so ago I was contacted by one of our friends to make a couple of custom knives. You know. Some damascus blades. Ivory handles and HHH flare.. So your still thinking.,. Yea. So. you show pictures of stuff like that all the time.

Heres is why I say these knives may be the most EPIC knives I ever make.......
The knives will be made using GOLD AND SILVER MOKUME fittings!!! Im thinking carved and scalloped. ferrule and butt caps!!!

Im gona take these knives it to a whole other level! And I plan to take you all along for the ride with lots of pictures and a full blown WIP of these!

So heres the PLAN. so far.
2 knives a 8" chef and a 6" petty

First, the making of the Mokume. combining the raw Gold and Silver with some copper and then forging it into workable size pieces of mokume. In all honesty. This is a first for me/us. And its only because of the help from my good buddy Del. That I think Jr and I will be able to pull this off!!

Next. Randy Jr. will forge out some amazing Stainless steel damascus and then Cad it over a Stainless steel core to make the blade steel.

and lastly. I will combine these materials with some amazing fossil walrus ivory and create what is sure to be the most amazing custom chef knife and petty chef knife I have ever made!


OK so if ya cant tell. Im pretty damn excited about this project and pleased as ever to be able to share the journey with my favorite knife Knuts!!!

Stay tuned for more info and pictures!!!
God Bless YA
Randy

 

Awesome!! Count me in for the duration Randy!

By the way...I love making mokume! The first thing I ever made with fire and a hammer was coin mokume with pocket change

 

Fantastic PIF im in lol. Cant wait to see the pictures once they start rolling in, if nothing else just to figure out what a mokume is. best of luck and enjoy Randy

 

If you search some of the forums, you can find some finished products with mokume...but here is a wikipedia article about it that should give you some idea.

 

Chris, Glad to have you here! We have done a couple pieces of pocket change mokume. Always fun!

Mokume is basicly damascus made from other metals. Common mixes would be copper and silver, Or copper, brass, nickel silver. etc.. Precious metals like Gold and silver are often combined for jewelry.. Del makes quite a few wedding bands and rings from his blend of Mokume.
There are many colors of gold. which can give very cool and unique looks. Adding copper or brass or other metals also adds more contrast or color. But like Damascus not all of these materials will "play well together" The ling and the short of it.. The metals are forged together or fused through heat and pressure. They then can be forged to size. and sometimes patterned. to show the layers better.

The mix I am planning on is Yellow 14K gold. with .925 sterling silver and some copper. So it will be 3 distinct colors!

Im making my pressure plates today and starting to cut and process some of the metals. Should have some images soon.

 

op

Looking forward to this one!

 

You wont be using the gold and silver and stuff on the knives edge then right? it will be clad with mokume? This sounds really cool, Especially if the knife is a performer!

 

Brad. The Mokume will be incorporated into the knife fittings not the blade itself. The reason is. The melting point of Gold and Silver and Copper are way lower then the forging temp or the heat treating temps of high carbon damascus. Trust me it would end badly is I tried to mix with Blade steel.

 

fliping awesome! can't wait

 

OK. So here are the first round of images. .

The first thing I had to do was to make a set of compression plates. These will be used in the process to hold everything together under pressure as its heated up.. Once at temp It has to soak for a while and that causes the 3 different metals to bond to one another and become one!



This is 1/2" thick steel plate. and I cut it to size and drilled 4 holes to accept the bolts that will apply the pressure when the time is right!



A quick photo of the raw materials. We have 14k Gold, 925 sterling and jewelers grade copper



I will alternate the materials to create different color layers.



and a side view




Thats as far as I was able to get on this today.

 

This has been a source of excitement and suspense for me. Just thinking about this project for the last year! Im thankful my client is awesome and allowing me alot of creative control of the project.

In truth and full disclosure.
This is a first for us. The forging Gold and silver Mokume and or using it as the fittings for a knife. So Im both excited and a little scared at the same time! Im thankful for my friend and mentor/teacher Who was gracious in sharing his experience and expertise with me.. So I will have a much higher chance of success then I might have had otherwise!


So anyways. Its late and I should be sleeping. lol. So I will stop babbling about this for now.

Goodnight and God Bless!

 

That's looking fun!!

op

 

Damn Randy! I am in suspense!

 

I am excited to see this. I was however saddened when I re-read the title and found that it read WIP and not WIN.

 

Del is a mocume master. Glad to see he is sharing his knowledge. It's nice to see makers working together.

 

Thanks for sharing the process.

Boggles my mind!

 

really cool i had a mostly fail (didnt leave at temp as long as it neede dto be ) deker ran a few more degrees and ended up with a puddle of nic-silver/copper alloy. i got a knife or 2 worth but it was fun (a bit stressful ) and i was only working with nic-silver and copper. you are way more ballzy going with gold and silver

 

Hello guys! :knife: Today was great. Things were moving along good!!
Randy Jr started forging the Stainless damascus for this order. Im sorry I didnt get any images of the process. So you will have to use your imagination.. unish:
First he Cut and cleaned up 100s of pieces of Stainless AEB-L and 304.
Then he stacked alternating layers of Aeb-l and 304 stainless in a steel can/box Which he made from steel. Then he welded the entire thing shut with another piece of steel to make a "can"
Then he welded a piece of steel rod onto the side of the can to give him a handle. To aid in moving and forging the billet.
Then the billet soaked in the forge until it was really hot. lol welding temp.. and at that point. He set the weld..
This makes the 100's of pieces... ONE!! :cool2: I never get tired of this and am still amazed at the process. Its magical. Even though I know the science behind it all. Its still magical! :2cents:
After he was satisfied that the billet was forge welded the can he so carefully made is removed. Its surface ground away to expose the damascus inside.
Hope you all can forgive me for missing the photos of this damascus being born. Ill try harder tomorrow to get some photos of the forging process to turn this big old block of SS damascus into workable size billets!

As all this was happening. I was working on the first of 3 Mokume billets that need to be made for this EPIC set of knives! As well as working on a few SPEC knives that I have been trying to find time to complete for a while now!


Again I gota say Thanks to Del for his help and time. teaching me and sharing hard earned knowledge with me. If you ever get a chance to talk to or meet Del. I am sure you will, like me. Find him to be a great guy with a God given gift of gab as well as teaching! lol

So its super important that everything be cleaned and all oxidation be removed from the metals. I cleaned and prepped all the materials. Gold, silver, and copper. You want and need to start with clean pieces. and in this case. its even more important that its oil free. So I used gloves and cleaned each piece in Acetone then scrubbed each piece with scotch bright pad to remove any oxidation. followed by another rinse in acetone. :cool2:



The pressure plates will be used to aid in the process. To keep these from fusing to the metals we are using. A coat of Whiteout was applied.. which helps to keep the metals from welding together. I dont know the science here, But it works

After everything is cleaned up. I built the stack. Here you can get creative in how you alternate the layers to get different looks. I then hold everything together with some painters tape.. This tape stays on the stack and will burn off in the process. Which aides in the oxygen free atmosphere we are wanting to achieve in the process. Everything is put together and the plates are bolted up tight .



Next I wrap the whole thing in a High heat SS foil to create a oxygen free environment. This keeps the oxidation to a minimum and ideally to zero! The tap I left on the stack burn up any oxygen in the bag.. At this point the whole thing goes into the oven to cook for many hours!




Now is a good time to Talk about how the metals become fused and change from many pieces to one piece of mixed materials. Its the combination of just the right amount of heat and time and enough pressure to keep all the mating surfaces tight together. while the magic happens.
Unlike damascus which we make in a forge. This will be soaked at a very precise temperature in my Heat treat oven/kiln. For many hours. and in a controlled atmosphere. And if everything works like Its suppose to. When I pull it out and remove the pressure plates. I will have a solid piece of Mokume. Fingers crossed.

More pictures when I pull it out of the oven later tonight

This same process could be used for a more standard stack of mokume. Say brass, copper and nickle silver. Etc.

Thanks for checking out the WIP. Comments and questions welcomed. Ill do my best to answer any questions.

 

Wanted to add a photo of the spec knives I am working on. These will be available SOON!

 

op

:bacon

Ita not bacon... its Damascus