My Personal Hamon Process

I posted up a few photos around the intranets and had quite a few people contact me asking me how I get my Hamon's. After typing up a painfully long Email response to those that asked I thought why not share with the community. I posted this on the knife forum Bladeforums and thought I would post it up here as well.

My process for hamon’s changes quite frequently and I am by no means an authority or expert on the process, this is just how I do it right now. 

Always wear Respirator and Safety Glasses! 

There are two steel types that I find easiest to produce a hamon with because they are Shallow Hardening Steel: 1095 and W2. They both require precise temperature control for 8-10 minutes during HT. Not "Heat up and Dunk" steel types, you have to be very careful to not over heat. I have seen some nice hamon's on W1, 1075 and 1084 as well.

Thermal Cycles:
After I have the blade rough ground I Normalize it through Thermal Cycles. I thoroughly heat to 1600 F then air cool to Black, Heat to 1475 F Cool to Black, Heat to 1425 (Sub Critical) and let cool to the touch. Clean the blade up again making sure to remove all scratches to at least 220 Grit to avoid the blade cracking along the scratch lines (I think of it as a piece of scored glass). Wash the blade with dish soap thoroughly to remove any oil or dirt and dry it off. 

Clay Coat:
Apply a thin coat of Furnace Cement (Rutlands) or Satanite on the spine with thin fingers coming down in the same place on both sides of the blade. Do not go all the way to the cutting Edge. (I will attach a photo of one of my knives with the clay on it). I also thin out the cement and use a small art paint brush to wash around the edges of the already applied clay to increase the Ashi (White stuff in the Hamon when polished up). After I have applied the clay I let it air dry for a few hours, then place in the oven at 275F for 30 minutes to dry completely. 


Heat Treat:
I use an Evenheat Knife Oven for my HT. I have spent a lot of time working on the process and temp control of the oven (Over a Year). My oven reads about 25-30 F degrees hotter than the inside is. I set my oven to 1470 F (Actual Temp +/- 1450 F) for 60 Min. It takes about 30 minutes to get up to 1470 F. I then let 20 minutes expire on the timer to make sure the oven heat is nice and even inside. 

Oven Timer: 40Min
I place the knife in the oven on its spine, Edge up. I made the mistake of putting it edge down for quite a while. The problem with this is, whatever the blade is resting on acts as a heat sink and pulls the heat out of the steel. This will often cause your blade edge not reach critical. Which is exactly what you want to happen to the spine not the cutting edge!

Oven Timer: 35Min
Take a quick Peek at the blade in the oven. Make sure the room dark enough to see Colors, I close doors and turn all but one light off. I have a magnet on a telescoping rod (Radio Antenna-ish) that I use to check for critical on the cutting Edge, don't burn yourself 1450 F burns quick and deep.

* If it has not reached critical I Close the door and Check again every 3-4 Minutes
* If it is non-magnetic I quickly close the door and start my 8 - 10 min. soak time.

I used to check with the magnet on the handle because it was close to the door and easy to reach quickly, but got false readings because of thickness variations compared to the cutting edge.

Oven Timer: 27 - 25Min
I pull the blade with my tongs and quench in Parks 50 tip first straight up and down to avoid warpage. Moving the blade back and forth like a pendulum. To reduce the vapor Barrier/Jacket, to ensure quick temp reduction. Leave it in the quenchant until room Temperature. 

Sometimes the clay breaks off during the quench and sometimes it doesn't. Depending on when this happens in the process has an affect on your hamon. Most hamon's turn out nice even when the clay has popped off.

Check For Hamon:
I scrape off the remaining clay and wipe off the oil. then lightly grind the blade edge with 80 Grit belt that will show the Hamon in the right light. This is my favorite part of the process because you get to see if all your work paid off.

If your edge did not fully harden or the hamon isn't what you want.... Don't throw the blade at the wall Haha! Or as Nick does, Bury it in the driveway. Go back up to the Thermal Cycling step and start over!!!

Tempering:
If you have the Hamon you like, it is important to get your blade Tempered. Right now it is very brittle and you need to bring the Hardness down. Different steel quenched in different quenchants need to be temepered at different temperatures. Do your research and follow a reputable resource, Kevin Cashen's site is always a go to for me (Matherton Forge).

Just as an example...
I used W2 heated to 1450 F (Remember my oven reads High - 1470 F = 1450 F) quenched in Parks 50. The blade should come out of the Quench at approximately 65-67 HRC.

* Temper 1x at 375 F for 1 Hr. let cool in oven (Slow Cool)
* Temper again at 425 F for 1 hr. Cool in oven.

This should bring your blade down to around 60-61 HRC. Great for a slicer. You can adjust your HRC for the intended purpose of your blade. Choppers should be softer (Temper at Higher Temps)

Machine Finish:
After you have tempered your blade to your desired hardness. I clean up the entire blade on the grinder getting it to final thickness, Be very careful not to over heat your blade in the grinding process now. You can ruin your temper and even your hamon if you are not very careful.

I move through the different grits as follows:
* Norton Orange Blaze (80 Grit) 
* Norton Orange Blaze (120 Grit)
* 3M Gator Trizact (A160)
* 3M Gator Trizact (A65)
* 3M Gator Trizact (A45)

Hand Finish:
Now the fun part... Hand Sanding!!!
I use windex as my liquid agent to help move material, I have heard of people using Simple Green, WD40, 3 in 1 Oil, Even Motor oil... 

I have a few different size pieces of thick micarta that I use as a sanding block. One side I stick something called "Felt Guard" that I got from Home Depot. It is a hard felt that people put on the bottom of their furniture legs to prevent them from scratching floors or ruining carpet.



This is how I move through the sandpaper grits:
* RhynoWet (220 Grit) Hard Side of Block (Usually takes 20-30 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (400 Grit) Hard Side of Block (20 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (600 Grit) Hard Side of Block (15 Minutes)
... This is where I Etch my makers mark on the blade and rough fit my Handle Materials

* RhynoWet (600 Grit) Hard Side of Block. (Yes 600 again - 10 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (800 Grit) Hard Side of Block (20 Minutes)
* RhynoWet (800 Grit) FELT GUARD Side of Block (20 Minutes)

Hamon ETCH:
Now time for the Acid Etch. I use Ferric Chloride Etchant (PCB Etchant from Radio Shack) Some people use Vinegar instead of FC, I have played with vinegar quite extensively and didn't like the results I got.... To each his own!

You will need: Ferric Chloride, Rubber Gloves, Cotton Make up Pads, Amonia in a Spray Bottle, 3 in 1 Oil, Face Mask, Safety Glasses...
I have my etchant diluted with Water (4:1) in a tall plastic container. I get everything set up in a safe place. I take the blade inside and Wash with Dish soap in VERY HOT water. with the blade still wet I quickly dunk the blade in the FC solution, pull it out and rub the entire blade hard with the cotton Makeup Pad to make sure the FC is making contact with steel during the etch. 

* Dip Blade in FC for approx. 10 Seconds, Pull out and Rub both sides with Pad trying to remove all oxides
* Dip again for 10 Seconds, Rub with Pad.
* Dip for 5 Seconds, Rub with Pad
* Dip for 2 Seconds, Rub with Pad (I start rubbing a bit harder like I am trying to remove a bad stain on the entire blade)
* Now I do a series of Very quick dips and Rubs until I start seeing the Dark line develop along the hamon edge.
* I get a new Make up pad and dip the pad into the etchant and rub the blade with the saturated pad until I have what I want.

I immediately spray the entire knife with Amonia to neutralize the FC. then run out to a designated Dirt patch in the yard and wash the Blade off with the Garden Hose (Don't wash the blade off in your kitchen sink). Then Take the blade in the shop and Dry with a paper towel and apply a Very liberal coat of 3 in 1 oil all over the blade. 

Hamon Polishing:
I leave the oil on the blade and apply "Flitz Polish". I use the Watery Green Flitz not the thick stuff in a tube. Again I use the Makeup pads to do the polishing. Sometimes I stop after the Flitz, it is a high contrast finish but does not bring out the Ashi.


If you want some Ashi in your Hamon (Who Doesn't?) provided you have Ashi from the HT!! I purchased some 1500 Grit Silicon Carbide Powder online. I mix it with 3 in 1 oil to a thin paste. I have a Wood Sanding Block that has a piece of "Felt Guard" (Same stuff I use on the sanding block) on it. I apply the paste directly to the Felt and rub the blade with the saturated Felt. You are polishing with the 1500 Grit and Felt pad. I rub the Entire blade and tang at this stage to remove any Oxides or Color from the FC Etch.

(I am always worried about Contaminants getting into the Pad and scratching the blade finish, I have an test blade that I always use the polishing block on before rubbing on the blade i am finishing... Knock on wood)

The 3 blades on the right have been polished with the 1500 Silicon powder, the blade on the far left has only been Flitz'd


Then apply another liberal coat of Oil on the entire blade! 


I am sure I have left some details out or didn’t make sense in some areas. Please feel free to ask questions or correct me where needed!



MY PERSONAL RESOURCES:

Kevin Cashen (Knifemaker - Matherton Forge) 
Mike Quesenberry (Knifemaker)
Nick Wheeler (Knifemaker)
John Doyle (Knifemaker)
Mike Turner (Knifemaker)
BladeForums

Sweeping Plunge

May 2011, I signed up for a Pay It Forward charity build off started by Lorien Arnold (Great Knife Designer). It is now an annual charity. Lorien would present 3 knife designs. The participants would choose one of the designs. Make the knife, sell it and the proceeds go to your choice of charity. Here is the original PIF thread CLICK ME if you want more detail. 

I chose this design:


The biggest area that concerns me is that sweeping plunge of the primary grind. I reached out to Matt Bailey one of my favorite makers and got some very helpful advice on how to do the sweeping plunge. after some practice (a lot of practice) I felt confident I could pull out some consistent grinds of this type. The trick is to grind a standard plunge to the apex point of your sweep. In this instance where the grind goes off the spine. 




You then need to hang the belt off the platen approx 1/4" so that it can climb over the plunge line edge you just created while working your way back toward the guard keeping the grind angle the same. This means your knife will lift off the platen a small degree until you get the grind where you want it. One of the critical tips I found was to keep decent edge pressure then as you near your target sweep check every pass to decide where you need to apply pressure. I even take my eye off the edge/belt contact and check where the belt is cutting near the spine (which I never do on standard Plunges). I also found out  you need to use a stiff belt for a smooth curve, the flimsy thin belts wrap around the platen edge too much and the platen cuts into the plunge. 

My belt process: 
Rough grind: Blaze 36 Grit, 120 Grit, Gator 300 Then Heat Treat

The Plunge is set with the Blaze belts, the Gator belts do not need to be hung over the edge of the platen too much, I hang it around 1/8" just so the belt will not cut into the steel too much. Light pressure with the gators so you don't ruin your sweep.

I have done hundreds of sweeping plunges now and I don't have to stay as rigid as I did during the first PIF knife. I can do the entire sweeping plunge without breaking it into two grinds as shown above. I still mess them up and spend a lot of time trying to get both sides to match.

Here is a quick video I made, sorry it is not that great and has some obstructions on one side but helps demonstrate the process.

C-Tek Handle Material

I was speaking with Eric Ochs (Great knife maker) the other day and he was talking about a fairly new material called C-Tek and C-Tek Matrix. I had not heard of it before but it sounded very interesting. Within a few days I had a customer ask for it on their knife. So I ordered some in.

From Composite Craft Inc's Website:
"C-Tek Resin infused honeycomb handle material. This is a material that has been “in the works” since 1995. We recently had a resin formulated for this application and have now introduced it to the manufacturing community. Quoted by Terry Renner as being “The next big thing” in handle materials,the material is absolutely stunning in its appearance and its ability to reflect light and gives a whole new depth to the knife making art. This material is available in .125 and .250” cell sizes and any thickness up to .500” and beyond. Any color honeycomb and any color resins are also available. The possibilities are endless."

After receiving the material I had a few concerns, 

1. The sheets I received were warped which makes working with it very difficult. I sent a message to Custom Composites and they said that it should not be that way. and that they would get another batch to me ASAP. 
2. As you grind the material the cell walls show up on the sides as you can see in the photo above (Small silver portion on left side)
3. I was also concerned about the small pieces of resin along the edges breaking out of the open cells if dropped. 

I found this as a great opportunity to play with the materail a little bit. I snapped a few photos of some sets I glued up...

Here you can see the warpage when I push on one side of the cut scales. I look forward to getting the new stuff.

Here you can see the Cell walls on the side of the material

Two different scale sets the one on the left has "Black" Ctek on the Base portion and "Green" on the Bolster Portion. The right Scales have "Green" on the Base and "Black" on the Bolster. The only difference is a white liner on the right set. Makes a huge difference as you can see.

Another thing I learned is that I need to cut my angles along the cell lines as to not break the cell wall because light is then reflected differently along the line. You can see this in the green on the left below. I ran the bolster cells across the base cell structure as you can see in the photo below also. which I like...  Some people may not like this.

UPDATE - 11/17/12

I heard back from the maker of C-Tek and he told me that there must have been a problem with the Resin Cure and he will be sending me another batch and to use this material freely.

I already have it on  a knife, and I am very pleased with it. The only remaining concern is how well resin stays in the open cells along the edges. My concern lays in the light colored pieces in the photo below. I am afraid that if it gets bumped the resin will release from the honeycomb.

As long as the edges are rounded down to the liner material the walls look fine.

UPDATE: 11/24/12

I took some time to take photos of the process through one knife, finishing the knife up with C-Tek.

GO VOTE!

Regardless of who you vote for, Just go vote!

Ryan W. Knives Giveaways!

1. Facebook "500 Likes" Giveaway

All you have to do to be eligible for this Prize is be one of the 500 Likes on My Facebook Page and you are eligible for a Ryan W. Knives Necker similar to the one in the photo below:

(Not the actual Giveaway Knife in photo)

Necker Specs:

Steel: 1/8" 1095 (With Hamon)

OAL: 6.25"

Blade: 2.75"

Handle: Stabilized Wood (My Choice)

Sheath: Premium Leather (Neck and Horizontal Carry)

Misc: Tapered Tang, Mosaic Pin

2. Rafflecopter "Year End Giveaway"

This one is being run through the FaceBook App. "Rafflecopter" to be eligible for that giveaway Click on the Link below and follow the directions. You could be the winner of one of my Custom High Uinta knives. (Similar to the one in the photo below)

>>> Ryan W. Knives Year End Giveaway <<<

High Uinta Specs:

Steel: 1/8" 1095 (With Hamon)

OAL: 8 1/8"

Blade: 3.75"

Handle: G10 (My Color Choice)

Sheath: Premium Leather

Misc: Tapered Tang, Mosaic Pin

GOOD LUCK!

BladeForums 2013 Annual Pay it Forward

Each year a good friend Lorien Arnold hosts a "Pay it Forward" (PiF) buildoff where he provides 3 different knife designs for makers to choose from. He leaves the details up to the maker to interpret or create. It only needs to be based on one of the designs.

"The knife or knives that you make which spring from this buildoff should either generate funds which can be paid forward, (to a charity, a person or whatever) or the knife itself can be paid forward. Use your imagination, and don't rush your decision, it doesn't matter how you are gonna Pay it Forward until the knife is made so take your time. You never know what's around the next corner, or who might need a little extra help..."

You can find the running thread here: (CLICK ME) on Bladeforums.com

I chose this Design!

Specs:

Steel: 1/8" 1095 (With Hamon)

OAL: 9.25"

Blade: 4.5

Handle: Ebony & Ivory Micarta

Sheath: Leather (RH)

Misc: Tapered Tang, Sharpened Clip

Due Date: March 8th 2013

I will be updating this post with photos as a Work In Progress.... Stay Tuned

St. Geo Triathalon

My sisters (Amy and Laurie) had decided they would participate in the SHAC Beginner Triathlon, Nikki and I decided to sign up as well...

We left Friday afternoon, the truck was loaded with bikes, bags and food. We were moving along swimmingly and then 50 miles before Cedar City a strange noise started coming from the truck. I slowed down and tried to figure out what was making the sound then BOOM the truck lifted off the ground and started swerving back and forth almost to the point that I could not control it. Something was beating on the bottom of the truck so hard that it was lifting my feet off the floor each time it hit. I looked out the side view mirror just in time to see the Drive line bouncing down the road in a cloud of smoke and pieces of Metal. Cars were slowing down and moving out of the way to avoid the shrapnel. I managed to get the truck off to the side of the road and make sure it wasn't on fire. I looked underneath and the Transfer case had exploded, wires were hanging down fluid was everywhere.... Luckily (for us) Nikki was following us in her car (she was heading back to SLC early). We loaded all that we could into her car, I arranged for a tow truck into Cedar City. We continued on to St. George. Dustin and Karen were a few hours behind us so they stopped by and picked up our bikes (for the Triathlon) Thanks Dust and Karen! In the end we felt very lucky to escape with just a repair bill... We have great family and friends that always step up to help when needed. Thanks guys and gals...Triathlon results:
Nikki Ruckerova:

• 1st in Her Division (Female 30-34)
• 6th in Gender
• 18th Overall

Ryan Weeks:

• 2nd in His Division (Male 35-39)
• 26th in Gender
• 47th Overall

Amy Huntley:

• 13th in Her Division (Female 35-39)
• 56th in Gender
• 98th Overall

Laurie Jones:

• 12th in Her Division (Female 30-34)
• 31st in Gender
• 64th Overall

We all did well considering it was our first one, we are planning on doing it again. I will be aiming for the Sprint class instead of the Beginner.
... Ryan