To any and all who might be interested, you might find this funny. I live in town,and don`t have space to put up a real shop,so I have to improvise. In my backyard,I have an inground swimming pool that has been sitting turned off and uncovered since the middle of Sept.,and my smithy is temporaily set up beside it. I was working last night on a damascus billett that I had been pounding on for 2 hours,and one misplaced hammer blow sent the billet skittering out of my tongs and into(GASP) the pool!! Not having a magnet on hand, I had no choice but to empty my pockets,take of my shoes, and wade chest deep into this murky,leaf laden and freezing cold water to retrive it!! I don`t know if this was dedication or stupidity but I did find my billet and kept on hammering, after I changed clothes of course!! It just goes to show you if you want something bad enough, not much will stop you!!

John,

You're right. That's true dedication. It makes me shiver thinking about it.

Gary Mulkey

Did the quick h2o quench damage the billet any? What was the material mix for the billet? That's some tough stuff you got there. As to going in the pool after it...you da man.

In answer to your questions Dana,I did`nt notice any damage due to the unexpected fast quench,but I`m not finished yet either.As to the mix, it contains some 0-1,some L-6 cut from an old sawmill blade,a small file, an old hacksaw blade,some scrap Devin Thomas 1095/nickle damascus,and some chain saw chain.As for going in after it,desparate people do desparate things.After so much sweat and labor,I was`nt about to let it just stay there,so what choice did I have. I did what I had to do!!

I gots one too, of course, it's funnier now than when it happened.

I put together a billet of 36 layers, L6 and 1084, every thing my buddy and I had on hand. The whole thing weighed about 3.5 pounds. I got it in the forge, and up to heat. I fluxed it, put it back into the fire, pulled it out to do the first tacking.

I was wearing an apron, long sleeves, face mask and elbow length gloves. The first hit a big blob of scale and flux flew into the air, did a half roll and dove into my glove, hitting me at the base of my thumb. Boy I can tell you, I did the dance but what really made me mad was I lost the heat. The burn was third degree and you couldn't quite cover it with a quarter. I still can't figure out how it got in my glove.

I feel your pain Geoff, I mean I really feel your pain. The exact same thing happened to me when I was forging the steel for my wedding cake knife. Nice scar on the back of my hand.

And like you said the thing that got to me most is I missed at least three good blows trying to get the glove off.

I guess I shouldn't grit my teeth anymore when I drop something in my water-dip bucket below my grinder and have to shove my arm elbow deep into it to pull said something out!

I think I would have left it there till next summer!!! ;)

Nick

Well, here's my story. Many moons ago, my son and I were taking knifesmithing lessons in Old Fort, N.C. under the late Bob Livingston (a great teacher and good friend--I miss him.) We were forging under a two sided shed with a tin roof when a thunder storm came upon us. I had a piece in the fire and was holding it with the tongs. Someone made a comment about it not being a good idea to be forging during a storm, and I remember my right leg suddenly starting to bounce up and down uncontrollably--like I was trying to stamp out a fire. The next thing I remember, was me laying on the other side of the building looking up at everybody else in the class looking down at me, and saying to me, "Are you OK?" They said they saw a big blue ball of light land right next to my foot, and off I flew across the shop. Ever since then I've had a special affinity for forging blades (a Vulcan-like experience will do it to you every time,) but I do go inside when I hear rumblings in the heavens. :)

That's a scary story, Dana. I'm glad you survived it!

Yeah, me too. :) Thanks Don.

Well, John, I'd call that extreme dedication. Maybe in honor of your experience, the Polar Bears should consider a new branch of their club...the Polar Bear Bladesmiths!

Thanks for the chuckle, btw.