It's been my experience that you spend more shop time making tools to do a job than doing the job itself. That's especially true for jigs, chisels, and specialized tongs. Becoming a smith means a lifetime of collecting new skills and making most of your own tooling. I follow another craftsman named Brian Stockton, who is an incredible carver, and he makes some incredibly intricate and small tools for his craft. It's always great to see other makers sharing how they approach tool making. If we had to figure it out all on our own, we'd hardly get anywhere!😅

@korgan7779

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely this.. I will also look up the Brian that you mentioned Brian, thank you!

@brianlawson3757

Жыл бұрын

@@korgan7779 I misspelled his last name by accident. It's Brian Stockman. His channel is Stockman Originals. 😎👍

I got tired of sanding fullers so tried a wallpaper sanding sponge as my backer. Worked pretty good so I eventually found a super dense foam block that springs back like a memory foam. Game changer!

@brianlawson3757

Жыл бұрын

That's a pretty good idea! I haven't made any fullers in my work yet, but I know it's coming down the road, and I will likely never have a milling machine or the proper guillotine tool to set one. 👍

Love the post-quench straightening tool. Need to make me one now.

The old saying "The amateur spends time to save money, the professional spends money to save time," makes a lot of sense when you think about it. For a hobbiest, if you can afford the high dollar specialty tools, go for you. If on the other hand You have kids that like to wear shoes and coats in the winter, not to mention eating everyday, sometimes it makes more sense to make the tool. For a professional, it makes no sense to spend half a day making a $30 tool.

@noneyabidness9644

10 ай бұрын

Makes sense, but sword makers tend not to trend on the rich side, either way. If you want money, blade smithing isn't the best career choice.

Thanks Walter. Nice and informative as always. Hi from Norway.

Great to see your post. 😃😃

Valve grinding compound and leather does polishing on your last sword polishing technique.

Another great video filled with useful information! Thanks again!

Lol, I totally enjoy making tools. I could easily afford to buy a bunch of top-quality tools, I just choose not to. Partially I think it's also that I take a lot of pride in being able to say that all the tools in my shop are things that I've made myself. Literally every blacksmithing tool I own is also something that I've made. Recently I had my first day in the forge (I rent time at a forge that has some tools available) where the only tools I used were the ones that I'd made with the exception of files and a hammer because I was working on making a hammer and it's kinda hard to make a hammer if you don't already have a hammer.

Yay, saw the file guide in there. Thanks, Bjorn :)

Enlightening as always!!! Thank you so much!!!

Great video, subject & tools Walter, thank you!

Very intelligent use of your time 👍

I just started my blacksmithing/knife making journey. My first build was my two burner, soft fire brick forge You need fire to get started. My next build was to modify my 1x42 grinder. I exposed the entire belt. Then made a larger table and made a bevel jig. To me, as a tinkerer. That is a big part of the fun. Shop time is therapy.

You solved my sanding problem. Thank you so much

@WalterSorrellsBlades

Жыл бұрын

You're welcome - thanks for watching!

great video thanks for sharing

Great video, truly!!!🎉🎉🎉

as a person who has more time than money ive found making your own tools is great, made my forge from an old gas bottle filled with plaster of paris and sand (did buy the burner for it though), scribing tool for marking centre of blades, hell made my own grinder with square steel tubing (had to buy the wheels, VFD and motor though) plenty of things you can make easily enough at home if you're on more of a budget.

Thank you Walter. Improvise and improve!

I make as much as I can for knife making so far three 2x72 belt grinders, disk grinder, kydex press, electric PID controlled HT oven for stainless (goes to 1100 degrees celcius or 2000 degree f), micarta press, carbide tipped straightening hammer, plenty of jigs and fixtures, I even decided to make a bolt together 6" vice that works as well as any bought one. The making is just part of the fun and makes the journey more rewarding, however the machinery obsession is getting real...I think 4 band saws, 5 drill presses and three milling machines is enough (all old and have been restored to as good as new), maybe...

Another great video - thanks, Walter! I especially liked your discussion about "make vs. buy" on tooling. Like many folks I suffer from what I call my "engineers syndrome": "why should I spend a lot of money on that tool when I could make a version myself that is so much cheaper?" It's a heck of a slippery slope. Thank god I'm just a hobbyist and not trying to do this for a living.

I Am so grateful for having decades of experience as a professional welder and mechanic. Watching others even those that are seriously well established fighting with a process that if they had manufacturing experience they would have known better options are there. Cannot imagine in this craft not being able to make your own stuff.. quality stuff that doesn't break. Is that sanding thing work best with a hardwood backing??

thank you

Hey Walter… another video of information where did you find the carbide for your file guide that you made

Very good video with a lot of good ideas. I am far from a professional in this kind of trade as I am a bit of a tinkerer. Like my father I spend as much time making and modifying tools for the project mostly just to prove to myself that I can and then may or may not ever make anther of the project once completed. With that said, I very much so like and agree with your thoughts and adaptation of sanding/polishing the blade and will share the idea with my father as well. Thank you, sharing thoughts and ideas are how we learn, progress, and better ourselves and others!

What is the “platen” made of on the hand sanding station? Is it a hard backing like steel/G10?

@wrankin

Жыл бұрын

Ditto on that question. I have seen earlier videos of Walter using the same method but with the sandpaper draped over the edge of that big stone block he has. Based on the dimensions alone I would guess it was a piece of mild-steel bar stock with the edge rounded over? But I would expect that you could use anything which is fairly hard and has a good straight/flat edge (G10, stone, steel, etc.). I think hardwood would give too much, and you would end up blurring things like bevel lines.

🙏

Hey Walter, can you please consider producing a video with some technique to sharpen Scandinavian grind bevels properly. The common wisdom (?), and even manufacturer's instructions always say its easy - just plonk the flat cutting bevel on a stone and go at it. That's definitely BS in my opinion. I've never managed to get a good result this way, even with very expensive Japanese whetstones, and quite a bit of sharpening experience. I think your experience with Japanese blades and grinds might translate to this kind of thing very well. I'm not looking for something that's necessarily easy - just something that works properly. Tx!

@steveballzack1409

8 ай бұрын

That is the way to sharpen a scandi. It's a pain in the ass because you need to remove metal from the whole bevel and not just a smaller cutting edge bevel. In my opinion it's a lazy grind and looks like somebody didn't have enough time to do a full flat grind. Use a diamond sharpening stone to start and it will go a lot faster and finish up with the Japanese stones.

AGAIN!!! First like, first fiew and first comment!!! Who's, there? Walthers biggest fan haha. No serious, I wish that man was my grand dad

@Arthurian.

Жыл бұрын

Oh my.....

👍👍👍👍

Anybody catch the secret message he has on the palm of his left hand?

Are you still making any Japanese swords for people?

@WalterSorrellsBlades

9 ай бұрын

Haven't in a while. They just take so long.

@White_devil1980

9 ай бұрын

@@WalterSorrellsBlades ok I understand that they would take about six months to forge them

I don't make fittings. They're cheaper and easier to order from China. 🤣😂🤣. I make the tsuba, sepas, habakis, but not the fittings.