How To: Forging, fabricating and fitting a copper ferrule.

#1. Start with a piece of copper pipe and a tight fitting mandrel. Cut the pipe extra long for added stability on the mandrel.

#2. Slide the pipe over the mandrel, leaving a small amount sticking up above the top of the mandrel and forge it over the end. Repeat this process until the desired aperture at the top is reached, annealing the copper as needed.

#3. If the ferrule starts to pucker out at the top, bring it back in by using a swedge block and planishing hammer.

#4. Once the ferrule is trued up it can be cut to length with a jewelers saw.

#5. For extra strength, reinforcement and decoration, rings can be added by silver brazing them in place.

#6. Lastly, a slot is filed in the top to fit the tang of the knife on this style with a “closed top“. This style looks nice and also prevents the ferrule from rotating or turning.

Here’s a couple shots of the finished knife.

How To: Silver Blade Collar Fabrication

A simple way to dress up a blade and make a nice transition into the guard.

#1. Notch silver with a corner of a square needle file.

#2. Bend at notches.

#3. Flux and solder. (high temp., silver solder granules and Wolverine Ultra Flux silver brazing flux)

#4. Check fit.

#5. Solder end piece in.

#6. Trim.

#7. File and clean up.

#8. Here’s a couple shots of the finished knife.

How To: Sand casting a sterling silver ingot

I needed to cast an ingot to make some half round stock for a knife with a reticulated silver handle I recently made. I used a simple cope and drag system and Pro-Craft fine grained premixed casting sand (reusable).

#1. For the form I used a round pencil.

#2. Packed the sand in one side, then put the other side on and packed the sand in.

#3. Pulled the pencil out and stood it up with a Jorgensen clamp.

#4. Melted the silver with a BernzOmatic Mapp gas torch, then grabbed the melting dish with some tongs and poured it in.

#5. Once it cooled, I took it apart and removed the ingot.

#6. After that, I just cut the top off, did some rolling and forging to make the half round stock.

I used the half round stock for the bands that separate the reticulated silver pieces on the handle.