Hammer-in report

Alright, I'mma be honest.  The hammer-in left me a little bummed, and I think it's because I really want to be out in the shop making things, but haven't had much of an opportunity. However, here I am on Monday, sitting at work while our main system is down, and I'm pretty excited about a question that was posed.  Why not make a blade out of just 15N20?  For those not in the know, 15N20 is a steel that is usually added to a stack of other steels in pattern welded billets because the nickel resists most etching solutions- this gives very bright areas to contrast the darker carbon areas.  I don't see why it wouldn't work.  Most 15N20 has about 0.75% carbon (which is a mid range carbon content) plus the nickel adds abrasion resistance.  I think it would be cool to try.  I can't look at many suppliers through the company firewall, but Admiral steel has 0.065x8x36" sheets for about $32. (that's just over 1/16 inch, so probably a 14 gage? sheet).  Maybe a little thin, but that's another thing Geoff was talking about- how thin can you make a blade that still performs most of the duties you want it to? It would be very difficult to forge a blade that starts at 1/16" (most will be forged to approximate shape, then thinned to about that thickness) but certainly many blades end up at 1/16".  Maybe I'll give it a try. As for his press, it's pretty awesome.  It squished a 2x2x6" billet without any fuss and the resulting pattern was tightly welded, even at the ends where these things tend to split or not weld properly.  Next time I'll show up the night before to help him set up, and I'll make sure someone drives into town to refill at least one of the propane tanks.