Satanite Refractory Mortar

This refractory mortar works great for sealing the Inswool/Kaowool fibers on the walls of your forge. It can also be used as a clay coating for developing "temper lines" (hamons) on your blades. You can also use it to coat your entire blade to aid in the reduction of scaling during the heat treating process.

• 3,200° F temperature rating

Mix the Satanite to a thick paste...just keep adding water slowly until you get a pasty consistency that you can paint on with a paintbrush....roughly the consistency of sour cream. Spray the ceramic fiber insulation down using water with a hand sprayer to wet it lightly. Next, apply the Satanite to the wool using a paintbrush, covering all exposed wool surfaces. To cure it, you want to dry it slowly. First, let the forge sit for a few hours minimum to air dry a little, then fire up the forge just briefly and shut it down. Do this several times, allowing it to cool down in between and increasing the on-time with each subsequent cycle. You'll see water vapor evaporating the first few times you do this. Finally, fire it up and bring it up to full temp to fully cure it. You will probably want to apply at least two coats of Satanite in this manner...it's a little time consuming (do it over a couple of day period) but makes for a more robust coating. a 1/4" layer is a good thickness to shoot for. If you are going to apply ITC-100 over top of the Satanite, be sure to fully cure the Satanite first.

APG #36 Refractory Cement

This high temperature refractory mortar/cement is the stuff that the late Bob Engnath promotes on his website for clay coating blades as well as the material that Walley Hayes uses in his Katana making videos. We are now offering it in small quantities as an alternative to Satanite for clay coating.

• 3,200° F temperature rating
• Wet, High Strength, High Alumina Mortar

APG #36 comes premixed. You apply it to your blade directly from the can, you do not need to mix it with water (unless you just want it a little more thin). For storage, keep it in a cool airtight container, such as the one it came in. In addition, you can top up the container with water to keep the clay from drying out. Just pour off the water before your next use.

Bubble Alumina Refractory Coating

Highly flux resistant! This material works really well for coating an Inswool lined forge for protection against flux when forge welding. This is one of the most flux resistant coatings we have found to date!

• 3,300° F temperature rating
• 2.5# bag is enough to do the floor in a 12" vertical forge (³⁄₈" recommended thickness)

Mix the Bubble alumina to a troweling consistency and trowel it in place onto dampened Inswool ceramic fiber blanket Let it dry for a few hours and then slowly fire up your forge to fully cure it. This is one of the most flux resistant coatings we have found, I'm sure you will be very pleased with it!

SairBond Refractory Mortar

This high alumina-silica refractory mortar is made for laying firebrick. Specifically, it's application is for thin joints (¹⁄₈" thick joint or less) between bricks. It is a dry, air-setting, high strength mortar.

• 3,000° F temperature rating
• Dry, high strength Silica-Alumina Mortar

Sairbond is a high strength air setting mortar for laying fire brick.

FOR TROWELED JOINTS: The water required is up to 2 ½ gallons (U.S.) (9.5 liters) of water per 100 lbs (45.4 kgs) of dry mortar.

FOR DIPPED JOINTS: Add approximately 3 ½ gallons (U.S.) (13.2 liters) of water per 100 lbs (45.4 Kgs). Too much water will reduce mortar strength.

Thin brick joints give best results. Each joint should be completely filled with mortar.

Ins-tuff Ceramic-Fiber Rigidizer

• Collodial silica ceramic-fiber blanket rigidizer
• An inorganic impregnant that can be brushed on refractory fiber materials, or other high temperature insulation surfaces.

Manufacturer's information directly from the bottle:

Handling Instructions

• After air drying, Rigidizer provides a harder and resistant, but less resilient, surface on the material being treated.
• Container should be tightly sealed upon completion of job.
• Avoid freezing, but if it occurs, Rigidizer should be thawed thoroughly and remixed.
• One gallon will cover an area approximately 50 sq. ft. with one brush coat.

Directions for Applying

• Remove dirt, grease, and oil from area to be coated. For best results, surface should be rough or porous.
• Stir Rigidizer thoroughly before use.
• Allow Rigidizer to air dry at room temperature. If desired, drying time for thin application may be shortened by using slightly higher temperatures up to 150° F.
• On some surfaces, two coats may be required to obtain desired hardness. Allow 4 hours between coats unless heat is applied to speed drying.
• Rinse equipment thoroughly in water as soon as possible after application is complete.

Source: http://elliscustomknifeworks.hightemptools.com/faq.html#ITC-100

ITC-100: Refractory Coating for Forge Efficiency

ITC-100 is known for its ability to reduce fuel costs and help your forge reach higher temperatures in a quicker time frame. ITC-100 is also more impervious to flux than Satanite alone and can help prolong the lifetime of your forge lining.

How do I mix and apply ITC-100?
For ITC-100, the manufacturer recommends to mix it 2:1, so if you have a pint, mix it with a half pint of water. My experience, indicates that mixing it a little thinner is just as good if you are using Satanite as a basecoat first. Since you're using the Satanite as a protective coating, the ITC-100 doesn't need to serve this function. Mix it thin, and apply the coats evenly. Applying several thin coats is better than applying a single thick coat. You'll likely have some left over for future patching. Apply the ITC-100 over the Satanite only after the Satanite is fully cured. You can use ITC-100 alone without first applying Satanite, you will just need to use more of this material.

I purchased my ITC-100 a while ago and haven't used it yet. It is starting to dry out, is this a problem?
While most refractory materials come in dry form, ITC-100 comes partially pre-mixed in a clay consistency. If your ITC-100 is starting to dry out you can store it in an air tight container if you like. Just add water to get it back to its original consistency.

How much area will ITC-100 cover in a forge?
ITC-100 will cover 6 to 12 square feet per pint, or 3 to 6 square feet per half pint. If you apply a basecoat of Satanite to your forge first, you can get by with the larger number for square feet coverage. An additional benefit to doing this with Satanite first, is that Satanite is cheap and by building up a ¼” layer of Satanite over you Inswool liner before applying the ITC-100 your forge will be more robust.