my first knives

[noob blacksmith]

well i finaly did it i hammered out 2 blades the using a hand grinder (which for future reference not the greatest tool for the job) shined em up through may look dark in the picture the lighting on them is evil and put and edge on em there both railroad spikes the whole railroad spike was smithed with my friend and the curved one smithed with my father

[Don A]

I'm glad you have commited to getting started. That's not bad for a first go. Keep at it.

One of the best instructions I received early on is that "the last tool you used is what's gonna show". That is true, whether you have a forged finish or a 1000 grit polish. The pieces youposted scream out "angle grinder".
Listen... a good Nicholson file will only set you back a few bucks at Lowes or Home Depot. You will learn a great deal about steel, blade geometry, and patience as you finish these blades out with a file. Some of the most beautiful work around is being done by hand.
I know that at this point, you get excited and just want to crank something out, and that's fine. But, if you want to get good, you are going to have to push yourself, and that's going to take time and discipline.

Also, just a couple points of etiquette: we tend to treat this board as we would a good conversation at a hammer-in, or on somebody's front porch. If you want these guys to respond to your posts, try using real sentences; capital letters, punctuation, and such. I think you'll find that you get a lot more bites when you use the right bait.

Make it your goal that, as good as your last piece might have been, you will make the next one better.

Hammer on,

Don

[noob blacksmith]

Thanks Don i used a file for the one that still has the end of the railroad spike but after 4 1/2 hours the pitting was still very deep so i used a hand held grinder to try an try and get a edge on it which worked but as you can teel came out a little uneven i have some files at home and will try and even it out. Also sorry about my punctuation skills i've always had trouble with em.

[Don A]

Think about your finishing as a step down process; coarser to finer.

Grind first. Get grid of all the scale and establish a rough shape. You can do a lot neater work with the grinder using a sanding pad and a 50 grit disk than you can with the hard grinder disk.

Then a coarse file. Do some study and find out about "draw filing".

Then a finer file. Then sand paper. Perhaps 120, then 220, then 400...

You also might consider starting with a smaller blade. It takes a lot less work to get it right. Finish out a nice, small one, then start stepping up in size.

Also, start paying careful attention to the fine blades some of the guys have in the gallery. Pick out the ones you like and try to immitate their techniques. And keep reading. There is a ton of good information to be had.

Don

[azmike]

Noob--always knock the scale off the blade and the anvil before you hmmer--if not you can drive the scale in deep and spend to many hours filing to get it cleaned up. I still use an angle grinder (4 1/2") sometimes in the very rough state of the blade, and find that the 60/80 grit flap wheels work for me. from there its files and sandcloth and time.
azmike

[noob blacksmith]

thank az yeah i kinda skipped basics and jumped to blades on the 2nd day of me smthing while not the prettiest i am still happy with them.