Help with forging a RR Spike Knife

[patrickrock]

A friend was kind enough to give me a bucket of assorted rr spikes. So last night I started working on one marked MC (I assume medium carbon?) and trying to forge it into a knife.

Well, I am having a heckuva time with this. First it took me forever to draw down the blade, 6-7 heats and just wearing my arm out, makes me think I was doing something wrong there.

Next I'm have a hard time centering length of the blade and its distal taper in relation to the handle.

And last, I kind of wanted a bit of shoulder between handle and ricasso, but can't quite figure out how to do that part and still keep everything centered up.

In other words I have no idea what I'm doing, and can't visualize the steps I need to do to get to where I want to go.

Does anyone know of a step by step process on how to forge a spike knife so that I could look at it and absorb the steps?

Cheers,
Pat Rock

[julian]

Pat, a lot of experience is gotten through trial by error, so don't worry about messing something up. Beleive me, lots of people make worse mistakes than I'm sure you have

What color are you working the steel at? Any pictures of what you have so far of your RR spike knife? The only spike knife I ever did I didn't draw out at all.

[patrickrock]

Oh, Im not afraid of messing up, but I'd still like to have a rough idea of the sequence.

Im working at orange to bright orange.

I'm drawing down/out the blade... How did you do it?

[ApprenticeMan]

Patrick, you are doing exactly what you need to do, spikes are pretty good size stock, and will take a few heats to get one drawn down into a blade, don't get discouraged, be patient. I usually start on the tip of the spike, and forge/flatten it into a orugh shaped point first, then work my way back up the spike. TO get the nice shoulder, instead of flattening the spike shaft part out in all directions, flatten it to one side, IE the edge. Hammer equally on both sides but forge it in one direction, that way it will form sort of the shoulder, which can be ground or filed afterwards depending on if you want it square or rounded. Keeping it centered is just a small matter of centering it with the hammer, slowly, with light measured blows, adjusting to one side or another accordingly. Then just work at it, if it was easy everyone would do it.

[Dutchmancreek]

I see a lot of these being made but remember that there is not really enough carbon in RR spikes to make a good knife. They make good letter openers and conversation pieces and are good ways to practice and improve your forging skills. I made a small spike tomahawk out of one just for practice once and it turned out decent.

Steve

[patrickrock]

I agree there's not enough carbon to make a *good* knife, but there is enough to make a *useful* knife.

But yes, agree, they are mostly for forging practice and conversation pieces, "Hey neat it's a knife made out of a railroad spike."

[ThomasPowers]

On the other hand you could practice on the good stuff---say automotive coil spring, and get your habits set for how the higher carbon stuff works.

I've seen many a person who started out smithing low carbon steel "accidently" ruin high carbon steel because their habits are set for how you can work the low carbon stuff. (work too hot, work too cold).

There is a gent in the IBA who had made a railroad spike from a pattern welded billet---ie made a spike from a knife...

I much prefer the spkes for kindling hatchets where their weight and carbon content works in their favour.

Thomas

[ApprenticeMan]

I agree, I have burned many a peice of coil spring or leaf spring just starting out after doing spike knives, you can just get them so hot when working hehe. Coil spring or leaf spring makes some world class knives, check out what Tim Lively does with them:


Tim Lively -- Handmade knives since 1974


Not as a plug or anything, but I recently ordered his video, and it shows START TO FINISH how forge, file, mount, heat treat, and final fita knife, it is very amazing, and he explains it so ANYONE(even me) could understand NO PROBLEM. I definately recommend it to ANY budding knifemaker, and some who already make knives, it is a very interesting video.

[pete46]

Don't Forget: Forge Thick Grind Thin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ThomasPowers]

Old Sheffield England Cutler's saying:

"If a good blade you would win, forge thick and grind thin"

Of course we can avoid decarburization a bit better than they could. But for people starting out it is good advice!