Hurtoi Alexandru Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Hello everybody, my name is Alexander Hurtoi from Romania. For about a year I keep thinking that I want to forge a knife. I have worked with metal before (welding, stamping, filing, etc..), i can say that i am not a beginner in metalworking but not as skilled blacksmith (it is an art too fine for me). If you can help me with some advice: what materials to use (leaf spring?), hardening techniques, etc. I understand that I can do a knife made of leaf spring, please give me some links from which I could learn how to make a knife of this material. Thank you in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefera4m Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Hello everybody, my name is Alexander Hurtoi from Romania. For about a year I keep thinking that I want to forge a knife. I have worked with metal before (welding, stamping, filing, etc..), i can say that i am not a beginner in metalworking but not as skilled blacksmith (it is an art too fine for me). If you can help me with some advice: what materials to use (leaf spring?), hardening techniques, etc. I understand that I can do a knife made of leaf spring, please give me some links from which I could learn how to make a knife of this material. Thank you in advance. WELCOME Hurtoi! Like you, I thought about making a knife for a long time before I decided try my hand at it. I think I've been fairly successful for a beginner. The couple of knives I've made have turned out well - particularly given the tools I had to work with. I documented both the buildng of a propane forge and making a knife using leaf spring steel. I've had both documents reviewed by several bladesmiths and they've verified that the my processes are good. I've posted some of the information here but I'm also attaching the documents for you to use. Good Luck!Second Knife Build.docVenturi Propane Forge.doc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbladesmith Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 I'm just starting out myself, but the best advice i can give is not to start with the leaf spring. In my opinion you should start by practicing on some inexpensive rolled welding steel that you can get at most hardware stores. it won't necessarily make the greatest knives, but it will give you valuable practice and experience that will serve u well when you move on to making your actual leaf spring knife. It is what i started with and it helped to wipe out a lot of preconceptions that i started with. If you wanted to go the easy rout you could just use stock removal. I prefer to beat the steel into submission, but that's just me. hope your knife turns out the way you want it. please pose a pic on here when you're done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefera4m Posted January 21, 2010 Share Posted January 21, 2010 What newbladesmith said merits some serious consideration. Looking back at your initial statement, you said you were not a beginner in metal work so this should help with forging. While it is somewhat of an 'art' it is one that you can master with a little work. Remember, even after forging, almost all knife makers have to do some grinding and filing on the blades. Your hammer work doesn't have to be perfect, just be sure to leave enough steel in place to grind . If you follow good heat treating methods - annealing, normalizing, hardening/quenching and tempering, you can compensate for less than perfect hammer work. Still hammering steel on an anvil, like welding, takes some practice. It is certainly easier to learn on a lower carbon steel (like a railroad spike). Then again, leaf spring steel (or coil spring) is very common, ususally easy to find and relatively inexpensive - and it makes a darn good knife blade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hurtoi Alexandru Posted January 24, 2010 Author Share Posted January 24, 2010 Thank you very much for your help, I will try to make a knife as you say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted January 24, 2010 Share Posted January 24, 2010 http://forums.dfoggknives.com/index.php?showtopic=12081&st=0 Here is most of a tutorial I did awhile ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug C Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Sam, This is a great tutorial. I guess I know what my next project will be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Salvati Posted January 27, 2010 Share Posted January 27, 2010 Thanks Doug, good to know someone reads them. Those Japanese knives can be a very addicting thing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefera4m Posted January 28, 2010 Share Posted January 28, 2010 Sam, Ditto Doug's comments! I hadn't seen the tutorial before and it's taught me a thing or to. Thanks for contributing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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