Justin Carnecchia

Check your local library. I live in a very small town and was suprised to find five or six books and one dvd on knife making.

If you are going to take the time to forge and grind and heat-treat and sand and fit a handle, etc... Isn't it worth it to spend a few dollars on a decent piece of steel? I understand money can be tight, and when I started I used scrap steel, but when you spend that much time only to have the blade crack at quenching or not harden up properly it really sucks. Any of the knife making supply places should have a suitable piece of steel for $5-10. Now compare that to all the hours spent making the knife, and to what your time is worth. Buy some steel and read up on it's heat treat specs, and if you do everything carefully you will have a good knife that can hold an edge.

Really nice! Good looking design and great fit and finish, I like the red spacers.

Wow that's really nice. I appreciate that you realize how a chef holds a knife, I frequently see chef knifes that the maker doesn't understand chefs use a pinch grip. Personally I prefer the octagonal Japanese style handles myself. But yeah great looking knife, I like the subtle damascus. -Justin

Looking good. I am curious as to your ideas on yakiire without tempering. As I recall you took the class with Michael Bell, does he not temper? I am curious because I do all my blades with hamons, but have always felt that tempering is very important both to ensure correct edge hardness and because I have had a number of blades crack from residual stress, waiting to temper. My understanding is the traditional Japanese smiths imediately after quenching reheat the blade and do a second low temp quench, to temper. Personally I have not had good luck with this, and with a tiny speck of modern metallurgy floating around in my head I don't think it would work nearly as well as a couple good long soaks at controlled temperatures. Love the idea for the knife, it would be interesting(frustrating, tedious?) to do it knapped and polish it to show hamon. -Justin

Wow!!! Absolutely stunning.

If you are going to use scrap steel I would recomend automotive coil springs, then quench in oil. Personally I believe it is better to just buy some steel. It is not that expensive and for your money you are getting something that you know exactly what it is, and how to heat treat it. I have gone the scrap steel route, and it is worth the money to buy new. You put to much work into forging and grinding just to have the blade not harden or to crack. Just my two cents, Justin

Thanks guys, your kind words are appreciated. Rich, thanks for the lead on a piece of wood, I will look into that. Robert, The blade on the wak was clayed with satanite, quenched in water. This is the first I've used the satanite, previously I had been using furnace cement,( the kind in the caulking tube). I didn't like the furnace cement because I felt like it was insulating too much. This was making it very hard to get any control over the process, especially with ashi. For a fisrt run with the satanite I am very pleased and believe with a little practice it will do what I want it to. Thanks again guys, -Justin

Check the American Bladesmith Society forum, look under topic of the month. Several months back the topic was hamons. It is a very complete resource on the subject with input from some of todays top makers. Personally I would add aside from the steel (Call Aldo Bruno for W-2) the choice of clay (I use Satanite) and how it's applied, what it's quenched in(I use water but most use Parks 50) will go a long way in getting better hamons. You can polish all day long but unless the activity is there you are only going to get a wavy line. Defenitely check the ABS site, I don't have time or would post a link, most all of the information you need is there. Read it and then practice makes perfect. You are off to a good start, keep at it. -Justin

Hi, so here are a couple things I have been working on. The first is a bowie. Blade is around 9" differntially hardened W-2, ironwwod handle with 416 guard and brass spacer. It has a exuberant hamon with lots of activity. It is a little hard to see in photos because I polished for detail instead of contrast. It is just about done but still needs a littler finishing with the guard and handle. The second is a hybrid wak, 18" blade. I have just finished polishing, it is a very active hamon. The plan for this is a western style hidden tang handle, although I have not found a piece of wood that is long enough yet. Hope you like them, any feedback is always appreciated, -Justin

For a year or so I used a 3"by18" belt sander, held upsidedown in a vise. The biggest limitation I found was lack of belt selection but it is a lot fater than filing. The best part was I already had it. If you don't you can get one at a garage sale or pawn shop for cheap. Somewhere down the road, if you find yourself serious about it, then you can worry about a big belt grinder.

If you looking mainly to work with damascus you might consider a hydraulic press.

Looking good, I look forward to seeing it finished.

I seem to be getting a sense that to some people a knife with good fit and finish somehow diminishes it's useability, it certainly does not. Maybe what we are talking about is cost of the knife? That is something different. Are makers using a forge finish to keep the cost of their work down, in hopes that their knives are used? I make every one of my knives to be used, and all have the finest fit and finish my abilty allows. If my knife has a hamon that its owner finds beautiful and so choses not to use it that's their business. Personally the knife I use everyday (over 8 hours a day) is one I finished to over 2500g. I can no longer see the activity in the hamon and it has a nice blue grey patina, and no scratches or hammer marks. Every once in while I wipe it down with Flitz and it looks like new again, mostly I just leave it. I can think of a number of makers known for using knives, but they would never allow sloppy, scratched knives to leave their shop. I have seen forge finish blades that were stunning, but these all had amazing attention to the details, and fit and finish was top notch. To often it seems like an excuse to avoid finish work.

I seem to see this mostly from people starting out forging blades. I think these people believe that because they are forging a knife it has to be done entirely with a hammer. For me forging the blade with a hammer is just step one in a long process of making a knife. I have seen forge finished knives that I like but to often they just look sloppy. To me the whole point of a custom knife is to get a product better than what a factory is making. Better in performance and especially in fit and finish. Recently someone posted a damascus blade here that had very course scratches on it. I don't mean to knock the guy's work because I know he worked hard on it, (it isn't easy forging damascus by hand) but if you are going to the trouble of making damascus, something only done for visual appeal, why would'nt you take the time to finish it. It seemed like the knife was only halfdone. I tend to agree with David, if you look at the what the ABS smiths are doing you will see that they are setting the bar high for what can be done with forged blades, and fit and finish is everyrthing. I have nothing against rough finished blades,and have seen some beautiful ones, but is it being done because the maker prefers it or just because he doesn't feel like sanding and is in a hurry to finish? Or Maybe he thinks that is what a forged blade is all about, in which case I would suggest looking at the ABS site. I realize as I am about to post this that many of these makers are surely new to bladesmithing, and proud of their work. I don't mean to detract from this, they should be proud. That being said the only way we develop is through criticism and honest self observation. If you have posted one of the blades in question please don't take this as an attack on your work or person but rather as an honest criticism intended to help you better your work. I have been proud of every knife I have made, especially the early ones, but it is by honestly looking at what is wrong with them that I hope to improve.

Yeah quite a bit of grinding, (Sanding). I use the grinder for profiling, setting final bevels, polishing up to 200g and sharpening. From 200g on the grinder I go to 2500g by hand. While there is nothing wrong with the neo-tribal forge finished knives, for a professional looking knife you are going to have to do some sanding. Before I got my KMG belt grinder I used a 3" by 18" belt sander held upside down in a vise. It all depend on what you are looking to do. I suggest checking out the American Bladesmith Society site and forum, there you will see some of the best of forged knives.

556mp has good advice. I used a 3" by18" belt sander held upside down in a vise for a long time. the biggest difference between it and the KMG I use now is speed. Things go much faster now. I would wait and if you get to a point where you think your grinder is holding you back then upgrade. And keep reading the tailgating sections here and on other forums, good deals are out there. -Justin

I like the knife, however I believe if you are taking the time to make damscus you should go ahead and take the time to sand the blade. If you take it to around 600g before etching it will have a much cleaner look and the pattern will really stand out. Just my opinion though. Justin

I'm up in Sandpoint, I don't have any experience with power hammers (yet?)but would love to come see it. Justin

Cool hammer. I dont know if I'd pay $2500 for it though. I guess it depends on what it needs, obviously a motor. Does it turn? if everything is free and nothing cracked it may not be a bad deal. Just throw on a motor and go. But it looks like its been sitting out a while. I've never heard of them either (which is not saying much), so replacing parts could be expensive. Things to check would be cracks and are the parts moving. You should do a little research on rebuilding a trip hammer to see if thats something you want to get into. Also look around for other hammers, There could be a good deal on a running hammer. Good luck, -Justin

I have mostly seen them in the $2,500-3,500 range. For a working hammer. I would guess one just rebuilt and perfect would be more and one that needs rebuilding would be less. I was looking at a 250# last summer for $2,500, it was in need of serious restoration. Not long after I saw a 50# running for the same price. Look around the forums, anvilfire, craigslist etc... And don't forget moving it will cost a bit, figure in cost of travel, loading and unloading(renting forklift or tractor). For me with the 250# I was looking at over a grand, but I needed to rent a truck too. Good luck, -Justin

I have been using W-2 tool with good luck. I am a chef so use my knife 6 or more hours a day. The W-2 holds an edge finer and longer than the henckel I was using before. As for rust, just take care of the knife. Bob Kramer uses 52100 for his non damascus knives. The 52100 has a great reputation but requires precise heat treatment and is not for beginners. Any steel that will hold a very fine edge should work fine. Oh and visit Bob's site, as he is the master of kitchen knives. Lots of luck, -Justin

Hi Josh, I would call Aldo Bruno (New Jersey Steel Baron). You can get on his web site to see what he has, but I would call him to place the order. I used scrap for a good while but it worth the money to get some known steel. If you know what you have you can follow prescribed heat treat methods, and the longer you work with a steel the better you get to know it, allowing you to get the most out of it. Thanks Dave, it sounds like lots of people have been having problems. Maybe contact the admin.? I feel it is important to get feedback, for me the forums are my only resource for this, there are times when there is an obvious problem with your work but it won't be obvious to you but someone else will see it imediately. This is very helpful in getting better. Good luck getting your pics up, I look forward to seeing them.

Hi Josh, I have been using W-2 for the better part of a year and have had good results. I have also had good luck with 1084 and 1095. The main reason I use the W-2 is my interest in hamons and the low manganese and pinch of vanadium sp? make the W-2 ideal. So yeah it is good but so are several others, I usually use what I have. -Justin

Steve, I use sandpaper up to 2000g. then I use pre-polish from a rock tumbling kit, backed with the used 2000g paper. this does quite a bit to bring out the hamon. Then I etch in vinegar, clean with Flitz and etch again. sometimes I repeat the last few steps a couple times and I am always evolving how I do it. Matt, yes it is Aldo's W-2. I have been really impressed with it. It is much better for hamons than the 1095 I had before and it is super tough and holds a great edge. -Justin