Derek H

Yes. I used a soldering torch to run the colors from the spin to the edge. Quenched it again when the sraw color reached the edge.

Hello everyone, I finally got my hands on a few pieces of high carbon steel. I have made two knives out of it so far, but this is the only one that survived. The first one was actually nicer than this one but it broke when I tried to harden it. I was using water even though I knew better. I had enough of that first piece left to forge another blade. So here is my result so far. The blade is 2 1/2 inches long. It’s not perfect, but I am very pleased with the results, especially since this is my first one. The edge is slightly off center but that’s ok. I used a crappy 6 inch bench grinder to rough it in then finished with sand paper up to 800 grit. I used peanut oil to quench in and it seems to have worked fairly well. I had it tested at work and the reading was 54 rockwell. I know it’s not ideal, but it works. And it will shave hair. Darn thing cut me twice before I even sharpened it. I havn't decided if I want to pollish this knife any farther than it is now or leave it. I am going to do a little more work on the handle but not too much as it is going to be covered up. I am fairly happy with the blade as is so I may just leave it. I still need to make a sheath and handle for it. I have an old rifle stock that is made out of black walnut that I am thinking about using. Let me know what you think. And thanks in advance for any advice you can give me for the next one.

I am new to black smithing but have built a forge smilar to what tou are describing. My forge is 6 inch diameter and 9 inch deep. I curently have a 1" mongo burner in my forge. It gets really hot. I t also uses a lot if propain. I am currently building a 3/4 inch burner. It should ne more than enough for my forge. The suggestion given to me by some of the other members is to " build the smallest forge you can live with" and also your probably not going to want a sigle forge to do everything in. You will burn way more fuel than necessary for small things. I cant remember where it is at but i believe their are plans for a variable size forge on here somewhere. I hope this helps. Im sure some of the more experienced people on here will chime in too

Rich, thanks for the hint. I was under the impression that it was somethig like 4160. I need to do more research. I wonder if i could call ford and get any kind of specs. This sight has been a ton of help getting started. Thanks everyone.

I believe you place the steel plate into the mold and then poor in your iron. The two sould form a strong bond. I may be wrong about this however. Your best bet is to fi.d out how other anvile makers do it.

Rich, i agree with you. I would rather pay a little extra for a known steel with a specifice heat treat rather than having to guess at what it is and hope i got right. I have been told that leaf springs are supposed to be certain metal but can sometime vary even with a certain make and model if a car. That being said, i can get leaf spring stacks of any size (and their are some big ones) or coil springs for $18. I can get axles for $20. I snatched an axle out if a ford 9 inch the other day that i am currently attempting to make a knife and a hot cut hardy out of.

Thanks everyone. I am going to try to order some in a day or two. I'll post pictures of the results. Thanks again for the help

Wasn't sure where to put this. I am new to knife making and so far have been using railroad spikes for practice. I have called several of the local steel suppliers but none of them have any kind of high carbon steel. Everything i have found online is ether to thin to be used for forging or is really expensive. So my question is, where does everyone get their high carbon steels from? I really want to start making some decent knives. Thanks for the help

If your planning on making small blaids i would go with the air tank. Cut it down to about 10 inches long, line with 2the inces os inswool or something similar and then about 1/4 inch of castable. You can add a small door to the back for longer blades. This is the setup i have and it works great. I would also recamend building a 3/4 inch mongo burner. Its a little harder to build but it works great. You can see some pictures of mine a few posts below this one.

These are my first attempt at using my new forge. I have never done any kind of forging before this. This is a split cross I made out of a railroad spike. I used an on old hatchet for a hot cut and as you can see i did not get the cuts straight or even. Here is my first attempt at forging a knife. It is made from a low carbon railroad spike. It is not very pretty but I don't think its bad for a first try. I made the handle to short however. My second day of forging yielded better results i think. These two knives are also forged from railroad spikes. I still need to put a little more bevel on the edges and straighten them out some more, however i am very happy i was able to get the shape. Like i said they still need a little refining but i rain out of fuel. I know railroad spikes will not make good knives but i wanted to use them to practice getting the shape. I think they should make decent throwing knives. Let me know what you think. Thank you for any advice you can give me.