Nate Tapsak

Very clean work, very nice.

I did anneal it to work it. When I finished that, I hardened and tempered it before I put the handle on. Rich: just to be sure, I tested it with a good file. It took a little pressure, but it definitely sounded like it was grinding and it had a noticeable visual difference when I finished.

I think it's bits of the knife that come off of the grinder.... I guess I'm just impatient. I have a couple of boxes filled with belts, so I'm not going to run out.

Sorry - I'm a little blunt in my terminology. I mean I went through the entire process. It's already hardened and tempered. I've been trying to sharpen it with a belt sander or belt grinder. It worked with my other knife.

I have finished my second knife. I made it out of an old rusty file. I'm very happy with it turned out. Side note: I'm having trouble sharpening it. My guess is that I did not give the knife as gradual of a bevel as it should have. Is this correct?

Beautiful work. Reminds me of a Germanic seax.

Yeah it's a little odd. It's just been my forum name for forever so I find it odd being anything else. If you honestly think I should change my username it's fine by me. With regards to smithing: I am working on knives before swords. I don't want to mess up a $60 piece of tool steel just because of my inexperience.

Hi all! My names Nate, I'm 15, and I live in Northeastern PA. It's been one of my dreams to blacksmith a functioning sword that will last me a lifetime. Life is short; live the dream before it's too late. So here I am, forging in my garage. It is hands down one of the most fun activities I have ever engaged in, and I expect to be doing it throughout summer. I'm also going to have a Medieval Russian armor project coming up soon. Well anyways, there's a little about me. I hope to get a lot of great tips and experience from this community.

I gotcha now.

Thanks Frosty! I'm assuming you meant form follows function? @Momatt: after I peen the tang, how will I harden the blade? That part I don't understand.

I'm going to try peening it. Should I harden and temper it before I peen it?

Hehe, no, I intended it to be straight, but I honestly I don't really mind. I made the thing out of a rusty piece of 3/16" tool steel I found in my garage. What exactly is peening?

Hi, I just started blacksmithing (It's something I've wanted to do for years), and just made my first knife (After practicing techniques for awhile). It's a large knife, too. My problem is that the tang sticks out of the handle, and I don't know what my options are for removing it or covering it up. Any ideas?