Forging Carver

hmmm... I plan on using a piece of antler as the handle. I suppose I will redo the tang and make it a bit larger next time im at the forge. Do you guys think that the bowie shape is fine or should I fix that too? Oh yeah sorry I put the title as tanto where it is actually a bowie.

Alright once I make it I will send you a PM with a picture of it or if you want to be surprised, and then send me your address and it will be on its way. My next contest after the holidays is going to be a carved spoon or a small smithed item like a bottle opener or something if I can even make one. You guys decide.

Very good tony. I will try to make the ornimant as soon as I can and hopefully before Christmas. For the rest of you guys don't worry, there will be plenty more contests with different prizes.

Not progress but I suppose I should entertain you followers a bit. So I am getting one of those big sheds that I can use to keep my tools in, forge and anvil probably outside. So this carving will be going right in the wall. I got a trivia question/ riddle for you guys. Whoever gets it I might send you a cottonwood bark whimsical house ornimant if I have time to make it. I mostly likely will but you never know. If not I will make it up to you. The question is: who's ontop of the food chain? Trust me the answer is not what you think it is.

Alright thanks for he help guys. This morning I fir d up the forge to forge another knife that has its own post and I hardened this one and I guess I got a bit excited and didn't remember to anneal. Luckily I do not think here are any cracks. Do you guys quench when tempering or let air cool? Thanks

Do you guys think the tang is too small? Thanks I think I will leave this one and make another one a skinner. I think it looks pretty cool like this as a show piece or conversation piece.

I have the knife making bug this week and here's my second blade. It is made from a farriers rasp labeled patented save edge USA which I am not sure if that's the company or not. This is straight out of the forge so I have to grind it up a bit still and heat treat. I am gonna make a guard plate which I totally forget the name of what they are called and the handle will be made from a piece of antler. Here it is:

I have an outdoors forge and sometimes the wind blows the smoke right at me while forging. Should I consider a chimney? Thanks

ok. From grinding, the edges are sharp so maybe i will file them done a bit too. The balance is about down center, but I think more weight is in the handle. I am drilling a hole instead of punching so that it will remove some material.

Dsw can you send me a picture of your forge with the airgate. Also what type of blower so you use? Unfortunately I only have a brake drum as my forge, I need to make or buy another one. Thanks Thanks nick. I will see what antler looks like on it, but I think the bare metal looks pretty cool too. I have a piece of antler from when I used to flint knapp. My brothers friend is a hunter so I can get the entire set.

I'll take a pict. The coal is great and burns hot! Only issue is that I didn't realize how much bituminous made smoke first starting out. I was afraid the fire depth was gonna come or a neighbor was gonna complain! But it's much better than anthracite. Will antler work for a throwing knife handle? Deers ram their heads in trees all the time, so I must be strong. Thanks. Here's the coal and what the Coke looks like and how hot it was! What do you use as a air flow cause I think my hair dryer is too much. Thanks

Size of the knifeand? The knife around 6-7inches

Nah I'm the master at heating only one end. Only when I just got my new coal I could heat one end!

I'm not sure which to do. Some say to leave untreated but others on blade forums say to heat treat.

Won't have any progress updates until next Saturday because I can't go to my class this Saturday.

Oh that's a good tip of advise thanks What about handles, any ideas for a throwing knife handle cause I know wood might break. So do you mean let it air cool or cool it in sand. Maybe do it a few times? Thanks

Ok thanks. Great I hope this wasnt case hardened should have tested. I read something that it wasn't. I broke the piece of the file by hitting it with a hammer over the edge of the anvil, not sure if thats a good sign? Thanks

So I decided to get knife making out of the system today. It is going to be a throwing knife. I made it from a piece of a Bellota farrier rasp, if i remember how to spell it correctly. I think it turned out ok for a first go. I started to grind it and now I think it is ready for heat treat. Anything you think I should do grinding before I heat treat it? Also, what is a good color to temper it to since it will be a throwing knife? Thanks

alright cool. Nice lures by the way.

oh yeah sorry let me get the video. So just my anvil horn, for some reason when I hear bick I think of a stake anvil with a smaller horn.

Ok, for now I suppose it will just leave it because fine details can be a bit hard to carve. Yeah for some reason my pictures are always upside down.

ok thanks, so a smaller horn or the horn on the anvil? ALso in this video at 3:40 is what I think you mean. I want to get one like it but I am unsure where to find it. Thanks

A bick meaning using the smaller horn or face? Thanks

Thanks for the help everyone. Now that you say that DSW, I always clean my anvil every heat but never brush the piece till the end. Whats a good word of thumb to wire brushing the piece? Also, do you guys use a block brush or a welding brush? Thanks

Hi, So now that I am starting to post a lot of pictures, I need to find a way that makes them look halfway decent. I know that this isnt really blacksmithing, but I suppose in a way can fit in. The ones I have been taking are pretty dark even though I have a bright lamp shining over it. I usually use my phone to take them, and I know some pictures some of you took on your phone that doesnt look too bad. Any tips on making the pictures look better? Maybe taking them in sunlight? Thanks