Cs Tactical Knives

Frosty- Thank you I appreciate it. The profile is not my favorite either but I do sell a lot of The Ronin style blades. It normally features a compound grind ( Hollow ground main Bevel with Flat ground tip) I did this originally but ended up grinding everything flat. It looked a bit weird and took away from the Damascus. Irondragon- Thank you!! I am still worried about the decisions I made lol. A lot of my customers love engineered steels (cpm 3v, s35vn etc) So only time will tell if I have chosen the right path. But I will say I forgot how therapeutic forging was/is. I really lost the love I had for making knives when I started down the path of stock removal. So I may loose customers but I will gain my sanity back lol. Anvil- Thank you !!

Hello everyone! I wanted to give everyone a update and I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this post. I received all my equipment and successfully made my first billet on a 100 layer ( 80crv2- 15n20) Rain Drop Damascus. The shape is completely forged. Here is a picture of the knife let men know what you guys think?

Frosty and Thomas LOL! My biggest fear is when I die my wife will sell my guns for what I told her they cost. lol... Now the same can be said for my forging tools haha. Now I am looking into building a Anvil stand. I will most likely keep it simple but when looking on youtube this video popped up. All I can say is wow! The idea on a moveable stand is very impressive. It will take me some time to figure out my shop configuration so this stand is very intriguing. Sorry in advance if posting a link is not allowed but it is a great video

Thanks guys for all the help! I am definitely rethinking the rounding hammer...at least for now. I think when I get the point of needing one I will make my own. So one thing I still need help choosing is tongs. There is so many to choose from its crazy. I got some bad news today and good news. I ordered the Ridgid 165lbs Peddinghaus anvil from zoro. I recieved a email today saying it was backordered and there is no sign on when it was coming back in. I called and to cancel my order and they offered the Peddinghaus 275lbs at a 20% discount with free shipping. All I can say is Zoro is awesome! Now I have a 275lbs anvil on the way! I might have to sleep outside when my wife finds out what I spent lol. So here is what I ordered so far 2 burner Chili Habanero- What a amazing company! I was on the fence but after talking to Stacy that sealed the deal. They are absolutely a dream to deal with. 16ton + coal iron works hydraulic press- Another company that is absolutely amazing. When I called they were extremely helpful and patient with all my questions! 275lbs Ridgid #12 Peddinghaus anvil

Jealdi- from what I read chili is one of the best forges commercially available. In a few years I might build a vertical ribbon forge but I will see how this works first. I will post pics with my results. Jason- Thank you! I looked it up and I hope to build something similar once’s figure out how I am going to arrange my shop. His rolling press looks amazing! Anvile- That makes a lot of sense. I appreciate the advice! Do you have a favorite brand that I could look in to? I might get a rounding hammer for the non Damascus billets. But if any other tools suggestions would be great l. So far I order the 16+ Ton press from coal iron works I am really excited to get it. Thomas- good point!

Jealdi- Stacey from Chili forge did mention that to me. If I do go with their forge I will definitely get a few of those

So after doing a ton of research coal is not in my cards. Setting up a proper chimney to code at my house would cost way to much to get started. Also the right coal needede very difficult to get. Thomas- I do keep a pretty clean shop however when doing handles I even with my dust collector G10 dust still manages to coat everything. Please let me know if there is better options out there So what I have come up with so far is 16ton coal iron works press 165lbs Ridgid anvil Propane forge I am really tossing and turning on this one. Chili 2 burner forge and Ellis 8 HT (Forced Air). Chilis reputation is amazing however the price is high especially when I know flux is going to ruin it. Ellis 8 HT I have heard great things about it however I don't like the idea of having to build it and coat and line the forge myself. Does anyone know a better option out there?

First off sorry for the delay responding, Your Advice is amazing and lead me to a lot of research. Thanks to everyone taking time to help Frosty- JHP does amazing work. I am going to walk before I run for sure. My work shop (Garage) is attached to my house so I will have to be extra careful. I work in the HVAC Industry for 20 years and after your response It got me thinking. I began taking measurements on calculating Make up air and exhaust air. So far I need 400 CFM for the exhaust. I am going to need 800 cfm for makeup air. I will also set up a few RIB relays to power up a bigger fan. When the CO raises to a unsafe amount the second fan will turn on. Frazer- Thanks for the help. Since I will have to rig up my shop with a exhaust for either forge it is really making me think more about coal. The only coal available to me at the moment is from the tractor supply. They sell Kimmel's Premium Rice coal (Quality Anthracite) and Kimmel's Coal and Packaging Premium Nut Coal would either of those work?

Thank you Frazer! I will definitely check them out! Have you come up with any solutions for fresh air intake and venting? If so I would love to hear about it. Currently I have a 500gallaon propane tank for my house. From what I am reading in other post. That tank cannot be used due to the reduced pressure going into the house. So I would have to get a additional 100 Gallon tank. I really do like the idea if coal forge to eliminate propane. I am a long way off from this but I would like to experiment with Stainless steel damascus . Do you think a coal or coke forge can handle that kind of material? :::Sigh:::

Pnut Thank you! I will definitely check him out!

Daswulf- That is great Advice! I will definitely google him. I would love to see that rolling mill in action. I happy to be here. All the post I have so far have been really insightful

Frosty that make a lot sense. I will definitely give that a try. In my head I was picturing drawing the billet out to 24”x2x3/8” when a order came in cut the length I would need and forge it to shape. Thank you for the advice!

Thomas, Daswulf and Frazer you all are absolutely correct fundamentals are absolutely essential. One thing that forgot to mention is I started this journey with forging. I made a charcoal forge out of two stainless steel junction box that I got from a commercial building while I was fixing some electric. It was two 14x14 boxes stacked and welded on top of each other. The bottom box I had a 2” stainless steel conduit that I attached a variable speed inducer motor. My first anvil was a harbor freight 50lb. I played around with mild steel with faggot welds and practiced some of my designs on O1. Ultimately I am still at a beginner level with forging and I will never pretend to be anything else. I have saved for years for my business next step. Which until recently my savings was for a cnc machine. My goal now is to forge weld long billets of Damascus. Enough to do 4 knives at a time so I could keep up with demand. Speed would be key. So I do agree tools do not make up for skill. But in my mind if I hone this skill the machines will polish it. Frazer- Thank you! It is nice to see another maker from NY. I have been bouncing back and forth on idea of charcoal. My ultimate concern is I would like to forge in my workshop. My workshop is One side of a two car garage. I built a wall separating the two halves. But I worry it would be more dangerous then a propane forge. The other concern I have is getting the coal. I do have a tractor supply close to me but it tends to be a bit inconsistent. This picture old. But you can get the idea of the space I have. Actually I have less space now due to my surface grinder and welding table

Hey Everyone! I hope I am posting this in the right place. I have been making knives part time through stock removal for about 6 years now. My goal is to setup the necessary equipment to start forging my own Damascus billets in different patterns. I know it is not an easy task But I'd rather try and fail then not try at all. I have been searching through this forum and I think I read between the lines on choosing the right equipment. Here is what I am looking to get so far: Propane forge- I have been tossing and turning on this. Right now Chile Habanero is my front runner, 2nd Chile Cayenne, 3rd Diamond back forge 2 burner Hydraulic Press- 16 Ton+ press from Coal Iron works Anvil- I looking at Holland 140#, Holland 190# (Shipping get a bit complicated and pricey for this model) and lastly The Ridgid Forged 165# Hammer and tongs- I have found a nice 2.5lb rounding hammer on Etsy from a fellow maker but I would love suggestions. Please let me know what you guys think. If there is any better products out there that I am unaware of or a way to save some money I would be happy to hear it. Thanks in Advance, Camillo

Paul TIKI - Thank you!! That is my long term goal! I do have alot customers that love engineered so called "super steels" So during my path learning I will lose a few customers on the way. However I do believe it will be worth it in the end. I will be starting another post soon with a detailed punch list of tools to purchase. My punch list so far is 160-190lb Anvil, 16 ton hydraulic press, propane forge, Hammers, tongs and a milling machine Buzzkill- No problem! I sand blast with a 120grit aluminum oxide then I degrease my knives in Acetone for about 30min. Next I Soaked the knives in Ferric Chloride Acid 50% diluted. Three sessions at 30 mins a piece. Between sessions I wipe the scale off the knife formed by the acid. Finally depending of the customers request I do light ceramic tumble or a heavy one. The knife pictured was in my rotary tumbler for 1min. The Other finish like the Kukri I used Armor Black Cerakote