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I Forge Iron

A question from knife making unplugged


Stroyeror

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it is a lot easier to prebend the bar rather than try to straighten it with a lump of wood! For one thing the edge tends to fold and twist as you try to straighten it.

Likewise, if you bend it too far (ie prebend too much) it is easier to stretch the edge upwards than it is to try and push the blade back down at the end. Also the thinner you forge you edge, the more relevant that point is!

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Since bladesmithing is a subset of blacksmithing , I am surprised how many don't know the basic skill of how to bend a bar. As you are forming a thing, when you see it wants to crawl off in another direction, then why just keep hammering? Stop and think, just put it back where it belongs. This way we keep it straight as we go. It is not that hard to do, rather than guessing how much it might bend, to just keep realigning it as we go, is so simple. Maybe its from too many being in a hurry to hammer a bar into a knife shape, that they forget to learn basic smithing skills beforehand?

Edited by steve sells
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:o
It's good to know I'm not alone as the new kid on the block! Just this morning I was working on a blade that wanted to bend badly, so I went to the counterbend method (it was a small blade so I just opened my vise, laid the hot blade on its back and wacked it a couple of times to give it a counterbend.) Well of course the blade twisted as I changed its shape, but I was able to lay it on its side and gently tap it back into its true flat form In practice, for a new guy, this is no easy task, but I found that once I got the rhythm all went well.

For some of us, without the funds for formal training, or without a local teacher to be found, or just because we've got to get that knife made, we have to learn by the seat of out pants. No shame in that I suppose as long as you're having fun.

And p.s. many thanks to you experienced guys who give advice so freely to us in need!

Happy Hammerin':D

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