rrnsss Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Dear forumites, I am making some progress. However, I think I have reached the limits of my skill and little knowledge and therefore seek your guidance. I have managed to make a flat piece of metal from a 1/2 '' rod of HCHCS. On the way i have found that my forge stops working after 30 minutes, just when it gets real hot, as the ashes block the airway. I am in the process of remedying it. I would be extremely grateful if anyone can take a look at the videos and correct my mistakes. Kindly see the shape of the piece at the end of each video.YouTube - Blade smithing - Baby steps 1YouTube - Blade smithing - Baby steps 2 I have the following questions 1. Once I flatten or thin out a stock, I can't make it fatter. Is my assumption right? 2. Look at the picture below . I have painted myself into a corner. I have a blade that looks like a straight razor. How do I make a pointed edge with out making the metal any thinner? 3. I find that as I flatten out the rod, it takes a lot lesser time to heat it to working temperature, at the same time, a thinned out stock cools much faster too. Is there anything I can do to make it stay hot a little longer? Thanks for your kind efforts. Ramachandran Subramanian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quenchcrack Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 Start by forging the rod to a point before you flatten it. To fix the one you show in the picture, file it or grind it to the point you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Hale Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 You are going through what most folks start out having issues with. The basic problem as I see it is that you do not know yet what a hammer and anvil does to a hot piece of steel. You have noticed some of the important things. Thin the steel and it stays thin..(at times) and it does not retain heat the thinner it gets. Here are a couple of options: Start at the beginning with simple forging exercises. Make round steel square, then back to round make it longer and shorter. Bend it into circles etc. Lots of items in the blueprint section to give you ideas. Another option is to just keep on doing what you are doing and seeing if you can figure it out. One of the best options is to take some classes from someone that not only knows how to do what you wish but is also willing to instruct in a manner that will shorten your learning curve. There are also lots of books and videos available to get you going. YouTube has a lot of information for you to look at but remember that it is only as good as the person showing you how. You or anyone can put something on YouTube and declare your self an expert. I feel for some of the videos they are not correct and or show dangerous practices. At least know that this is about a two year program to get fairly competent with a hammer and anvil if you work a lot of hours a week at it. I feel that after that is a good time to start on blades..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urnesBeast Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 I would recommend a much smaller hammer, or a much bigger piece of steel! A regular ball peen would work better for you. It will help with hammer control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Budd Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 The way I teach folk to forge a blade is to copy me parrot fashion in bitesize steps: 1) point on the bar. this can be adjusted later, so even a short stout point is fine at this stage, but it is easiest to forge in now 2) flatten the bar to the thickness you want the spine to be and for the blade length plus an inch or two. 3) refine the bar and point to the preform shape you need. the correct shape comes with practice, but try forging something that looks like the knife you want only the cutting edge will be the straight side (so your knife is upside down so to speak) 4) bend the blade so that the cutting edge (straight side of forging) is on the inside of the curve. as you forge the bevels the blade will curve up to the spine and this prebend saves a lot of swearing later 5) forge the bevels in. start with a run of blows along the very edge at a 40degree angle to the anvil, then work in rows until you get to the spine or where your bevel stops. 6) chop it off the bar and forge the tang. 7) straighten, normalize, etc. I would scrap the first hammer until you are comfortable swinging it all day, but the second one (2lb?) is fine in my opinion. Move your anvil near the forge to save you getting up and wandering about (the steel cools quickly). When I use a ground level forge and anvil I kneel behind the anvil with the forge arms length away. If you can raise the anvil a little to the point that when kneeling u[right the top is at fist height then it will save a lot of troubles too. It is possible to forge a good blade as you are, but takes practice Also make sure you work on both sides of the bar equally,otherwise you will get warpage when you harden it have fun and keep trying :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 My suggestions are similar to Dave's. The first is to get a position where you are no more then an arm span away from anvil to forge. The second has to do with the fire, when you first start forging the bar down you need it somewhat hotter and when it gets thin you need to have it cooler. Right now it looks somewhat on the low(cool) end for a bar the size you are starting with and you have no way to dump ash either. The forge definitely needs improvement. As others have suggested, I will too, get some mild steel and practice drawing it out into different shapes, square to round and back to square, this will help immensely in hammer control. Hammer control is what helps you get the rough shape you want for your blades. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thornforge Posted June 25, 2009 Share Posted June 25, 2009 You must remember too, that the anvil is the biggest heat-sink you will find. It just loves to soak up all that heat you've just put into your stock. If you follow th above advice about practicing some general shaping you may find it is good to do this for a quater hour or so and then get your thinner stock (blade) in the heat. The practice stock will have warmed your anvil face a bit and therefore your blade wont cool *quite* as quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ecart Posted June 26, 2009 Share Posted June 26, 2009 My suggestion: follow what everyone is telling you here. I am one who tries to create a masterpiece without a single second's worth of practice. You can imagine how that works out. I forget how many years I have been at it now, but late last year/early this year I just put out my first knife. Now every time I go to the forge, I lament the fact that I never developed good forging techniques. So it's time to back up and practice said techniques. Practice your basics. Follow the advice in this thread. Scour the blueprints and use them. That's my plan of action anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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