my first attempt at a Hamon.

[switchjv]

yesterday i bought a nice piece of steel at a yard sale for 50 cents. i forged this knife and attempted a hamon on it. it actually came out pretty good. i just need to make the handles.

[ThomasPowers]

What did the spark test say about the carbon content?

[switchjv]

What did the spark test say about the carbon content?

while i was cutting the bar in half with a grinder and cutoff wheel, i noticed bright sparks that branched off further from the wheel. which leads me to believe that the steel had good carbon content. However, being new to blade smithing, i know there are is still a lot i need to learn about the art. most of the blades i am producing are meant to familiarize my self with the processes.

[switchjv]

new pics of the knife. i think i screwed up the hamon. But i guess it looks good to me. i also did a little bit of filing on the spine.

[Rhettbarnhart]

is the band aid from the knife?

[switchjv]

is the band aid from the knife?

Actually, no. I cut my hand at work with a utility knife. it required 14 stitches.

[Rhettbarnhart]

when i am makin a knife i always slip a couple times....lol

[WmHorus]

The big thing about using clay is allowing it time to dry or cure properly before doing the ht, I didnt do it on a few blades and the clay just blew off the blade.

[ThomasPowers]

Sounds like you did check it out some *before* using it. Always better than spending the time and effort and then posting a plaintive "How do I harden this lovely mild steel knife I forged?" post. (Of which we have seen a more than gracious plenty of over time...)

My opinion is that if one is not using a knife grade alloy they are NOT "familiarizing themselves with the processes" as high carbon steels get forged within a limited temperature range compared to low carbon steels, forge differently---harder under the hammer even hot and need more care with conduction quenching, etc. If you need more experience in *basic* forging you should not be doing knives! You can practice hammer control, drawing stuff out, etc on any of the myriad projects that will result in you having a slew of Christmas Presents ready to give. As i tell my students "Everything you do to make an S hook is directly applicable to making knives" (and it's a lot harder to mess one up!)

Forging mild steel blades is sort of like learning to ride a bicycle in order to familiarize yourself with driving a car IMVMNSHO

As the common automobile spring---leaf or coil is *generally* a decent alloy for blades and they can be sourced *free* pretty much everywhere, I strongly suggest people do *not* practice on mild steel or A36. For one thing you need to practice heat treating and having a lot of the same alloy around lets you dial in your process for that too!

[switchjv]

I finally finished it. I learned a lot about what i did wrong on the hamon. like...using too thin of a clay mixture, and not letting the clay dry completely. however, i think it still came out nice. i used elk horn for the handle. Thanks for looking :D .