Hey guys, here are some pics of my first knife made from a section of an old leaf spring from my moms bakkie. It still has to be tempered and heat treated and have a handle put on but Ill do all that next weekend hopefully. The blade is 17.5 cm (6.8 ") long and the whole thing is 32 cm (12.5 ") long. Tell me what you think?

 

The original piece of stock.

 

The rough forged blade.

 

The final shaping and cleaning.

 

This is the first one I have made and Im quite happy with it considering the size and outcome so far. I will see if my forging methods are correct in the tempering stage, bends, buckles, cracks and snapping could all await me. But I am confident in my technique and am sure it will come out perfectly.

looking real good so far !!

Hi

 

Nice to see another SA here. Good looking knife. But I see it's a full tang so have to ask did you anneal it and very NB did you normalise it? If you normalised it during and after the forging process you shouldn't have any cracks. But to drill holes for the handle the blade will need to be annealed. Feel free to ask if you need any info in your area. I know Tiaan Burger is always willing to assist new blacksmiths and Bladesmiths in the Pretoria region.

I know a guy by the name of Riaan Bredenkamp who is friends with Coenraad Botha, the two of them are my knowledge base at the moment but I'm happy to make as many friends as I can. The blade and tang have been annealed and I normalized 3 times. I have yet to temper and heat treat it. I doubt I'll be drilling holes in this one. Do you know of any smiths in Pretoria who I can start an apprenticeship with?

If you are looking to apprentice as a bladesmith then Kevin Harvey of Heavens Forge in Belfast would be your best bet. I have heard that he takes on an appie now and then, though you don't get paid as far as I know - though being under his tutalage ensures that you get known and your stuff sells. He is the only Master Bladesmith in South Africa as far as I know. Tiaan Burger gives courses every now and then and is always willing and free with his expertise.

nice work

Here is an update, I just wanted to show the spine off.

Heys guys last update on my Knife WIP.

 

Quenchant - Raw linseed oil

Handle - Wrapped leather

Sheath - Wrapped leather and spring washers

 

Let it do the three one hour soak sessions in the oven at 250 Deg Cel with a normalising cool between each soak to temper it.

 

It is amazingly sharp for my first knife and glides through tomatoes, wood and paper.

 

What do you think guys?

It looks good to me. I like a simpler, ruged, practical knife and that fills the bill. Nice clean lines.