Derek C. Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Hello - I am trying to forge a boline (small handheld sickle) for someone, however I'm new to bladesmithing and smithing in general. Since this blade has a substantial curve, and will be beveled/sharpened on the inside edge of the curve, I am not sure how to retain the curvature of the blade while forging the bevel. I'm starting with a 1x6x1/4" piece of Cur Forge V, which gives me a lot of metal to work with, and will require thinning out quite a bit. For starters, I'm working the entire taper of the blade from one side, which is putting a nice curve on the blade so far. When I go to forge the bevel, I am wondering if I should start at the inside of the curve and work back, or start at the outside and work in. I am thinking that if I start from the inside, and forge the bevel with my hammer face the beveling will straighten the blade somewhat, but once I get past the center and start thinning the spine that should put some curve back in to it. Does that make sense? Any other suggestions? Should I use the cross pein perpendicular to the blade to thin the spine out to ensure I move more metal along the spine rather than back towards the edge? I've attached a picture of the general shape I am going after. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Sells Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 You do need to keep in mind flipping the blade over to work both sides of the bevel, or you will have a suprise in heat treat. If you cant figure out how to straighten or curve a bar of steel, then I fear you have an up hill battle ahead of you. There is no way I can tell you what you need to know in a single post. Read the knife making classes before you get to far into it, and in a few months you may have a knife shaped object. good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Keyes Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Not forging the bevel seems the simplest way to go. Forge a straight bar to your general shape (no curve) and as thin as you can. Form the curve and then take out all of the wrinkles. File or grind the edge about 50% to thickness and HT. File or grind to sharp. One thing to remember, sickles and scythes often, maybe always, are left pretty soft. This may have something to do with the amount of work it takes to file them down to sharp. Scythes were "traditionally" sharpened with a small hammer and an anvil (called a dinglestock in some parts of the world). Forging inside curve bevels is always a booger to do. Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 Thanks, and yes I have been reading through the 101 classes, and yes I will be working both sides of the bevel, I'm just only working one side of the taper (this blade tapers both towards the tank and towards the point) to help curve it the way I want it to curve. I can certainly put a curve into it the way I would curve any other piece of metal, but that becomes harder when trying to manage a very large curve while forging in the bevel. I had thought about grinding the bevel, but I'm trying to keep the "rustic" look. Since this is a hand held sickle, I will probably harden more than a traditional scythe. I think the reason for leaving a scythe softer has more to do with toughness since you're swinging it and could potentially hit rocks. I'm not in a huge rush to get this done, and it doesn't have to be perfect. At this time, I'm just doing this as a hobby, so it's going to be a gift. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Start with a circle and hammer the bevel out till you reach the shape you want recurving as necessary using a wooden mallet and stump. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Personally I tend to start out by slightly curving the blade tighter than I intend for a final finish. I leave the back of the blade slightly over thick, as well, and forging this to final thickness helps to minimize corrections required to adjust for straightening caused as the bevel is forged in. I leave the bevel slightly thick at the edge to allow for better success when heat treating. I grind to final shape after HT. I like to temper my scythe blades till I can cut with a file. I put long wands on mine between the tangs and the blade to increase reach, minimize stooping and allow greater speed at the blade edge. A slightly toothed edge is better than a very slick one. The old guys used to like to hone their scythes and then hang them outside overnight and let the dew and rust serrate the edge for the next mornings cutting! I tend to use a file cut edge honed with a diamond steel to a similar effect. The rust and dew method is fine though when it works out that way! Work with a nice scythe a few times and your soul will HOWL if you try to regress to an inefficient, dangerous and NOISY weedeater!!! NEVER go back!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianinsa Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Work with a nice scythe a few times and your soul will HOWL if you try to regress to an inefficient, dangerous and NOISY weedeater!!! NEVER go back!!!Oh, you old luddite you! (grin) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Thanks for the tips guys! Bigfoot - what you are saying is basically what I was planning on doing. Do you happen to have any pictures of yours? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Here is a picture of a couple that I still have. Not a great picture but you can get the idea. I LOVE these!!! I still tend to use a full size scythe for most work... but these are supreme when cutting tight spots and close quarters!!! These are old J-bolts... probably around 35 points of carbon... it would be better if they were higher carbon material. Big manufacturers used to use something around 1080 to 1090 I believe. Don't get me wrong! I could chop an acre of weeds four feet high with either of these in a couple hours!!! You'd spend longer winding the string on your weedeater than I would to get the job done! They could STILL be BETTER though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 10, 2014 Author Share Posted June 10, 2014 Very nice. I may have to make some larger ones down the line. I have a piece of property that is quite a hike to get to, and these look like less effort to transport than the gas guzzling monstrosity and its associated consumables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benton Frisse Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 I recently watched a video that showed a gentleman forging a knife that had a curve in it much like a sickle would. What he did first was curve the material in the opposite direction a bit, that way he could draw and hammer the bevel without the curvature of the blade getting too extreme. As you hammer and draw the bevel out the material it takes a natural curve. But your edge will be on the INSIDE of the curve instead of the outside, so I would think you'd want to curve the material and then draw on the inside of the curve to form the bevel. That way it would straighten a bit but you could still keep your shape. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Note that I once used an antique scythe to clear our property. It was a joy to use but the very different motion caused an unknown bone spur in my shoulder to act up and I ended up having surgery on my shoulder. So now I just mow it a couple of times a year as that has never put me in the hospital and away from the forge for weeks---yet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 11, 2014 Author Share Posted June 11, 2014 Yessir, I think I came across that one when looking for inspiration! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrookedPath Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 Well I just got done with a boline myself, thought I'd share it. The curve is less severe, so I didnt have as much trouble keeping everything in order. I worked one side of the bevel, fixed the curved, heated, then worked the other side, fixed and heated. Seemed to work pretty well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benton Frisse Posted June 19, 2014 Share Posted June 19, 2014 The runes and bone look awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek C. Posted June 19, 2014 Author Share Posted June 19, 2014 Very nice. Reminds me a bit of a carpet knife :D. I'm probably going to end up with a curve somewhere between yours and Gerald's. Now I just need to find time to work on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles R. Stevens Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Remember, as Steve and rich point out in the knife class, start your. Edge bevel very steep and then more acute with sack pass. This avoids the forming of a fish mouth and resulting cold shunt. Same trick you use in pointing a rod. I think you'll find the rounding hammer oor ballpoint will be your friend on this job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergely Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 Pretty much everything has been said about how to make a sickle, but just for fun you can look at this, page 95: http://www.bushcraftuk.com/downloads/pdf/blacksmithing.pdf Good luck Gergely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrookedPath Posted July 3, 2014 Share Posted July 3, 2014 Sorry for the slow reply Gerald. The runes on the wooden portion are my makers mark. It's my interpretation of Crooked Path, the name of my forge. The ones burned into the bone are mainly a thanks, a blessing, and request for aid. Little prayers I thought would be useful when harvesting plants and whatnot. I use the Anglo-Saxon Futhork as apposed to the Elder Futhorc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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