Hello! I'm new here. I've been getting into knife making the last couple of years, and am just finishing up my first forge. I was playing around with it today and ended up forging my first project, a meat turning hook...

 

 

I am very happy with how it turned out considering it's my first attempt at doing the stuff I've been watching on youtube, but I noticed the end of the hook split. I was just doing this project for practice and to try out stuff. So I wasn't too concerned about keeping the tip from overheating, and I did cook it quite a bit while heating the middle section. On the other hand, I did dip the tip in water a couple times to try to keep it from overheating. So, I'm wondering if the split is from overheating, or a crack from quenching it, or something else?

 

Put a short taper at the end of the bar BEFORE YOU START TO DRAW IT OUT. :) :)

When you are forging a taper, the surface material moves before the core material.

When it gets colder, that is for planishing (straightening), not forging.

Welcome aboard Jesse, glad to have you. If you'll put your general location in the header you might be surprised how many of the IFI gang live within visiting distance.

 

What Neil said. It's called "bird's Mouthing" or . . . (never mind this is a family site <wink>) Cut it off and reforge the tip it'll be fine. Hot file or grind the finish point before turning it at a low red and you don't have to worry about any splitting.

 

Also, forge the thicker sections first. If you start with the thin sections they're a lot more likely to get burned when heating the thicker ones.

 

Other than the tip bird's mouthing a little bit that's a nice steak turner. Well done.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Thanks guys. So if I understand, do a short taper, then draw it out, then file it sharp, then bend it around into the hook shape. Is that about right?

 

Why turn it at a low red instead of at a hotter temp? Is it more evenly heated through the whole bar since the outside cools faster?

A dull red heat, is about the lowest temp that allows you to easily bend the stock, ... without burning carbon out of the material, ... or imparting unnecessary stress into the piece.

 

Also, allow the piece to air cool, ... quenching also imparts stress, ... to no purpose.

 

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Generally speaking, ... fewer heats, ... at lower temps, ... preserves the integrity of the steel.

 

 

It's a conundrum, ... that working the material at too low a temp, ... also stresses the steel.

 

 

Forging steel is like eating Porrige.

 

Not too hot, ... not too cool, ... you want it to be "just right".

 

With mild steel, ... "just right" is the range between dull red, and bright orange.

 

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Yellow heat is too hot for Forging, ... but is often necessary for Forge Welding.

 

 

When you see sparks shooting out from ther steel, .. like a 4th of July "Sparkler" :( .... it's too hot.

 

Those sparks, are the carbon burning out of the steel.

 

 

When the carbon is gone, ...  what remains, ... is what we vastly experienced Geezers like to call .......... junk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I have seen that happen many times with new students. I see you went Round that is the cause of your problem. First when you make the taper for the end do it square the knock the corners off to make it round. Yes even when working with round stock. Second put the rod up to the edge of the anvil and hammer it to a point first that will keep you from getting a fish mouth.it can cause it to happen also   

I put a tapper on it initially (yes, I worked it round instead of squaring it up then rounding it) but I was worried about overheating the point while I worked the curves. So I didn't go too sharp with the point, then I came back and hammered the tip more after I drew out the area for the bends. Then after I got the bends and all done, I decided it should have a twist in the middle, so that's when I heated the heck out of it. But, I was only running the forge at 1700 -1800 °F so I probably didn't really overheat anything.

 

I cut the end off and fixed it. The point is good now, but I didn't get my bends as nice this time.  I think mostly because I didn't get it drawn out thin enough this time and tried making the bends to tight.

 

Oh well, when I first tarted beating on this piece of steel it was just to try out the forge. I didn't actually plan to make anything with it, then the steak turner just sort of appeared. So I'm happy with it. Now for my next project I hope to make a pair of tongs after I find some suitable stock at the steel supply house tomorrow. The hardware store, nor my scrap treasure pile had anything thick enough today.

Just hang onto that steak turner so you can take a look at every now and then as the years go by. You can see how far you've come, you're off and running now for sure.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Most of the time when I forge cracks in the end of small stock like that I think it is from forging too cold. It could be the other things suggested as well, you will need to watch what you are doing and find out for yourself.