After not having a forge for awhile, I took advantage of a day off and built a new forge and broke it in by forging a knife out of a peice of coil spring. Quenched in veggie oil and tempered for 2 hours at 375f, hardened very nicely. Should hold a nice edge.

Serius buter knife you have there. Can't say its beutiful, but it is apealing in very homely way (early definition, not the corent one)

I call my first steel blade a watermelon knife. It's curved too as I didn't know any of the ways to prevent/fix that when hammering out the bevels.

Pretty decent first knife Nick. Not pretty, the profile is a little too round for my taste but it's not mine. All in all looks pretty good. Bear in mind I'm not a bladesmith guy so my opinions are FWIW.

Frosty The Lucky.

 

Thanks fellas, not the prettiest but I'm pleased for my first go, was my first time forging since winter, fun project to brush off the cobwebs. Marcy has confiscated it for kitchen duty so a proper handle is in it's future.

Yes, I call it mine. It looks nice in my hand. 

Ots a butterknife with attitude ;-)

Yes, I call it mine. It looks nice in my hand. 

Of course it's yours for the claiming Darlin. We get used it.

Frosty The Lucky.

I am going to have to make a knife now just so I can make it better than Nick 

Oh, if I was single, 20 years younger and two thousand miles closer i would try to take you from Nick! But as I'm not, just let this old coot be proud of your spunk, lol. 

You had better keep her happy, Nick, you have a rare one. And I bet her first knife will be better, lol. 

Make it manly, Marcy, so he wont be ebarest to carry it!

She was just as happy to have a forge up and runnin as I am, I think I'll keep her!!   Her knife will most definitely be better, always surprises me how fast she has been taking to it. Marcy's first Forgings were better than mine for sure. 

Looking good for a first round there, Nick!

Thanks Anthony .... I feel like there are many more to come, now I want to try some Damascus.

That's a fun and challenging choice there! Be ready for a lot of madness with that, though.

I watched a couple videos so that pretty much makes me an expert  right???

Might want Marcy to show you how ;-)

Heh. I have most of my notes from the class I took at Peter's Valley if you think they can help. I'd offer letting you rummage through my blacksmithing notebook, but I'm afraid most of it is illegible.

Oh come on Charles what's all this manly knife stuff?  I'm voting for a pink micarta handle. Nick won't mind and it'll be easy to find if dropped in the grass.

On a more serious note this is an excellent kind of competition for a couple. Spousal knife fights are only good things between knife makers and chefs. 

Frosty The Lucky.

Jerry, a friend of mine has all the pink handled snap-on tools. I used to drive the girls nuts in the shop office using hot pink fabercastel roller ball pens. They complained but no one stole my pens, and one had no doubt who worked on the ticket. Somthing about a near zero comeback rate and the ability to make book, or beat it keeps the service manager on my side. 

I will be a good competition but I'm afraid that the judges may be biased lol

Well, I will admit as a father and grand father of girls i well may be...

I will make Nick the cutest knife ever! I can't wait to have time off to forge! 

And Nick better hold on to me, I have a knife now. Lol

Good girl! 

I like you more all the time. You go girl!

Frosty The Lucky.

Don't forget to tell him (and as my wife reminds me)  "You gotta sleep sometime!"