Shamus Blargostadt Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 So I'm trying to make this kitchen knife and I've already made several mistakes. One thing that I'm getting concerned about though is this bit of scale right in the middle. I keep grinding and grinding on the belt grinder and it just doesn't seem to be going away and I'm afraid that the blade is going to be getting too thin. My thickness is getting uneven too. It's anywhere from one quarter to 1/8" thick in places (one spot looks 1/16th.) I started with 1095 steel and tried to cut out the basic shape of the blade. Then I tried to forge it to shape. I'm wondering if I should've gone easier on the hammer in that middle part to avoid making the indentations. Or is this normal and I should just keep grinding away until The scale is gone? I'm using a 2x42 belt grinder. I was then going to finish up the edges with the angle grinder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Experience; learning to make smooth beveled sides takes practice. You might just soak it in vinegar to remove the scale and leave the surface as "rustic" Don't make it too thin! Every student I've had with at least 1 Y chromosome has demanded to make a blade before their hammer control was sufficient. I've often given in and let them forge a blade and then let them spend hours trying to file it smooth and generally finding that it's then too thin to work as a blade. *Then* they are willing to listen to my teaching on how to hammer a smooth surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted January 27, 2016 Share Posted January 27, 2016 Are you brushing the scale off when your iron comes out of the fire? If you leave scale on the piece it will be driven into the stock. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus Blargostadt Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 I usually do brush it but I'm not very diligent about it. I didn't think of driving scale into the stock but that's almost what it seems like. It would explain why it seems to be deeper than the surrounding steel that is clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Ivan Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Along with brushing the scale off, you may want to look into "wet forging". I'm no bladesmith but I have done it before and it blows the scale right off your work. Just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheoRockNazz Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 It looks like something I used to do: The anvil I used had a nasty face on it at the time (I was renting time at another forge in the UK, using their back-up equipment), so I had to forge bevels "cack-handed", as it was described by another smith, to forge the bevels on my blades. Ultimately I found it led to blades that were beveled flat on one side and concave on another. I think that may be what's happening to you. My solution was to walk around my anvil finding the best position to forge bevels with nearly identical hammer blows on a clean anvil face no matter which side of the blade. At first it meant walking to the other side of the anvil, but I noticed the difference right away. What's the other side of the blade look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shamus Blargostadt Posted January 28, 2016 Author Share Posted January 28, 2016 Thanks Thomas, that vinegar trick took most of the scale right off. I think I might be able to sand it now. Anxious to get at it. My anvil is pretty beat up but I'm betting my inexperience is more to blame than that. The other side of the blade is similar but not as bad as this side. I'm thinking I probably pounded scale into the stock, like Frosty said. I will definitely be more careful brushing after this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggraham Posted January 28, 2016 Share Posted January 28, 2016 Shamus, not to worry, my 1st attempt at knife making was realllllllllllllly eye opening about keeping the face of my anvil cleaner. I even left some grind marks, I guess I was blinded by the glaring embedded scale impressions, who knows, my story, might stick to it or not. Learning can be painful and pleasurable at the same time. George Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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