Dagger problems

[Forgingnoob]

II started working on a dagger its the first thing I've ever made by forging.

I have it annealed until I can afford to make a filing jig. I noticed that it is twisted, but otherwise straight. Is there a way to fix this. My anvil is an 1899 75lb Fisher and it's very warn and has some pits in it if that helps.

[Prevenge]

I am a relative noob too...but why not heat it up a little and straighten/flatten it? It looks like mainly the last inch or so and the blade looks like it thins out as it progresses towards the hilt. Depending on what it is made out of you might even be able to do it cold. few rabbit taps and good to go. I usually tap very lightly with the blade running lengthwise along the anvil face to get more of a flat surface.

  Or...since it is annealed and it looks like you have a bit of length to work with get a couple pieces of wood , one about twice as long as the other, you can use a C-clamp to secure the tang between the two pieces and then clamp it in a vice, grind, file and then draw file it down using the wood as a backing piece....i think you have enough material to work with but if it is not a decent steel then i would just use it as filing practice..

What is it made of by the way?

[HEAP of JEEP]

I'm still pretty new to knife making, as well, but I agree with Prevenge.  Heat it up and straighten it out.  I'd also normalize it a couple of times before quenching too. Otherwise, I think you might see that bend become a permanent feature.  Nothing wrong with taking it back to the forge to fix any issues.  Its all about learning and getting experience so you can minimize problems as you move forward.

[ThomasPowers]

I find postvises are really handy for dealing with twists and for high carbon steels I work them hot and do not allow the post vise jaws to contact quench the piece!

[Charles R. Stevens]

As TP alludes, do not use copper or aluminum covers on your post vice as they conduct heat much faster than steel, press heating your vice jaws with a heavy bar helps or you can use hardwood jaw covers nut they will smoke. Heating one end, clamping a bit back from the twist and using a twisting wrench is an alternative.

if you leave it a bit thick, one has a bit more meat to file/grind it strait (it isn't going to be perfectly strait and smoth anyway)  

[Forgingnoob]

On 4/18/2016 at 6:05 AM, Prevenge said:

What is it made of by the way?

A file its W2 steel I believe

[Frosty]

2 hours ago, Forgingnoob said:

A file its W2 steel I believe

Then you are WAY out of your league for a FIRST project. If you're going to forge blades learn to blacksmith first THEN learning to forge blades is just a matter of learning how to work with high carbon steel and heat treat. Trying to do both at once is a good way to get used to failing.

Start learning to grind and or file by buying blanks and make stock removal knives. No matter how you make blades you have to use stock removal to finish them and it isn't going to make learning how to forge harder if you're not trying to combine the two.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Steve Sells]

This thread was approved, but dont hold your breath about approval on a few of the other ones, like making a axe out of rebar is just too far gone to deal with.  this is where we all join hands and start to chant the " Read the posted stickys and knife making classes." mantra again. hoping for a miracle

[Frosty]

3 minutes ago, Steve Sells said:

this is where we all join hands and start to chant the " Read the posted stickys and knife making classes." mantra again.

I don't think folk would read anything before diving in if you stapled it to their foreheads. I don't know how many times I've told people the ratio of burner size to forge volume and they'll come back telling me what the outside dimensions are or something else irrelevant. I no longer figure volume for people,and tell them so.

It's enough to make less patient people than us just stop talking to them.

Frosty The Lucky.

[Charles R. Stevens]

Thanks for the laugh Steve. 

[billyO]

18 hours ago, Forgingnoob said:

 and it's very warn and has some pits in it if that helps.

That probably doesn't help... but having a flat and smooth anvil may....

 

 

(sorry, I just couldn't resist....)

[gearhartironwerks]

Just thinking that maybe you should start with a more modest pattern with goals that are attainable.

john

[Forgingnoob]

I found my issue I didn't draw out the hilt area as much as I did the center and tip so when I let it cool it turned on me. I believe I have my problem fixed for now I did a combination of what ThomasPowers and Prevenge suggested it I pressed any noticeable waves out with a vice and then flattened it out more it seems pretty straight so far but it's still cooling. 

[Nobody Special]

Meh, knives are fun at first, and everybody wants to start with them. Let them. The reading and the interest in other parts will come, and quickly.  I started by making sub-par knives, probably half the people on here started by making sub-par knives. It's enjoyable, and you learn a lot. Sometimes what you learn is that you have a lot to learn.

As stated above, the project is slightly ambitious, check out the knife making classes for tips, and good luck. You first attempt looks far better than mine. (also, read up on heat treatment, and leave some meat on the blade prior to heat treatment, it'll help prevent a tendency to warp the blade. If necessary, get help with heat treatment and be careful using it, a lot of new people have trouble with that part, and it can leave the knife prone to breaking.

[Small town Smith]

Do you guys leave live pistol cartridges around when grinding and forging lol, no offense (forgingnoob) but I would take those off the work bench. never know what could go wrong there lol

 

[JPH]

On 4/18/2016 at 1:17 PM, Steve Sells said:

This thread was approved, but dont hold your breath about approval on a few of the other ones, like making a axe out of rebar is just too far gone to deal with.  this is where we all join hands and start to chant the " Read the posted stickys and knife making classes." mantra again. hoping for a miracle

ok now you dun dood it..I gots to make a rebar axe..all you own fault Steve...once RPFS is done...you'll see...

 

[Rashelle]

Oh great a rebar axe, now I'm thinking. I was given a chunk of higher end rebar that was somewhere in the vicinity of 1080 by  a bladesmith some time ago. I used his rolling mill and power hammer (it was 1"+) to get it down to a knife size. (Ok a rather large knife size.) I never did finish it. Now I am tempted to dig it out and see, maybe an axe is in the future. Most likely too thin right now but may have to see how it forge welds or doesn't as the case may be for a strap axe.

I bet JPH's far outclasses mine though, lol. I have no clue why this is numbering my paragraphs.

If you look above you will see there are little boxes shaded in.  Some left shift, another for bold, and etc..., I removed the numbers  for you.

[Frosty]

Rebar axes? Oh how cool! I didn't even know you could chop rebar. Does it grow in stands like bamboo or what?

Rashelle: There is a paragraph justification menu above the text window you must've selected "Number List."

Frosty The Lucky.

[bigfootnampa]

Aha!  I have made rebar axes!  They worked darn good too!  I used one for a few years as an ice axe to chop access holes in the livestock's water troughs through the winters!  It was self-handled and I turned a hook on the pommel to pull the ice plugs out of the holes. Small, thin blade chopped through, even thick ice, very easily!  Much easier and safer than using a commercial axe or hatchet!  I hung it from it's own hook and used it once or twice daily during cold spells!  Small holes just for one animal to drink at a time proved to be good strategy!  I would add fresh water to keep the level reachable.  Buckets from the creek when power was out!  

[Rashelle]

Paragraph justification window..... I have problems turning the silly computery thing on. Lets see I can say it's not a mac after that all computery things are pure speculation on my part. (Ok I actually understood that Frosty, thank you.) GRRRRRRRRR woke up at 02:00 dreaming of a rebar axe. 03:00 still was awake and had a bowl of kimchi with garlic bread ......... still thinking about axes... 04:40 now thinking of a railroad spike axe with rebar blade.  I need sleep. I really do prefer using known steels .ggggggggggrrrrrrrr, sleep.

[Frosty]

You're welcome Rashelle, glad to be of help. You think these thinky machines get to you, I USED to know how to operate the things. Now software is "UP?"-graded by kids who live in Mother's basement and need to justify a paycheck so they invent a new MUST HAVE! bell and whistle I have absolutely zero use for.

I remember when HP made top shelf peripherals and swore by them. No longer. I just deleted a multi (un numbered) paragraph rant about. . . WHEW almost got going again!

I feel your pain and worse I used to be able to muckle through most end user issues.

Frosty The Lucky.