Medic Zack Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 So I am very, very new to forging. And my plan was to spend a significant amount of time learning the basics of blacksmithing making decorative pieces and tools. But my fiance had different ideas... Her birthday is today and despite multiple attempts to convince he to let me make her something simple and decorative, she had her heart set on a knife. And of course you have to give the lady what she wants. So this is my first attempt at making a knife. It is forged out of 1080 1/2 inch bar stock and modeled after one of her favorite kitchen knives that she uses to chop vegetables. The blade is 4.5 inches long by 1.5 inches. It has a hidden tang that is 4 inches long by 1 inch thick. The handle is made out of an old sledge hammer handle. Overall I am very happy with the knife for my first attempt. The heat treatment took some trial and error, but in the end the blade will pass a file test and did not warp. I feel like my fit and finish leaves something to be desire. But this ended up being a wonderful learning experience. I would like to say a special thank you too all of you on here that have shared your knowledge of blacksmithing and blademaking. Especially Steve and Rich for the knife making classes. They were invaluable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 Nice paring knife, especially for a first effort. Great to hear that someone is actually doing their research and using the stickys to achieve success. Hopefully you also tempered the knife after quenching. I assume you mean the tang is 1" wide, not thick. For a paring knife of that size you probably don't need such a substantial tang, 1/4" x 1/2" in crossection should be more than enough, but it never hurts to go big. For your next effort, consider adding a mechanical pin to the tang/handle construction to avoid using epoxy as the only means of keeping the handle on. While epoxy is certainly strong enough, it may get challenged by long years of use/abuse and regular washing a paring knife can experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medic Zack Posted June 22, 2017 Author Share Posted June 22, 2017 Thanks Latticino. And yes, I tempered the knife in the oven at 400 for a total of 2 hours. I also did a series of 3 normalization before my quench. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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