Hey guys heres some photos of my second knife attempt and I actually finished this one. The first knife I made from a leaf spring that I inexplicably dropped and broke after quenching but to my surprise the grain looked really good and tight. This knife is a bowie forged out of 80crv2 with a blade length of about 8.5". The guard is a piece of scrap spring steel forged to shape. The handle material is leopard wood fastened with epoxy and stainless steel roof nails that I cut for pins. I also purposely tarnished the blade with mustard and warmed apple cider vinegar for protection. 

 

Looks like a nice "user".  Great job for a second blade.  Personally I'm not a fan of guards that curve down that close to the knuckles (any sharp edges there do a number on your hand if you ever use the knife for light chopping) and like a bit more sculpting for a handle, but if it fits your hand well, then it is all good.

Thanks, yea it fits my hand well and I've chopped through 2 sections of 2×4 with no issues but I can see where it could cause issues. Thanks for the feedback and I will keep it in mind for future work.

I like the shape. That looks like a great result for only your second attempt, nice job. A few questions since it’s hard to tell in the pics;

Is it a hidden tang? Doesn’t appear to be full tang. 

Did you forge in bevels or grind? I see a plunge but hard to tell what else is going on there due to the aging of the blade. 

Last but not least, can you tell us about your heat treating process?

Sorry for the delayed response five points... yes it is a hidden tang and I did start my bevels at the anvil but finished them and cleaned them up at the grinder. I normalized the blade twice, the first cycle I took above non magnetic let it soak for about 5min and  for the second I had the forge turned down a little lower and did the same but watching the color of the steel it was a little cooler then the first cycle. I dont have a thermocouple so I dont know the exact temps. For the quench I heated back to non magnetic and let it soak for about 5min and quenched in warmed canola oil that was 130 degrees F. Tempering was done for 2-45min cycles at 400 degrees F.

Well done, Sir.