Latticino Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Lovely job, glad I was of some small help in the project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 By the way.. A 2lb axe is really nice to swing and great for felling up to about 14" and limbing.. Nice job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted August 28, 2021 Author Share Posted August 28, 2021 5 hours ago, jlpservicesinc said: Your buddy is very lucky.. It turns out I am keeping the big one, I made a lighter one (1lb 12oz) for my coworker and it's going on an 18" handle. While grinding the first one I started thinking that I should have drawn the blade out further. It was (and IMO still is) thicker and therefore shorter than it needs to be. It makes the head look small for the handle even though the weight feels right. I made sure to forge the blade down more this time. (Geez, now that I try to take a picture of it that blade is not straight.) Anyway, thank you both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted August 28, 2021 Share Posted August 28, 2021 Try to remember to keep a rounded profile to the sides of the blade. Will help a lot to keep the blade from sticking. I make the blades as thin as possible on the edges and run a center spine down the middle of the blade. Very stylized but works very well. There is alway a little twist. Usually removed in grinding. Well unless someone doesn't grind. Very nice work. These are tough to do well and it looks like you have it figured out nicely. Congrats. You've kinda moved up in skill set. There are numerous reasons why punched eyes are popular today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 Try to find a good book on axes---there is a huge number of styles once used based on type of tree, type of use, ethnic background, etc and so on! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted September 16, 2021 Author Share Posted September 16, 2021 The 19" handle finally came in for the 1lb 12oz axe head. It's a nice hatch-axe size. Large enough for 2 hands, but sufficiently light and wieldy to be used one handed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 16, 2021 Share Posted September 16, 2021 That’s awesome Frazer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted September 27, 2021 Author Share Posted September 27, 2021 A chef's knife for my dad's birthday. The handle is stabilized wenge which turned out rather nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 Beautiful work.. Love the look and combination.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWISTEDWILLOW Posted September 27, 2021 Share Posted September 27, 2021 That turned out beautiful Frazer! I always enjoy seeing your work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 Thank you both. I like the finish got on the scales. For those who are interested I hand sanded them to 800 grit (you could go higher), let them soak for ~5 minutes in a ~60/40 BLO/turpentine mix, thoroughly wiped off the excess and let that cure. Then I finished with a paste wax. I went with natural finishes to maintain some degree of the wood texture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 Scales certainly look great. The wenge has beautiful grain and you did well bringing it out. Your pins are also very clean and look proportionate. If you don't mind a little, what I hope is constructive, criticism I recommend considering the following: Often hand forged chef's knives don't include a clearly visible plunge grind, and if they do the grind does not go completely up to the spine. If a visible plunge grind is used, it should feather out before hitting the spine. The blend between the handle and blade in grinding a chef's knife without a visible plunge is the most difficult part of grinding these knives IMHO. There are a couple of good videos online teaching this technique. Of course this is a purely aesthetic issue, and certainly doesn't have any effect on how well the knife works. Functionally chef's knives are most often used for chopping or slicing on a cutting board. The extension of your riccasso down slightly past the edge of the blade may interfere using the heel of the blade. This will only get worse as the knife is sharpened over time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted September 29, 2021 Author Share Posted September 29, 2021 Constructive criticism is always welcome. I hadn't thought about either of those points and I think both of them are good ones. From the aesthetic perspective, the one (major) eyesore for me is my decision to put in a sharpening choil (something I don't think I've ever seen on a chef's knife). That stems from having such a deep plunge grind where I chose to put it. I think eliminating both in the future would result in a cleaner looking blade. I'll have to look into this blending technique before I attempt to make another. I think the functional point is an extension of the aesthetic and, again, you're right. I should have removed the riccasso down to the depth of the choil. Turning the choil from a semi-circle into a quadrant. Luckily this knife is staying nearby and that would be a relatively quick and easy thing to grind out and clean up. I'm considering doing an integral bolster for the next one (whenever that might be). This knife was made with a leaf spring pack that I got off a box truck. They were almost new when they came back to the dealer under warranty (center bolt sheared off after ~20k miles). Each leaf is ~1/2" thick so there is a plenty of material there. I think having a bolster would help make that smooth transition from the handle to the blade. -- I made some larger blanks since I saw you last. I'll bring a few to the next NYSDB meeting for you to pick from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Latticino Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 Cool. I have taken a class from Nick Rossi on forging integral bolster knives and he just demonstrated them again at Ashokan (He has a great video of this forging on the NESM YouTube site). I have a couple of tricks he shared that will make your life easier when you try one. Using a Smithing Magician like guillotine tool is pretty helpful to keep the various offsets in line. Making that abrupt heel pull down from the bolster is tough. Keeping the bolster centered between the blade and tang is another challenge. I still struggle a bit with both of those, but am getting better. It is important not to rush, at least on the first couple. 1/2" thickness is a little light for a chef's knife bolster IMHO. I think we used 1" square stock, but that was for a 10-12" blade. I think he uses 3/4" round for his paring knives. Maybe you can upset your leaf spring a bit before you get to the blade forging proper. I'm sure we can work something out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted October 15, 2021 Author Share Posted October 15, 2021 I was asked to make some medium sized fireplace tongs for a chiminea. Here's my take on them. 3/4" sq. jaws welded on 1/2" round reins. I'm interested to hear how they work. I haven't seen another set like these.. I figured while I was as it I would offer a poker as well. Even if they don't want it, I'm sure someone will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Those are attractive Frazer though I don't know how well the tongs will work. I'll be interested in hearing how the customer likes them. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted October 15, 2021 Share Posted October 15, 2021 Very pretty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 Frosty, nor am I to be honest.. I was asked to make something unique, but I may have gone a little too far. Hopefully, I didn't sacrifice functionality in that effort. I did let them know that if they don't work out I'll make another pair that's more conventional. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Like I've said before, anything worth doing is worth overdoing. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 (or redoing) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Tweak FIRST, then redo and replace if necessary. Anytime I sold something I gave the buyer an open invitation for tweaking or remaking to suit. The only time I was taken up on it were a couple SCA fighters I was making helms and basket hilts for. Turned out they didn't know what they wanted and thought I'd just keep making helms till they knew. Another thing these guys were famous for was wanting to bargain AFTER I'd made something. Funny, when I started requiring 50% up front they stopped patronizing me. Well, when they discovered I was serious about the balance on delivery and N O I wasn't going to trust them for it. Not all the sca folks were like these couple guys but there were lots of armor makers and I charged realistic prices. I still go to an event now and then though the fights seem too staged to be as much fun to watch. Of course there are fewer injuries. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted October 24, 2021 Author Share Posted October 24, 2021 I finished a ~5.5" utility knife for my mom's birthday today. I tried to blend in the plunge grind this time around. That turned out okay, but I'll need to practice that more before I get it right. It's going to be a slicer for sure. I ground it nice and thin by my standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted October 24, 2021 Share Posted October 24, 2021 Fantastic work.. how much grinding you doing? what was your stock type? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted October 25, 2021 Author Share Posted October 25, 2021 The short answer is as little as possible. I have a single speed 2x42" grinder and while it works for most of what I need it for it's not really ideal for knives. I try to forge as close to final dimensions as I can and limit grinding where possible.. To put a number on it I would guess somewhere between 1-3mm thicker than it's finished dimensions. That doesn't always work out and sometimes extra grinding is necessary. Many, many hours of hand sanding though. The stock was my like-new leaf spring (~15-20k miles on them before the center bolt sheared off) that I got from a local dealership off one of their box trucks. I used the power hammer at one of the NYSDB meetings to work it down into a manageable stock size. I really like this spring steel. I've gotten the normalize-harden process down to where the grain size of my test coupons is as small as a commercial file. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlpservicesinc Posted October 25, 2021 Share Posted October 25, 2021 Nice work.. Your doing great.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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