templehound Posted February 27, 2021 Share Posted February 27, 2021 Here is my latest, fresh of the bench..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhyfelwr Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Hound that blade has some very clean lines. Just about perfect drop also, I never liked Kukuri style blades with to much forward drop. Nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HondoWalker Posted March 4, 2021 Author Share Posted March 4, 2021 That is a really good knife Hound. I hope my blades could be half that good. I mostly finished the latest one. Still have a long way to go. I did get what I feel is the biggest compliment I've ever gotten. My dad was a master knifesmith. And I was told that since I forge my knives that they are better than Dad's. Dad did stock removal for all of his knives. To me there's no higher compliment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
templehound Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 Thanks Rhyfelwr, much appreciated Thank You HondoWalker! That Bowie turned out great, You are on the right way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted March 7, 2021 Share Posted March 7, 2021 I've surg a few sessions on this guy only to find a cold shut on it and it looks a bit deep. I could either scrap it as it is right now, split it and make to medium to small knives out of it or throw some weld in there. I'm done with the hammer work on the blade. Thoughts? It's 5160 and while there is plenty of metal on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 Drill them out with a larger drill bit and have holes in the blade? Or weld with appropriate filler and pre and post heat to produce a "using knife". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted March 15, 2021 Share Posted March 15, 2021 I got on the sander and thankfully that cold shut wasn't nearly as bad as I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HondoWalker Posted March 16, 2021 Author Share Posted March 16, 2021 Hit the forge a few days ago. Was experimenting with that steel I have been using. Apparently it is mild steel. Quenching does nothing to it. So my last several knives are for looks only. Wanted also to see how much I needed to make a small knife. One inch won't do it. Need at least 2 inches. Still having a bear of a time trying to affix some threads to the tang. I will be getting a new welder in a couple days. So I figure that problem will fix itself. First I have to learn to weld. I keep trying to forge weld but so far I've had absolutely no luck. Had a planer blade I wanted to turn into damascus. Had cleaned it up nice and shiny. Tried several times to get it to stick and figured it wasn't getting hot enough. So of course it melted. I'll keep trying. I'll get it to work eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 16, 2021 Share Posted March 16, 2021 Planer blades are often made of high alloy steels that are near impossible to forge weld; the type that the experts in the field can brag about welding using esoteric procedures. NOT something you should start out with! Remember the higher the carbon content the lower the welding temp and melting temp; also elements like chrome have a much more difficult oxidation layer to remove when forge welding and TOXIC fluxes are often used. I've been forge welding since the early 1980's and I would not expect my first go at welding say an M2 planer blade to be even close to successful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
templehound Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 (edited) On 3/16/2021 at 4:56 PM, HondoWalker said: Hit the forge a few days ago. Hondo, 99% of reason for failure forge welding is fire control.You have to understand the fact of a reduced fire. first: Take a look at the video of Black Bear Forge, he explains it excellent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j814AqiKVvE second: do not use scrap steel! You are not saving money!! You will be wasting time and! money!Recycling on old leaf springs, shear blades, etc. is more expensive than a few bucks for fresh clean tool steel. and as Thomas pointed out, the error of steel alloys that comes with scrap steel. cheers Edited April 1, 2021 by Mod30 Trim quote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 First day on the forum. These are my two latest blades. I just started knife making using stock removal in September. I’ve been dying to get into forging and try out some San Mai and other fun stuff. Figured I’d post these as my last two stock removal blades (hopefully), as I just got a makeshift anvil. Can’t wait to start hammering! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Good looking knives and you are ahead of the curve because forging the blade is just the first step. There is a lot of grinding before it's finished. There is a saying (paraphrased) For a good blade you will win, forge thick and grind thin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Phew! I bet those knives cut like nobody's business. Very nice. There are a lot more variables when forging knives so there will be a learning curve, but I agree with IDFCW. You are way ahead of the curve when it comes to finishing work. Might not be a bad idea to play around with forging other things before (or in tandem with) knives just to get used to the process of moving material around with the hammer. Plus it opens you up to a whole bunch of other things you could potentially sell/use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you! I think it would be good for me to play around with some scrap steel just to see how it moves under the hammer. I seem to always just “go for it” with pretty much everything, but I feel like this is something where I should start small and experiment. This forum has already been a huge help. Still lots of reading to do! Hoping to start hammering away this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 BTW that saying is in the 1703 edition of Mechanick's Exercises" by Joseph Moxon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JHCC Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Those are very nice blades, Seffers93. May your forged knives be as nice as your stock removals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seffers93 Posted April 1, 2021 Share Posted April 1, 2021 Thank you, JHCC! Much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Dirt Posted April 3, 2021 Share Posted April 3, 2021 This is my first shot at trying to make a blade. Lots of lessons learned the hard way. Mystery steel. Y'all have probably heard this one. A buddy of mine said it was good steel to make a knife with......and that's all he could tell me about it. May not have got it hot enough, may dig it out just to try one more time with a significant heat source. Stock removel. Hand files and a angle grinder. Wanted all the bells and whistles so I tapered the tang as well. Started out as a quarter inch thick piece. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HondoWalker Posted April 7, 2021 Author Share Posted April 7, 2021 Here is my latest knife. This one came from a random 6 inch long half inch wide piece of steel my mother had in her shop and she gave it to me. I made the guard out of a flattened piece of 3/4 copper water pipe. It's my first knife with both a guard and a pommel on a hidden tang knife. My first use of a brass pin also. The tang was not made properly for the guard. JB Weld covers most of the glaring mistakes. Wasn't going to have a pommel but I cut the end of the handle too short and the end of the tang was exposed. I had a small piece of brass about as wide as the tang so I drilled it and the tang for a pin. My smallest diameter pin was too big for the hole. Don't have a bigger drill bit so I used my drill and a file to make the pin fit. I again used JB Weld to help hold the brass and cover the hole the tang was in. The brass polished up and you can't see the pin at all. The wood is curly oak. I buffed it to a shine to make the stripes come out. Also this steel was hardenable. It got nice and strong. Finally one of my knives will get and hold an edge. It gave me a nice slice on my pinky that should have had a few stitches. Then I was wiping buffing rouge off the blade and the edge jumped through the cotton fabric and sheared skin off my thumb. Then it touched the cuticle of my first finger and brought the blood again. It falls through paper like a laser. Not as pretty as my previous one but much more useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted April 7, 2021 Share Posted April 7, 2021 From what I can see it looks more like a butt cap than a pommel. I once worked with a swordmaker who told me that "Every major blade will demand it's blood sacrifice." Do you have very large hands? That hilt looks large to me and I wear Large exam gloves. Making clunky grips is a common beginner's issue and easy to solve so I thought I would ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frazer Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 Looks good Dew, looking forward to seeing what you do with the handle. I don't remember when I started this knife, but it was a while ago. I just did a little bit here and there when I had time. Regardless, I finished it today. Pictures were taken before sharpening, while I still had daylight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HondoWalker Posted April 10, 2021 Author Share Posted April 10, 2021 I don't consider my hands to be large. The wood began as a large block I split and used for a handle. I filed it, rasped it and sanded it for 3 days and it feels good in my hand so I called it "good enough". The hilt sticks out about half an inch on the sharp side and is flush everywhere else. It just keeps your fingers away from the ouch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPoor Posted April 10, 2021 Share Posted April 10, 2021 This is my first knife. I got my forge a week ago. I have an angle grinder and a harbor freight anvil. So far I have really enjoyed the time I get to spend working and shaping the metal. I do believe I am hooked. I see many more toys to buy in my future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad J. Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 (edited) That looks good JPoor. I like the angle for the handle to blade. What steel did you use? Edited April 11, 2021 by Chad J. Autocorrect Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPoor Posted April 11, 2021 Share Posted April 11, 2021 It started as a RR clip. Thank you for your feed back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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