Meisenmann Posted August 13, 2008 Share Posted August 13, 2008 Here is my first try on a knife shaped object: It is made from an old file. I annealed it the day before. After that I removed the teeth with my big monstrous file (I named her "Brunhilde", she works like a charm). Then I tried to hammer it to shape, made the tip and so on. I really would like to have three hands. Then I could have removed the scale before hammering. If I tried it the whole mess was cold the time I wanted to start pounding. I really thought the file would have more "meat" (it was a triangular one) after hammering it flat. Now I have a blade that is too thin to harden without a big bang I am afraid... It is only a good milimetre thick and due to that I could not file clean the whole thing because I would have had to remove too much material. After forging I normalized it three times as good as I could and tried not to get it too hot (heated to nonmagnetic). After that I hand filed and sanded the blade up to the "point-of-it-gets-too-thin-if-you-remove-more" I rounded all the sides, the point, and so on. I will try to harden the day after tomorrow, I have to make some improvements on my forge for a better, more even heat beforehands. I will quench in vegetable oil, pre-heated of course. (at least if you folks do not think different...). Now to the pics: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coltpax Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 looks good for a first knife. If you use a normal file instead of the triangle ones, it will be much easier i think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Finnr Posted August 14, 2008 Share Posted August 14, 2008 Nicely done. Keep practicing and soon it will all seem easy. Finnr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meisenmann Posted August 15, 2008 Author Share Posted August 15, 2008 I hardened the blade today. I applied a clay insulation on the spine of the blade for differential heat treating. First I tried fire cement but that decided to go seperate ways when I heated the blade. I annealed two times for one hour each cycle at 200 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meisenmann Posted August 20, 2008 Author Share Posted August 20, 2008 My knife is now finished! I am not really satisfied, but it is a first try of course. I carved the grip out of linden wood and oiled it several times. It doesn't really fit to the shape of the blade to be honest. I do not understand why the hardening line doesn't show as good as when I tried to etch it the first time. Back then I just wanted to see if it was there... My first etch was this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.