Forging VS Stock removal?

[KYBOY]

Just curious, which process do you prefer and why? I dont make a lot of knives but I prefer forging myself..What about you?

[ThomasPowers]

For me: Forging is fun and fast, stock removal is slow and tedious. Of course every forged blade still requires stock removal anyway.

Also coal or even propane is a lot cheaper than 2x72" belts! And you have the ability to use a much more diverse range of steel sizes and shapes.

[coltpax]

Forging is fun and pretty fast, if your not including the time to start the coal fire (like those who use propane), but stock removal is easier and i believe its safer (for the metal). I do a bit of both, but usually forge my blades. Now a few are all stock removal, but thats because either I dont know how to do it with hammer and anvil, or its not as easy with hammer and anvil.

[Donnie]

I forge my blades. There are two reasons I prefer forging over stock removal.
1. I like playing in the fire and beating on things.
2. I don't have a belt grinder.

[ThomasPowers]

As for safety; I don't know anyone that has put themselves seriously into the ER working at the forge; but know quite a few makers who have ground themselves there.

Grinding *is* safer for the metal; but metal's cheap compared to ER visits!

[Donnie]

Mr. Powers, you are right about safety. There is an ugly scar on my left thumb staring at me as I type this, that is evidence of your wisdom.....I do have an angle grinder !

[brucegodlesky]

Forging.... smoke, fire, noise, what else could a boy want???? (BOG)

[coltpax]

I do agree with Thomas about the ER and stuff, but the metal is al that I meant would be safer. Meaning that with forging, you have to straighten the blade, worry about burnsing the metal, and some other stuff (I'm bad with getting distracted and the metal burning). Sorry if there was any confused thoughts or anything.

[Robert Mayo]

I do both forged and stock removal and i do not realy have a preference for one over the other. I just love the craft of making knives it depends mostly on the time of year for me. I forge more in the winter.

Bob

[nc_cooter]

I also do both forging and stock removal. It boils down to a matter of preference. I prefer forging because it gives me more options in blade shape from a given piece of steel.
What ever method you use, just keep making knives.

[Dan W]

I do both.
If I want a heavy bladed knife, I forge it, if I want a thin bladed kitchen knife I use stock removal.
My favorite knife forging material is old files, for the thinner blades I like old bandsaw blades.

[daniel j.]

i know that forging is fun,but in my opinion making a forged knife is much more difficult to make than do stock removal,if you want a real good high performance blade.controling the fire,do not overheating the steel,heattreatment(normalizeing,stress relieving)micro cracks mostly not seen by the bare eye,and so on.,todays steels are so good controled qualitythat i wont open them because all the bad things get in.,and if choosen the right steel(for example:110WCrV5,80WCrV8 or115W8)and normalizing them for 2 or 3 times they get carbides under 2 micron and outperforming the most forged blades.
with this steels i make a top quality in shorter time doing stockremoval.
a lot of people visiting me at knife shows,cant effort hundrets of euros,so a simple stock removal flat tang,without bolsters,only two slabs for the handle and a good, solid,handstiched leather sheath gives them a high performance tool for their small budget.
many styles of knives cant be done without forging,so it depends of what you want to make.and that tells what is the better way.
if i want fine cutlery stockremoval is my choice,but if i want period pieces for the kings of the wild frontier than i have to forge.
this is how it works for me and my knifes.

[matt993fod]

Practice them both. They're both smashing.

[civilwarblacksmith]

I have just started making knives, but it seems easier and quicker to forge the knife into shape and then use the grinder to finish and clean up. I am a blacksmith first and tend to enjoy the forging process. I have a pile of blades I'm finishing now.

[Rob Browne]

I like to forge because I can take any piece of suitable steel of any shape and size and change it to make the knife of the design I want and grinding is minimal but still necessary. So its a combination of both for me.

[char]

I've been practicing smithing on leaf springs for a couple of months now and I decided to take a crack at an old truck axle to see what I could do. I think I prefer stock removal, that axle taught me I dont know squat.

[John B]

What do you mean you don't know squat? You've learnt not to tackle an axle yet, build on what you have done, and you will get there, The ones that make no mistakes can't have ever done anythng

Aristotle said "What we have to do we learn by doing" he was not known for his smithing ability but it works for me

[Rob Browne]

I decided to take a crack at an old truck axle to see what I could do.

That was going to be one xxxx of a knife!!

[Steve Sells]

maybe the axle was a harpoon for a whaler ?

And for the record, I forge, cant do total stock removal when I make the pattern welded steel in the first place :)

[char]

the axle was going to be drawn out into a bolo type of knife, my dad has one and I always felt it was very useful.

[stefalive]

....if choosen the right steel(for example:110WCrV5,80WCrV8 or115W8)and normalizing them for 2 or 3 times they get carbides under 2 micron and outperforming the most forged blades.
with this steels i make a top quality in shorter time doing stockremoval..

I'm making my first knives with stock removal out of 1.2519 (=110WCrV5) could you tell me how this normalizing process (2 or 3 times) is done?
sincerly,
Stefan

[Dave Budd]

I started out making knives by stock removal, but taught myself to forge because grinding bores me to tears. These days the only time I make a blade totally by stock removal is if it would be too difficult to forge (getting more and more rare thankfully!)

Forging is quicker in some respects, but because I prefer to leave my blades forged finished, I have to get everything closer to finished than if I am grinding some of it away as well. Obviously any pattern welded blades I make are forged less closely and ground, but without a power hammer I don't do many of those. The main reason for forging for me is coz (as many have said) its fun!

I had a student in the workshop recently who wanted to learn how to make a blade by stock removal because he didn't expect ot have the set up for forging but wanted ot make knives at home. So for teh first time in nearly 5 years I made a blade completely by stock removal (I don't have a big flash grinder, only a cheap little linisher with a 500w motor and an angle grinder). It took me back! God it was boring.

[Canska]

Maybe I just don't have a big enough grinder, but making an entire knife by grinding down a bar seems tedious and converts a lot of fine steel into filings.

I like to forge things mostly, starting with a 3 pound hammer for rough shaping, and 1 pound hammer to nearly exact shape. Then take it to the grinder or belt sander, if need be. But I prefer to do the final finish with a good sharp file, then sanding. There's something very gratifying about filing. You can see the work becoming exactly what you want it to be with each stroke.

To each their own, I s'pose :)

[David Einhorn]

My various mentors have preferred to forge a blade and finish the blades on the sander and then the buffer. As the result, that has become my preference. In my humble opinion, I agree with the people who have said that the forging process tends to be both faster and safer.

The less I do on machines, the safer I feel. On that note, I have recently upgraded my goggles to better ones, and added a full face shield to use with the goggles. This is the result of my first eye injury in over 35 years of hobby smithing. The metal sliver flew up under my goggles, and had to be ground out. My conclusion; hammer good, machine bad.