First forged knife, well kind of

JTknives

JTknives

Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
8,651
so here is the product of much hard work. I built the forge and the hammer that i used to forge this puppy out. Now technicality this is not my first forged knife as i have done WI fixture forging and in the past i made some Damascus steel. the other knives i had forged where not really forged to shape but just forging down some stock into a rough knife shape. but i left the true faith and got sucked into the stock removers world because of ease. not saying that stock removal is easy it just was for me at that time. I did stock removal for a long time and realized that my knife making was missing something. it seamed like it was just about banging them out and not about the art and fun. i mean it was still fun but not how it use to be. so i re-evaluated what i like about knife making and what i wanted my future to hold for me. and i came to the conclusion that i was a forging man and that is why the stock removal just never really did it for me. i'm not turning it away at all, it has it's place. but any way enough talk and time for pictures.

first things first. i wanted to get it very close to finished by forging as i want to keep the forged look. i made it from some 5160 i got from burton when he had that amazing deal. i took one of those bars and split it down the center. the original bar was around 1.75 wide by about .24 thick. and with it split i ended up with 2 strips about .75 wide and .24 thick and 4 feet long. kinda small stock but i did not want any wast and i don't mind forging material around Intell i get it how i want. the pictures of the knife are just about how they looked when i got done forging them. i did do a little file work on the tang to blade area and i lightly cleaned up the edge and clip point with a file. but the rest is how it looked when i was done forging. if you notice i did forge in a distal taper and the tang is left a bit big as i will grind that down to what i need. man it's so much easier to forge a nice distal taper then it is to grind one. all in all it took me just shy of 2 hrs, that's from starting the forge and letting it worm up to cutting the blade off of the bar stock and putting it in a bath of vinegar to remove scale.


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here you can see the distal taper

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and this is the edge to show how nice and even i forged it.


O and one more thing, i used the Japanese style forging hammer i made to do all the work and man it is just a dream to use. at first i was like hum how am i going to move material in only one direction as i don't have a pean on this hammer. but i quickly realized that it does. i used the corner of the face as a pean and it worked beautifully. just an amazing style of hammer to use, the amount of control you have is exceptional.
Thanks for looking and comments are welcome.
 
Wow a talented forger was hidden until now, it must be a great feeling to forge to the shape (I couldnt succeed even once without messing up the steel, but maybe because I have only air hardening steels in hand :D). Looks really good your first forged. Keep them coming...
 
Looks good JT. I hope to be getting some more of that 5160 but I think it is going to be smaller pieces this time. I can't wait to get my forge done and pound few out. Keep the pics coming.
 
Burton said:
Looks good JT. I hope to be getting some more of that 5160 but I think it is going to be smaller pieces this time. I can't wait to get my forge done and pound few out. Keep the pics coming.
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let me know if you get more as i am allmost out. you dont by chance have any hidden away for a rainey day do you :D
 
let me know if you get more as i am allmost out. you dont by chance have any hidden away for a rainey day do you
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JT I wish I did. I sold a good portion of it to buy knife supplies and my KMG. I will let you know if/when I get it. I did also just score about a 1000lbs of 1/4" L6 the problem is it is in 18"x18" squares:) I might sell some of this off but haven't decided yet. I just got my thermocouple today for my forge so I should be up and running soon;)
 
Looking good JT
You may want to turn down the forge, and clean off the scale more often ( wipe it off the anvil every heat ). Those pits and craters will be a B***h to remove without a lot of metal going with them. Pickle it in vinegar or acid to remove the forge scale before trying to file or grind. That stuff is hard as sapphires.
Stacy
 
I'm leaving the forged finish as it is. there not as bad as they look as the camera adds ten pounds. i did use the vinegar over night and i must say that i really like how it removed the scale. I'm thinking about getting a wire brush to clean the scale off as i forge. man its fun, I'm forging out 2 more tomorrow, maybe more as i would like to have some to test to destruction. bubba-doll so going to do some forging as well.
 
Man JT that is awesome! What a beautiful blade. I am still doing stock removal and want to get into forging. Your knife is inspiring.
 
Looks really good, hard to believe its your first one. I like the shape and the distal taper.
 
Nice going JT! That looks like a whole lot more than two hours' work to me! I don't know how you guys do that. Between this and A C Richards' feather damascus, I think I'm going to go sit in my corner and sulk. Or else, go hammer out something small that I can do in my basement. :D I did that once, it isn't bad. But not a real knife, either; it's tiny.

Don't let us miss Bubba-Doll's knife! You are a lucky man, and rather skilled.

Hey, can you post a pic of your hammer?
 
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