First forging experience

[knoefz]

Yesterday I had my first experience in forging a knife.
Big fun and the end result makes feel kind of proud

Here's some pics taken during the process, a bit out of focus but it tells the story.

Started with a rough shaped piece of O2 steel welded to a long rod to hold it comfortably during the forging.
This is where it all begins... massive amounts of heat

Start making a rounded tip

And heat it up again

Making the angles constant was hard by yourself, so it became a 2 man job

More heat

After forging worked up the contours a bit on a belt sander

And also started the edge on the belt sander before hardening

Hardening (in oil) and tempering

My first forged steel tools :

Leather lace handle and sheath make it complete

For size reference

Love the mirror edge contrasting against the forge marks

This was great fun to do!
I need to go out now and give the knife a good workout

 

[d762nato]

Nice job and I like the style of it also. I always wanted to get into forging knives but never did.

 

[Mistwalker]

Nice post. There is a lot of satisfaction in making your own tools.

 

[Snakedoc]

Very nice, you should be proud of that!!

 

[jds1]

Nice job!

Jeff

 

[knoefz]

Thanks for the positive comments guys!
I did some foodprepping with it so far, works wel for that.
Still need to give it a more serious workout in the woods soon to see if it stays sharp and how it feels in hand after longer usage.