First knife, forged and finished

F

FJ1906

Joined
Jul 3, 2012
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36
This is my first forged and finished knife that I have completed. As you'll see at the end of the album I have ground on a handful of blades but I was not getting good results that I wanted. A friend and local bladesmith was generous enough to take time out of his weekends to help coach me through the process of forging to finishing. OAL is 8 3/4" with a 4" blade full flat grind with a convex edge, tapered tang. Steel is 1084 from Aldo the NJ steel baron and handle is black linen micarta with red liners. I have lurked and searched here for over a year soaking up any and all info and tips and tricks that I could find and apply. Please feel free to ask any questions, comments or critiques. Thanks

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Here is an album with a bunch of pictures through the process http://imgur.com/a/ztxfZ
 
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Thanks all for the kind words, very much appreciated. It was a slow and steady process and had a couple of small hangups along the way but it was a great learning experience. I just hope that I am able to remember it all! It will probably take me a couple times on my own to be able to really start getting the whole process down but I'm excited to see what I'll be able to do.
 
Very nice work. Well done, especially for a first knife. You have some skills.
 
Man, that is clean. Far cleaner than mine. I wish there were a bladesmith around here that could teach me. There's one ABS Mastersmith and Ray Laconico, but I'm too chicken to ask either! :)

How much help was the tutoring? There's an ABS Hammer In coming up a few months from now at the local college.

Again, fantastic work. Makes me want to throw in the towel. :D
 
Very impressive -- elegant, clean lines, utilitarian design. Looks like you have forged a great future. Show us some more of your work, please.
 
Strigamort said:
Man, that is clean. Far cleaner than mine. I wish there were a bladesmith around here that could teach me. There's one ABS Mastersmith and Ray Laconico, but I'm too chicken to ask either! :)

How much help was the tutoring? There's an ABS Hammer In coming up a few months from now at the local college.

Again, fantastic work. Makes me want to throw in the towel. :D
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Nice, Clean, Simple and very user friendly. Few out of balance things but could be the pic. Very Very nice for a first forged piece.

Strig. Don't be chicken about calling Ray. Very nice guy and would be a great teacher. You got Henry Torres and Dan Phannenstiel, Serge Pancheco all in the general area. Might need to drive a bit but these are some right of the top of my head. All of them would be great. Plus it is great to see and work with others. It brings out the creative juices. At least for me it does. I always have a big surge of ideas and energy after a hammer in or like. Give someone a call.
 
Strig: Thank you! I would not have come close to this without having a friend help. Having ground on a handful blades before this and getting uneven grinds and some awkward shapes he helped show me what to look for when forging and grinding and helped straighten things out if I was going off course. The quality of work shows a quality teacher.

Ed: Thanks! I can't say it will be anytime soon but I'll be sure to post more when I can.

AC, Thank you! You are right there are a few things that are out of balance, mainly the taper is not as noticeable as I wish and getting each sides of the handle to match in shape and thickness. I also found out that knife photography is very tricky.
 
Excellent knife - Thin, properly sized and shaped, and simple. The handle is very well executed.
 
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