Forging N690

[Jason Fry]

Of course it's a bad idea, difficult, etc. I have this bar that's a fat 1/4" thick, 10.5 by 1.5. My instinct is to forge out distal taper into the blade and handle to stretch the length a little bit. Supposedly has a short forging range and is also red hard. Thought I'd try pretty high heat and just a few straight drawing passes on the power hammer. Wish me luck lol. Any tips?

 

[DevinT]

It will crumble at high heat. Forge at ~2100’ f. That’s not very hot for most forges. Less temperature and more soak time. Do not normalize. Do a full cycle anneal after forging. It’s not difficult to forge but is stiff under the hammer.

Hoss

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Listen to Hoss.
A press would be the best choice for drawing it out.

 

[Natlek]

Of course it's a bad idea, difficult, etc. I have this bar that's a fat 1/4" thick, 10.5 by 1.5. My instinct is to forge out distal taper into the blade and handle to stretch the length a little bit. Supposedly has a short forging range and is also red hard. Thought I'd try pretty high heat and just a few straight drawing passes on the power hammer. Wish me luck lol. Any tips?

They forge M390 steel