Good resource to improve hammer technique

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Yugami

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Oct 13, 2015
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I can walk out something that looks like a blade if I don't mind using my imagination but I'd like to improve. I've been using round bar stock (I have a lot, no more than that) so I've gotten OK at drawing longer and wider. But the finess stuff like setting a shoulder, putting in a drop, fixing something that looks like a kriss but shouldn't etc need some work. And I think it's more than a need for practice (there that too) but an improvement of my understanding of the mechanics to start with.
 
Turns out some of the problem (the not me part) seems to be from the anvil not being bedded well. A proper stand is on the to-do list behind a few other items coughing up the woodworking shop.

I threw a couple hundred pounds onto the table the anvil is on currently and forged a decent shoulder
 
I've forged blades for years on ASOs, but when a friend got interested in blacksmithing and knifemaking I learned a lot more about hammer control and moving steel. I'm still no master, but attending a few blacksmith hammer in's taught me a lot. One thing I did learn years ago, the standard blacksmith anvil is ill suited to bladesmithing. The Japanese sword smiths had the right idea, a large rectangular block of flat steel works great for blades. The horn and heel of a blacksmith anvil get in the way of detail work. The long flat surface is good for straightening or flattening blades, or even drawing larger stock down to forge a blade from. A post anvil or sawyer's anvil works great for setting the shoulders and forging the bevels in. I tried a set block I made from 4140, but even with a tight fit to the hardy hole it wobbled and bounced enough to rob me of energy and irritate me. I made a post anvil from a 4"x4"x12" block of 4140, heat treated the end, sanded flat with a belt sander and stood up in a square tube filled with sand and wedged tight. Works great for doing bevels.

A trick I learned from reading Wayne Godard's books for straightening blade curve is to use a "swowker stick" A mini base ball bat, chunk of 2"x4", branch off a tree, ect. Heat the blade and place it edge up on the anvil and hit the edge with the wood swowker, the wood won't damage the thiner edge and will stretch the back to straighten the blade profile out. I've seen blacksmiths do the same thing with a raw hide mallet and a wood stump. You can add a hardy tool to gain more angle to the bend, or use a stump with the center burned out a bit or ground out. The swowker stick is needless to say sacrificial, I usually have scrap wood laying around just for the occasion.

Getting the rite preform goes a long way to making the blade you want come out the way you want. It's almost opposite of what you'd think the blade should be. Forge the point down, like the back is the edge profile. When you forge the bevels in the point will raise up. After that it's just a mater of worrying it into submission. I highly recommend Wayne Godard's book, "the wonder of knifemaking" Lots of good info on forging and anvils there.
 
I've made a long playlist on my youtube channel titled "Bladesmithing vids" and I only try to add the best ones to it, or rather the "non-amateur" vids. Here is a link to it so you can browse through it when ya have some time to: Bladesmithing Vids Playlist

However, they are not all videos showing or describing techniques etc. So instead of having you watch all 126 vids in the playlist, for you sake, I'll go ahead and post a link here the the individual videos that I know of which actually explain and/or show what's going on during the blade forging process. :) The vids I'm choosing to link are ones that actually include things such as showing the forging in the bevels, the dropped edge, the ricasso, the point, the tang shoulders etc. by HAND.
Some of these you can learn a lot from by just watching, even if they might have poor sound quality.

So here's a list of some very helpful youtube vids (in no particular order):

Note that all links are copied from my playlist, so at the end of each video it will move on automatically to the next one in line. Since they are not all in order, just pause and it at the very end and exit full screen. In order to watch the different parts in the series of some of these videos, just look at the links on the side of the page and they are usually there. If the links don't have the next video in the sequence, just go to the channel of the uploader. ;)

- Lin Rhea Forging a Hunter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vt77Mut5l84&index=45&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Forging a Knife - Full Process Explained in detail: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb2GU9HzyJY&index=48&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Forging a Full Tang Hunting Knife with Nick Rossi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfMC-N8vX54&index=49&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Nick Rossi demo of Forging a kitching knife (3 parts):
-----Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrzcdMATIaU&index=88&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6
-----Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g18xDV8T-U4&index=89&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6
-----Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWJMARFw6Zg&index=90&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Forging a Fight Knife with Nick Rossi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVE33nYtksU&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6&index=116

- JS Stephen Fowler Forging a Bowie/Fighter (full process shown): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKcBqyF3gYs&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6&index=126

- Tai Goo Forging a Full Tang Knife from a Leaf Spring: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4hDZSOwF7Y&index=91&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Graham Freeden -Forging a New EDC Knife part 1 (Another multiple video series. Poor sound quality but still a lot of great footage of forging): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcwAroc2hNg&index=24&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Peter Martin Knives - Hand Forging High Carbon Knife Blades (A short section of a DVD you can buy, but still some good tips and tricks): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk2XtZ-qtCA&index=68&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- "Bladesmithing" (a video showing some different techniques): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk7X1mhQaHY&index=72&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Karl B Andersen Bladesmithing vid part 1 ( This is another series of vids that shows some great techniques and tips. He does use the help of a power hammer and a press, but you can still learn quite a bit from this series. Again, just look at the links on the side of the video page in order to find the next parts in the series, or just go to the uploaders channel): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJ0Qpac8WJM&index=70&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6

- Bill Wiggins Knife Demo 1 (there are maybe 7-8 parts to this, so I'll just post part one. Not the best quality video and sound but you can pick up some very great tips): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwe0YuE98gs&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6&index=108

- How to Forge a Knife with a Ricasso by Brian Brazeal (Brian uses clay to demonstrate "one way" that a blade can be properly forged. He is a fantastic blacksmith so it's interesting to view the process from his eyes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHV40sTM45s&index=99&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6


I'll just post those ones for now, although there are still plenty more great vids in that playlist. These above are the strictly "Hand-forging" (for the most part) videos that show traditional stlyle knives being forged that have a ricasso, a dropped edge, tang shoulders (unless it's a full tang) instead of japanese syle blades, or swords or RR spike knives etc etc. There are some more of these style vids as well, but these should do. ;)

One quick tip is... When checking to see if your blade is straight, use either some soapstone or chalk and color the edge and spine with it. This will make it much easier to see them and whether or not they're straight.

Well I hope these help at least a little bit. ;) I know what it's like trying to find out how to properly forge a blade, especially when there is nobody around to help teach you, and you don't have to means to visit a bladesmith in another city.

If you have any questions just let us know and we'll try to help :)

Also, please forgive any typos, it's late and I'm too tired right now to proofread through all of this.

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
... (It's been quite a while since I've posted any new vids)
 
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Thanks for that great list of video links Paul. Should be a sticky IMO.
Yugami, at first I had a lot of difficulty hand forging. Then I took some classes with some excellent, and generous, bladesmiths like Dave Lisch, Bill Burke, and Mike Quisenberry. This helped me immensely. Just being able to see how they handled the point, the heel, and tang really helped me advance on being able to do better when on my own. I suggest searching in your area for a forging bladesmithing that is still willing to give lessons. Worth every penny over figuring it all out on your own.
 
Thanks guys, had a bad family emergency come up and I was out of town for a while, I'll take a look at these. Reminds me I actually know a bladesmith on the other end of town I'll have to get back in contact with him.
 
I just checked back on this thread and saw that the post I made back on the first didn't post for some reason. It was still open as saved info????



If you get a chance to attend a hammer-in or go to Ashokan, you will likely see a good smith work a blade. You will quickly see how he sets many of the defining features early in the forging, and then moves the metal between them.

The number one reason a blade does not come out right is forging too cool. "Strike while the iron is hot".

A shoulder or blade drop is set on the anvil edge. Place the fully hot blade on the anvil with the part you want dropped off the edge and strike the upper surface. It will deform a nice 90° angle. It is best to do this in one or two well placed blows than to try and tap it in.

Tangs can be tapered quickly on the bick (horn) and then cleaned up on the flats.

Wiggly blades are avoided by straightening at the end of each heat.

If you ever get a chance to watch Sam Salvati forge, you will learn a lot about how to shape a blade. There are probably a bunch of videos in the You-Tube and video sticky that will help you. There are several good DVDs on forging by some good smiths, too. Most of the suppliers sell these.
 
You are very welcome Billy, Jonathans & Yugami :)

Sorry for the very late reply. I haven't been able to access bladeforums for three days straight due to the "cloudflare error 522". Even for the past couple weeks while I was still periodically able to access the site, everytime I tried to post a comment I would get the error again, then basically "kicked off" again for another few hours or so. For some reason however, today is fine, thank goodness! It's great to be back! :D I didn't realize how much I enjoy bladeforums until I couldn't use it, kinda had some BF withdrawals! lol

Anyway, here is another GREAT video that I just happen to come across the other day that I've seen while back, but for some dumb reason I didn't add it to my playlist. :confused: Oh well, it's deffinitely on there now!

Matthew Parkinson forging a chef knife: (Although it's a chef's knife, he still demonstrates everything from forging in the plunges, heel, ricasso, tang shoulders, tip etc.. I particularly enjoy watching this bladesmithing video. :thumbup: )

[video=youtube;rDh4aIFID9E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDh4aIFID9E&list=PLRXwH4gb88trIMqQUiKSOsDPSMFEMAGs6&index=127[/video]

~Paul
My YT Channel Lsubslimed
... (It's been quite a while since I've posted any new vids)
 
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