Hammer Marks, How To

This was done after forging with a texturing hammer I made.........maybe I sold my soul to the dark side?? :rolleyes:

I don't use a power hammer to make my Damascus, so hopefully I can be forgiven for "faking" the forge texture:confused::p
Seriously, there are many ways to skin this cat, if someone wants a different effect than what the forging process makes, what is wrong with that?
Back to hide my shame in the corner:D
Darcy
 
Limberlost said:
Hi Paul,
I really like that textured blackened finish. How did you blacken the blade like that and what steel did you use?
Cheers,
Tim
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Thanks Tim, the "black finish" is just the forge scale from forging the blade then texturing it. And the steel is from a truck leaf spring that I test quenched to make sure it would harden, so I'm gonna guess something like 5160..

Sam Salvati said:
Fake forged in textures, you should be ashamed of yourself if you use it.:thumbdn:
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Nothin wrong with adding texture to a forged blade. I can see how you'd feel like that if somebody did a complete stock removal blade and then started banging on it with a hammer to make it look forged.. Aside from that, there are a good amount of master bladesmiths that I see forge in heavy texture (or artificial texture) on their blades to achieve a certain look, (and when I say master bladesmiths, I mean those with and without the stamp).. To each his own I guess, but that's like saying puttin a patina on a blade is "fake" , or doin the whole "cold blue & bleach finish" to achieve that rustic look is "fake" .. I think it's a bit arrogant ta say somebody who wants to use texture to achive a certain look and feel should be ashamed.. but like I said, I can understand how you feel if it were done on a complete stock removal blade to make it look forged, but again, to each his own. :)

-Paul
 
I have a question....

Many makers oppose a bead blasted finish because it can promote corrosion, they grind and sand to smooth and remove stress risers, they use proper heat treat and quench to get the best blade they can.....

Why then would you go back and put marks in the finish creating stress risers and areas for corrosion?

Just wondering
 
I agree but some of the people I've made knives for are the "type" of people that wouldn't exactly putting the blade through trials. In fact I've seen a few a my blades sitting in a safe for years. Never even used to cut paper
 
My forge finished blades get used by the customers. Never had a complaint about them snapping off.
 
Same here Storm Crow. The few that have been used that i put texture in with a scarred up framers hammer have had no problems. Maybe on a microscopic level there is a problem but I'm just a hobbyist and not looking to pass the ABS test anytime soon. I don't think it matters either way. I just wanted to see if anyone had any better ways of texturing for us "forging-challenged" folks.
 
I have abused textured knives to the extreme, and never had a problem with the texture causing a failure. And as for corrosion, forge scale is much less prone to rusting than bead blasted raw steel is in my experience. For that matter, carbon steels are not what I'd choose for a dive knife or other highly corrosive environment anyway. I appreciate the concerns for structural integrity, but from what I have seen, it's not really an issue. If done at too low of heat, it would be a real concern though. Good question.
To be clear, I am referring to forged blades with the texture forged hot, not cold forged stock removal blades......that seems like a bad idea to me.
Darcy:)
 
yep, I was refferring to forging the texture in while forging the blade.. I don't polish up a blade etc, the go back and marr it up.. just ta clear that up :)
 
guilty of liking the looks of the hammer marks. I've had a sog forge sitting in an online shopping cart for a month debating on hitting the order button just because of the way it looks.
 
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