Hammer or grind?

M

matlocc

Joined
Jan 29, 2016
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I have a blank cut for a chefs knife. It is .246 inches thick and i would like to get it to .18 or less at the spine. Would it be better to grind it down or heat and hammer. I am new to this but do have a forge anvil grinder etc... any help is appreciated.
 
If you have some experience in forging it is much more efficient to forge
10 mins at forge saves an hour at the grinder as they say and it's very true
Plus forging is one of life's great pleasures
 
I just reread and you say you are new
I still suggest forging it to start learning
Practice on some mild steel til your comfortable
 
It is wasteful, but modern 36 grit ceramic belts probably even the score...now 10 minutes at the grinder might be enough.
 
Since the blank is already cut out, if you forge it down you will get a larger and longer knife. The tip may rise and other proportions may change.
It would be better to grind it down. If you have a friend with a surface grinder, that would be the guy to call.
 
John mc c said:
If you have some experience in forging it is much more efficient to forge
10 mins at forge saves an hour at the grinder as they say and it's very true
Plus forging is one of life's great pleasures
Click to expand...
Hour at the grinder for less then 2 mm. difference in thickness? If it is mine I would grind ..................
 
With a 36 grit belt it would be fast work getting that thinned down. Much quicker then forging.
 
i would just get a new blank out of some more appropriate steel, something in the 2.5mm to 3mm (1/10th to 1/8th inch) range depending on the profile.
or maybe you can split it down the length and make two chefs knives :P
 
Did I hear my ears burning? Is someone looking for a blank lol. But yeah not worth the time, energy and propane to forge it down.

John mc c said:
If you have some experience in forging it is much more efficient to forge
10 mins at forge saves an hour at the grinder as they say and it's very true
Plus forging is one of life's great pleasures
Click to expand...

10min at the forge can also generate an hr at the grinder. Plus your waiting for the forge to heat up and then after forging you need to do some thermal cycling. So any time you think you saved has just gone out the window and turned into a 2hr job to thin a blade 1/16th of an inch. A corse belt will remove a 1/16th of an inch in a few passes if not just one. Thy straight up eat material.
 
I'd agree. I'd start over with a more appropriate stock thickness for a kitchen knife. I often start in the .070-.080 range and grind down from there. Your blank now at .246 is crazy thick for the job. Can you reprofile it into a camp knife/chopper or something of that sort?
 
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