When to do Filework

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Dillion G

Joined
Oct 15, 2017
Messages
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I am curently makong my father a knife and he is a huge fan of brute de forge finishes and firework in the tang(its a full tang knife
I wanted to know is it better to do the filework before hardening or after the tempering phase?
 
OK, first I an thinking "fireworked" is actually "fileworked".

Brute de Forge is nice, but is "rustic" in style. File work is "fancy" and doesn't exactly fit with the rustic sides. That is personal taste and you can do it as you like. There are no rules on how you decorate your blade.

If you filework the spine, you need to do it before HT. Clean it up with very fine files ( up to #6 if you have them) and/or sandpaper.

You will have to touch it up after HT with some sandpaper again to remove some of the forge scale and brighten the file work.
However, with Brute de Forge sides, you may get away with just soaking it in pickle ( sodium Bi-sulfate solution) overnight. A bucket of vinegar will also pickle off the forge scale.

After the pickle, rinse well with hot water, scrub off with baking soda water or TSP ( or boil in it for 10-15 minutes).
Then brush with a fine wire brush followed by steel wool. You can etch in FC once cleaned up to darken the blade more.
 
Fileworked tangs are a mess. It messes up the handle look and makes a smooth feel in the hand hard to get. Filework along the blade spine is attractive and much easier to do.
 
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To answer your question, do all the heavy file work prior to heat treating(hardening), the blade. You can then clean it up & finish (make it purdy), after.
 
Ok i realize it takes away the smooth look, my intention was to do the filework, then after the handle is epoxied and peened to the handle I was going to fill the spaces with epoxie so it is still smooth
 
GWPKxQ
 
Go ahead and try it, but understand that all that will show is the outer design. If you are going to fill it, there is no need to do anything but cut the rough design in. No need to file smooth and sand, or to clean up after HT. Also, no need to file the bottom of each cut into a smooth "V", as it will be filled with resin. Make straight cuts into the metal. Avoid small and shallow file work cuts, as they will likely be sanded away in the finishing and would not hold resin well, either.
 
Yes thats what my intentions were I am thinking that this nife will be brute de forge and the next one i make might be fileworked
 
A customer ordered this knife by length, handle material , finish and file work . When it came time to pick up the knife and pay he did not respond. He owns a going business in my town and I called and left two messages asking if he still wanted the knife. My wife loved the knife which is new for me because she is generally not excited by knives that I make. Also he ordered the perch that the knife sits upon. I actually like the knife even though I thought the knife was too long and a bit too embellished. I only wished that the knife was file worked from the front of bolster to the heel of the blade. Everyone has their tastes is my point. Larry PS the blade is CPM 154 R 60 and the scales are camel bone. LL

X6mBcymm.jpg
 
LARRYZ10 said:
A customer ordered this knife by length, handle material , finish and file work . When it came time to pick up the knife and pay he did not respond. He owns a going business in my town and I called and left two messages asking if he still wanted the knife. My wife loved the knife which is new for me because she is generally not excited by knives that I make. Also he ordered the perch that the knife sits upon. I actually like the knife even though I thought the knife was too long and a bit too embellished. I only wished that the knife was file worked from the front of bolster to the heel of the blade. Everyone has their tastes is my point. Larry PS the blade is CPM 154 R 60 and the scales are camel bone. LL

X6mBcymm.jpg
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Please let me know how this turns out. I had a client refuse a custom ordered knife just recently. I offer a money back guarantee which I honored but I was pissed. What advice is out there on customer service issues like this?
 
Howard1 said:
Please let me know how this turns out. I had a client refuse a custom ordered knife just recently. I offer a money back guarantee which I honored but I was pissed. What advice is out there on customer service issues like this?
Click to expand...
Simple. I kept the knife for my collection and threw away my customers number. Larry
 
Rick Marchand said:
Dillon... don't let anybody tell you not to do something, based on aesthetics. You like what you like... make what you want to make.
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Personally i dont really care much for alot of filework like in my original question it would be for my father and i just wanted to know if I'm better to do it after i anneal it or after tempering
 
Joe Keeslar is one of the original bladesmiths (if not thee) to make the brute de' forge style popular and he often does file work on his spines, though I'm not sure I've ever seen the file work continue on to the spine of the tang. It's really neat how he integrates engraving with his file work as well. Here is one example:

tumblr_mpv31xNk8g1r449eko1_640.jpg



~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (It's been a few years since my last upload)
 
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