Forging my first knife - help needed

[Dreadhead]

I'm currently working on a farm in norway, and have full access to a decent forge. I had an hour of tuition last week with the blacksmith and made some basic things and he is now away but i am allowed to make whatever i like. before he left he left some steel out for me and said it was good carbon steel and can be used for a knife so today i started making a knife for myself but need advice on how to proceed

Here is what i have made today

so far i have created the general shape i want (was aiming for a seax) with tang. the blade was very thick so have hammered it down to around 4mm at the base and tapers to 3mm nearer the tip. it needs a little work to get the shape right and even though.

Now i have some blacksmithing books with good guides which basically says to hammer the cutting edge around the horn into a sickel shape, and then as i hammer the bevel onto the edge at an angle, the blade will straighten back out. is this the best method or am i overcomplicating things for my first try? as i am so worried of messing this up! Or would i be okay just hammering the bevels down (though i think the blade would bend backwards?) or even yet would i be okay to just grind the bevels on and go straight to heat treatment?

Any advice from all you bladesmiths on how to proceed would be great

Hamish

 

[Clouston98]

Don't know anything about blacksmithing. But hey that's looking good !
I have to try it soon!

 

[SteveW]

You could do the pre-bend or you could just take it as is to a grinder or file and thin and shape it the way you want. This link may help if you decide to forge it the whole way. youtube is great for seeing how others do things but beware, there is a lot of dross you need to wade through to find the good stuff.


http://www.cashenblades.com/forging.html

 

[Stew]

Now i have some blacksmithing books with good guides which basically says to hammer the cutting edge around the horn into a sickel shape, and then as i hammer the bevel onto the edge at an angle, the blade will straighten back out.

Correct.

Or would i be okay just hammering the bevels down (though i think the blade would bend backwards?)

Yep, it'll curve like a banana. I'll find my first proper attempt at forging a blade. Started off straight but didn't know about the bending thing so didn't correct as i went along.

or even yet would i be okay to just grind the bevels on and go straight to heat treatment?

Sure you can.

Precurve down works but in my limited experience getting the right amount of curve isn't simple so you'll end up compensating as you go along anyway.

 

[juttle]

Hamish, its the end result that matters, so do whatever you're comfortable with. If you forge in the bevel to your liking and then level the spine up with a grinder or flap wheel the resulting blade will still be a blade you've forged. If you have the time, try all the above methods until you find the one that suits you, but if you end up grinding bits off, it's still your forged blade. Just enjoy it!

 

[Dreadhead]

sage advice from you all thanks! i think i will try and keep it simple as its my first blade. will find some time tomorrow to do some more work on it and see where it takes me

 

[Big Stu 12]

Thats looking good Hamish, knowing you your going to use your skilled hand to do something special, hope things are going well for you Bud.

 

[Dreadhead]

okay.....so decided to not take my own advice and just spent some time in the forge doing it the harder way. _I hammered it into a sickle shape then hammered the bevels as best i could. have given it a quick going over with a file just to mark the edge. i don't think there is a grinder here so i will either do as much as i can with a file or wait until im back in the uk

either way i learned a hell of a lot just trying!

 

[Uilleachan]

Yep looking good, and looking forward to seeing how you get on.

 

[JohnC]

Looks very good, will be interested to see this progressing..

 

[HHazeldean]

As above that looks good, looking forward to seeing the finished article!

 

[Baelfore]

That's a pretty decent first attempt mate. looks nice.

 

[Robbi]

looking good matey but you've sharpened the wrong edge !

 

[ex-member BareThrills]

looking good matey but you've sharpened the wrong edge !

no he hasnt Robbi. Its a seax

 

[Dreadhead]

Okay an update! Have been really busy on the farms so not had much time for personal projects but have managed to work on it here and there. Im no longer in norway on the farm with the forge, but instead in sweden on a farm with a bench grinder and a wood lathe (though its sadly currently not working)

I worked a little more on the blade in the forge before i left, heated it all to a dull red and then quenched the edge in water to try and harden it. Since then i have reground the shape a little, and put a rough grind on it. oh and the tang snapped! lukily there is enough that it can still be handled

It is essentially a lump of metal that looks like a knife, and has a bit of a wonky edge that is extremelydifficult to get sharp and not even good enough for opening paint cans. But it was made by my own fair hand and for my first knife i am still chuffed. when i can find the time either in sweden or when im back in the uk for xmas, good ol' wonkyseax shall recieve a handle fit or a king and a scabbard fit for a kings wonky seax

and now i should get back to work and see if i can fix the lathe in the barn

 

[Dreadhead]

for some reason i can't change the thead title? wanted to change it to forging my first knife - updated. mods?

 

[Clouston98]

Great work! Shame about the tang, looking forward to seeing a handle if they fix the lathe!

 

[kristophish]

Looking good dude. It is a shame about the tang tho.

 

[ammo]

Looking good mate.
I've only ever done two knives. They took me ages to finish. Probably look Crap to most of the craftsman on here but I love them.

 

[Everything Mac]

I reckon it's pretty good mate. You could always run a pin through the tang to make sure it never pulls free. Or have an extra bit welded onto the back?
Andy