First steps - forging knives

[brashears9567]

I started watching some of the videos tonight. How many times did you burn yourself? Lol damn man. I bet the radiant heat was off the charts too.


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[General Zod]

I started watching some of the videos tonight. How many times did you burn yourself? Lol damn man. I bet the radiant heat was off the charts too.


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I've only had five or six burns over the three years I've been blacksmithing. And only two of them were bad. You learn fast...

But yeah, the radiant heat from a 2000° blast furnace six feet away can be impressive. Especially in August.

 

[brashears9567]

I've seen a lot of luthiers use the painters tape and superglue trick. That blade you are working on now looks badass. Something about that shape, I guess. Looks like an assassin's favorite weapon.


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[General Zod]

I've seen a lot of luthiers use the painters tape and superglue trick. That blade you are working on now looks badass. Something about that shape, I guess. Looks like an assassin's favorite weapon.


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There's some refinement to be done, and it needs to be cut off of the bar it's forged from. Overall it'll wind up being just 5" long, but it should be a cool little blade. As long as I can keep it from getting too thin.

It's a huge change of pace after the Bonechopper.

 

[striker55]

I've only had five or six burns over the three years I've been blacksmithing. And only two of them were bad. You learn fast...

But yeah, the radiant heat from a 2000° blast furnace six feet away can be impressive. Especially in August.

When I was a kid my Dad cut a piece of steel with a torch. When it hit the ground I picked it up. Ouch, lesson learned.

 

[General Zod]

When I was a kid my Dad cut a piece of steel with a torch. When it hit the ground I picked it up. Ouch, lesson learned.

I've actually got a video about trusting steel that doesn't look hot. And even with that knowledge I've gotten my fingers scorched a time or two.

 

[mongoose]

We were told not to pick up a piece of steel until you saw a fly walk across it. If someone picked a piece of hot steel and dropped it, the instructor would say " didn't take you long to look at that.....did it "/

 

[General Zod]

We were told not to pick up a piece of steel until you saw a fly walk across it. If someone picked a piece of hot steel and dropped it, the instructor would say " didn't take you long to look at that.....did it "/

I try to keep flies out of my shop...I'm just cautious touching any steel that has been in or near the forge. And if in doubt, I'll pick it up with tongs.

 

[General Zod]

I just had my first clumsy, amateurish attempt to scam me over Instagram via PayPal for a supposed commission. I was suspicious from the start because of the guy's weird sentence structure, and the fact that he asked for knives that I had just told him had been custom pieces and were with their new owners. I immediately asked if he was in the US, and he gave me the address of a townhome in Chicago. Then he asks for a commission for a cleaver and once I told him the price he supposedly tried to send me a deposit via PayPal. Instead, I got an email from "paypalsupportbusinessps9(at)gmail.com" claiming that to receive his $150 deposit, I'll need to follow the link in the email and deposit $300 to "expand my account".

Then he messaged and said "Did you have received the payment?"

I replied, "No, I received a fake PayPal email from a Gmail address. I don't appreciate you trying to scam me, especially with the lousy English in your email that supposedly came from a US business."

He went quiet immediately, and removed all of the posts from his fake Instagram account.

I replied again and said "Nothing to say for yourself? Well, you're reported and blocked. Asshole."

 

[glenbo]

There's some refinement to be done, and it needs to be cut off of the bar it's forged from. Overall it'll wind up being just 5" long, but it should be a cool little blade. As long as I can keep it from getting too thin.

It's a huge change of pace after the Bonechopper.

I'll have to measure the one my wife has, but I don't think it's unusually thin.

 

[striker55]

I just had my first clumsy, amateurish attempt to scam me over Instagram via PayPal for a supposed commission. I was suspicious from the start because of the guy's weird sentence structure, and the fact that he asked for knives that I had just told him had been custom pieces and were with their new owners. I immediately asked if he was in the US, and he gave me the address of a townhome in Chicago. Then he asks for a commission for a cleaver and once I told him the price he supposedly tried to send me a deposit via PayPal. Instead, I got an email from "paypalsupportbusinessps9(at)gmail.com" claiming that to receive his $150 deposit, I'll need to follow the link in the email and deposit $300 to "expand my account".

Then he messaged and said "Did you have received the payment?"

I replied, "No, I received a fake PayPal email from a Gmail address. I don't appreciate you trying to scam me, especially with the lousy English in your email that supposedly came from a US business."

He went quiet immediately, and removed all of the posts from his fake Instagram account.

I replied again and said "Nothing to say for yourself? Well, you're reported and blocked. Asshole."

We have to stay on alert, people will try and scam you any chance they get. Wife put something on Craigslist, immediately get a response they want the item and are willing to pay extra. Red flag!

 

[glenbo]

The little knife my wife has, that is the model for this one, is as thick across the spine as 2 quarters stacked. Instead of black for the handle, I'd like brown wood like you did for Hoji.

 

[General Zod]

The little knife my wife has, that is the model for this one, is as thick across the spine as 2 quarters stacked. Instead of black for the handle, I'd like brown wood like you did for Hoji.

OK. I think the blank I've forged is about that thick still. I hope it is...I'll have to see after I grind the texture off of it.

And no problem with the wood.

 

[General Zod]

Hey @glenbo - progress pics. I've cut the "knife" part off the rest of the bar it was forged from, made sure its straight and did the surface grinding and fine shaping today. Still got some of the deeper hammermarks to sand out. But here are some progress pics.

Looks like it'll be more like 1 3/4 quarters thick at the spine. I hope that's okay.

 

[glenbo]

That thickness is fine with a knife that small. It probably won't see much use. I like the shape. Don't be overly concerned about getting all the marks out. I don't mind a bit if it's not perfect.

 

[General Zod]

That thickness is fine with a knife that small. It probably won't see much use. I like the shape. Don't be overly concerned about getting all the marks out. I don't mind a bit if it's not perfect.

Oh, don't worry, it won't be perfect...but I do want to get a finish on it I'll be happy with. And should you need it to, it'll be able to stand up to hard use. That's a point of pride with me.

 

[glenbo]

I can hardly stand the wait. This will be a daily carry for me.

 

[General Zod]

I can hardly stand the wait. This will be a daily carry for me.

Well, it's not gonna take anywhere near as long as the Bonechopper did...

 

[General Zod]

OK, no photo today (sorry) but the surface grinding on the little knife is almost done. One side is smooth, and the second side has only a few stubborn hammer marks left. The touchmark and initial bevels will come next, along with drilling holes for the pins and the lanyard tube.

 

[Army 1911]

Why not drill the holes before hardening the knife?