First steps - forging knives

[jrbfishn]

To the best of my knowledge, any coloring you can do in your forge or kiln will wear from sheth use. Especially a kydex sheath.

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[General Zod]

To the best of my knowledge, any coloring you can do in your forge or kiln will wear from sheth use. Especially a kydex sheath.

Yeah, I'm planning to stick with leather for sheaths. I just don't like kydex. I figure if someone's dropping the coin on a hand-forged knife and they want a kydex sheath, they can make that happen on their own from someone who knows the material better than me.

 

[jamesmrj]

I'm trying to restrict my options to stuff I can actually do in my forge...without any chemical tanks. Which counts Parkerizing out. And from what I understand of the method, case hardening isn't ideal for blades - it creates a hardened outer layer but leaves the interior soft, while my goal with the blades is to harden the entire blade while making it flexible. A case hardened blade would be too brittle, if I'm understanding the process.

Oil bluing might be the solution - and it happens automatically when I quench a blade anyway - but I'm not sure how durable the resulting black finish is on a smooth blade. And I don't want a finish that'll wear off with reasonable sheath wear.

Might also look into the rust bluing process. Pretty low on required equipment and chemicals.

 

[General Zod]

Might also look into the rust bluing process. Pretty low on required equipment and chemicals.

That right there may be a viable option. I'd forgotten rust bluing was a thing.

 

[striker55]

New season of Forged in Fire starts tonight.

 

[General Zod]

New season of Forged in Fire starts tonight.

"Forge a knife in three hours!" Right now I'd be happy to get my time back down below 3 months...

 

[paknheat]

That right there may be a viable option. I'd forgotten rust bluing was a thing.

If you make it down this way again let me know and I’ll try and blue a blade for you.


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[General Zod]

OK, guys. I won't lie, the thought of quenching this tiny, thin blade has given me serious anxiety over the past few weeks. With steel this thin, there is a high likelihood of the quench oil causing the beveled edge to ripple like a piece of bacon, which would trash all of the effort I've put into forging and shaping it. There's also a high likelihood of a thin piece like this curving in the quench (even a good, beefy blade can curve when it hits the oil). But, I did it.

Heating the blade up to critical temperature (1500°F) took...less than a minute. Which is ridiculous, and made me worry even more. It usually takes several minutes to reach that temperature, but the pale red glow didn't lie. I pulled it out of the forge and checked, and the blade bounced right off a neodymium magnet, which told me we were there. I immediately quenched in oil.

Moment of truth...I gritted my teeth, pulled the blade out and was greeted by...perfection. It was straight and even. I ran a file across the edge and it skated right off - the steel was hardened. I went ahead and clamped it just in case there was a chance of uneven cooling warping the blade, but my heart was pounding with relief. Right now, I'm baking a cake tempering the blade at 400° in the oven. That'll go for the next four hours or so. Meanwhile, I give you... @glenbo 's blade after quenching and a quick wipedown.

 

[no2gates]

OK, guys. I won't lie, the thought of quenching this tiny, thin blade has given me serious anxiety over the past few weeks. With steel this thin, there is a high likelihood of the quench oil causing the beveled edge to ripple like a piece of bacon, which would trash all of the effort I've put into forging and shaping it. There's also a high likelihood of a thin piece like this curving in the quench (even a good, beefy blade can curve when it hits the oil). But, I did it.

Heating the blade up to critical temperature (1500°F) took...less than a minute. Which is ridiculous, and made me worry even more. It usually takes several minutes to reach that temperature, but the pale red glow didn't lie. I pulled it out of the forge and checked, and the blade bounced right off a neodymium magnet, which told me we were there. I immediately quenched in oil.

Moment of truth...I gritted my teeth, pulled the blade out and was greeted by...perfection. It was straight and even. I ran a file across the edge and it skated right off - the steel was hardened. I went ahead and clamped it just in case there was a chance of uneven cooling warping the blade, but my heart was pounding with relief. Right now, I'm baking a cake tempering the blade at 400° in the oven. That'll go for the next four hours or so. Meanwhile, I give you... @glenbo 's blade after quenching and a quick wipedown.

View attachment 479359

So this project is like the opposite of the "Bone Chopper" you made for Hoji?

 

[General Zod]

So this project is like the opposite of the "Bone Chopper" you made for Hoji?

LOL yes, the exact opposite. But it's taking almost as long because working this small is so different...and it would be so easy to accidentally destroy everything.

 

[General Zod]

And now here we are, a little over four hours later, and I've just taken the knife out of the over after two tempering cycles at 400°. I really wish there was a way to preserve these tempering colors, but with use they'll just wear off - unlike color case hardening, these colors are only a molecule or two thick on the surface of the steel.

This time I took the picture on a piece of white paper so the knife stands out a little better. Tomorrow I'll be sanding the surface to get a pretty, shiny finish, attaching and shaping the handle scales, and then it'll just need to be sharpened and have a sheath made. Glenbo, it's almost done.

 

[Army 1911]

You could leave the colors on the file work and handle.

 

[jrbfishn]

Glad it came out good for you.
Now get it finished so we can see the finised knife.

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[General Zod]

You could leave the colors on the file work and handle.

The handle will be covered with black walnut scales.

 

[General Zod]

Glad it came out good for you.
Now get it finished so we can see the finised knife.

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I'll be working on it today and probably finishing tomorrow (took the day off from work).

 

[General Zod]

Allllllll RIGHT!!!

All that's left is making the sheath. @glenbo - do you want black or brown leather?

Here's the beauty shots, plus one with a ruler so you can see how TINY this little guy is.

Overall, about 5" long. Smallest blade I've ever forged. Damn near lost it in the workshop at least six times.

 

[no2gates]

Allllllll RIGHT!!!

All that's left is making the sheath. @glenbo - do you want black or brown leather?

Here's the beauty shots, plus one with a ruler so you can see how TINY this little guy is.

View attachment 479777
View attachment 479778View attachment 479779


Overall, about 5" long. Smallest blade I've ever forged. Damn near lost it in the workshop at least six times.

View attachment 479780

That looks AMAZING!

 

[Byrd666]

Allllllll RIGHT!!!

All that's left is making the sheath. @glenbo - do you want black or brown leather?

Here's the beauty shots, plus one with a ruler so you can see how TINY this little guy is.

View attachment 479777
View attachment 479778View attachment 479779


Overall, about 5" long. Smallest blade I've ever forged. Damn near lost it in the workshop at least six times.

View attachment 479780

A job very well done, me thinks.

 

[jrbfishn]

Very nice little knife. I like.

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[General Zod]

Very nice little knife. I like.

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Thanks, Jimmie.