Forging a knife

**Blood Groove** · 09-05-2008, 10:25 PM

Over the summer I got an apprenticeship with a blacksmith. He made 300 of the swords for the movie Braveheart. Right now I'm making a bowie knife, it's my first time making a knife. Saddly I don't own a digital camera, but it's 12 1/2 inches long from high carbon spring steel (1095) It's got a ball-peen finish and a slightly curved handle. It's hollow ground, and has a sharpened false point (Will have it's not there yet) If any of you guys have made knives by forging of grinding or whatever I'd love to hear about it.

**Sourdough** · 09-05-2008, 11:00 PM

BG, I am impressed. Good for you. Any chance you can work with him next summer.....?

What material will you put on the handel....? Does he do leather work...?

**Ole WV Coot** · 09-06-2008, 10:02 PM

What's this maker's name? I would like to see some examples of your and his work. I have been interested in giving it a try myself and maybe pick up a few pointers.

**erunkiswldrnssurvival** · 09-06-2008, 10:13 PM

Ive done a little green sand molding with brass and copper

**erunkiswldrnssurvival** · 09-06-2008, 10:17 PM

this is a copper rose that i forged...Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

**Blood Groove** · 09-06-2008, 11:11 PM

BG, I am impressed. Good for you. Any chance you can work with him next summer.....?

What material will you put on the handel....? Does he do leather work...?

Thanks! I'm stilll working with him through the school, year and I plan to continue into next summer as well. For the handel I'm using Black Walnut, and yes he also works leather to make the sheaths. I think that a dark handle, gold guard and a silver blade with a ball-peen finish is going to look really good. I just did the heat treating today (It's oil quenched) and it didn't crack wich is great. The bad news is that when I was annealing it I used a small oven and I think it got too hot. It might be too soft. I'm going to take it to this factory on monday though, and a guy I know there can get the RC hardness with his epuipment, so I'll know then if it's too soft. I'd hate to have to repeat the oil quench again, I wouldn't want it to break!

**Gray Wolf** · 09-06-2008, 11:23 PM

BG does it have a full tang?

**Blood Groove** · 09-06-2008, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by Ole WV Coot

What's this maker's name? I would like to see some examples of your and his work. I have been interested in giving it a try myself and maybe pick up a few pointers.

His name's Stuart, when he made the swords he was working for a different guy, but now he does his own work and has his own business. Saddly he doesn't have a website for his business but I think he has a my-space page for it, I'll ask him what that is next time I see him, and then get back to you. I don't know if he has some pictures up there or not. When I finish my knife I'd like to get it on the internet somehow. I'll have to barrow a digital camera or something.

**crashdive123** · 09-06-2008, 11:25 PM

Or you can use a regular camera (even the disposable ones) and most of your photo developing places can download digital pictures to a disk for you.

**Blood Groove** · 09-06-2008, 11:26 PM

Originally Posted by Gray Wolf

BG does it have a full tang?

Yeah it's full tang with the wooden handel scales connected to the tang. It's going to be connected by 5 pewter pins.

**Blood Groove** · 09-06-2008, 11:27 PM

Originally Posted by crashdive123

Or you can use a regular camera (even the disposable ones) and most of your photo developing places can download digital pictures to a disk for you.

Oh yeah? So I guess wallmart can do it then, because that's where I get my pictures developed. Well good then I'll try that. thanks.

**Gray Wolf** · 09-06-2008, 11:28 PM

Are you going to put a lanyard hole at the end of the handle?

**Blood Groove** · 09-06-2008, 11:30 PM

Originally Posted by erunkiswldrnssurvival

this is a copper rose that i forged...Guests can not see images in the messages. Please register in the forum.

Hey, that looks great! Stuart does some flowers like that too. He makes them out of aluminum and uses a ball-peen to form them to the flower shape.

**erunkiswldrnssurvival** · 09-06-2008, 11:32 PM

Originally Posted by Blood Groove

Yeah it's full tang with the wooden handel scales connected to the tang. It's going to be connected by 5 pewter pins.

I have seen knives like that but i think they were pinned with bone

**crashdive123** · 09-06-2008, 11:33 PM

That's some nice work with that copper rose erunkiswldrnssurvival.

**Blood Groove** · 09-06-2008, 11:34 PM

Originally Posted by Gray Wolf

Are you going to put a lanyard hole at the end of the handle?

I was planning to eventhough I don't really use the lanyard hole on my other knives, but it's already heat treated now, and I don't think we can drill threw it. We had a hard enough time drilling the pin holes before it was heat treated, because all the drill bit's were pretty dull. I had one in my original sketch though.

**Blood Groove** · 09-06-2008, 11:36 PM

Originally Posted by erunkiswldrnssurvival

I have seen knives like that but i think they were pinned with bone

I'm not quite sure his technique for securing the pewter, but he uses it with all his knives and says that it holds great.

**erunkiswldrnssurvival** · 09-06-2008, 11:37 PM

THANKS Blood Groove, I used ball peen hammers and i carved depressions in wood to partialy shape the parts. I even made copper nails to secure them to the wood base