first try at forging

[marthandan]

had a go at forging...it is tough...especially if there is no helper to do the hammering part
the two knife blanks on the left were not forged(stock removal method)

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camp/bushcraft knife:
milled tooth file. full length convex grind. 3mm thick. 220mm long. blade is 110mm long & 30mm wide. tempered the file in the home oven (it reaches 180'C~200'C) and ground the blade without annealing it. this method works but there is a marked difference (huge) between working with annealed steel and hardened steel. shaping with hand tools is out of question. did try out the knife with a paracord handle on a couple of treks. stuff done ranged from cutting vegetables to dry firewood. worked fine. there was no apparent change in the edge (to my amateur eyes), but the knife could definitely do with better sharpening. the edge, however, did chip when it hit a stone by mistake.

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wharncliffe blade:
1.5mm thick, 80mm long with a 95mm handle. milled tooth file again.

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fork:
165mm long forged from 8mm mild steel threaded rod.

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Recurved chopper:
spring steel, 4mm thick, 285mm long with a 160mm long and 35mm wide blade. the entire knife was not forged by me. i started with an old chopper that had a crack perpendicular to the edge. cut off the blade just before the crack. forged the tip, reduced the thickness and imparted the overall curve to the blade. the last 50mm or 1/4th of the blade was done by me. the existing bevels made it easier for me.

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[pankajbanjara]

very nice try ,, really good results for first try

[dr.jayakumar]

nice workfriend. what tools do you have to forge these,and what blower?.just wanna have a look,hope you don't mind.
regards
dr.jk

[gladiatorgarg]

very nice ur motivating me to tk it up as a hobby....

[brihacharan]

Hi Marthandan,
> Nice attempts.
> Agree forging takes a lot of beating & can be exhausting & tiresome - but fun
> Would love to see the final finish of these blades.....
Cheers
Briha

[Moin.]

Standing ovation Marthandan . Waiting to see the finished product

Best
Moin.

[Tango_ Charli]

very nice try and good result

[TC]

Good job Marty... waiting to see the final results. I am sure you have planned leather sheaths as well

Cheers

TC

[essdee1972]

Very nice, Marthandan!!

What steel did you use for the first two?

[marthandan]

thank you everyone
@ Dr.jayakumar...very basic tools - couple of hammers, a tong and a 50 tonne hydraulic jack as my anvil . vacuum cleaner does duty as the blower. will post a pic.
@essdee...the first 2 knife are made from a milled tooth steel file.

[brihacharan]

t
hank you everyone
@ Dr.jayakumar...very basic tools - couple of hammers, a tong and a 50 tonne hydraulic jack as my anvil . vacuum cleaner does duty as the blower. will post a pic.
@essdee...the first 2 knife are made from a milled tooth steel file.

Hi Marthandan,
> Just a 'dumb question'
> What if I take a lorry leaf spring & trace the profile of the blade I want to make & then cut the shape using a blow torch. (the type people use for cutting sheet metal)
> After that I use an '4" angle grider' with appropriate abrasive & b@$*@*d files to do the finishing?
> Later get the blade sanded & buffed.
> Look fwd to your expert advice.
Briha

[Mark]

Good job so far!

[magicianrajesh]

why dont you buy one ??? just one question ????

[Moin.]

why dont you buy one ??? just one question ????

Yes Marthandan, why o why !!!!! All you do is instigate others

[marthandan]

Hi Marthandan,
> Just a 'dumb question'
> What if I take a lorry leaf spring & trace the profile of the blade I want to make & then cut the shape using a blow torch. (the type people use for cutting sheet metal)
> After that I use an '4" angle grider' with appropriate abrasive & b@$*@*d files to do the finishing?
> Later get the blade sanded & buffed.
> Look fwd to your expert advice.
Briha[/quote]

brihaji... i can see a few issues with the approach:
1. lorry leaf springs are too thick(>15 mm) to make a blade using the stock removal method(i am not saying that its impossible, just that you will be spending days grinding it down. please dont ask me how long ). instead, try sourcing the springs that are used to cushion the cabin of the lorries. this spring (leaves are about 6~7 mm thick ) is an OEM part that is removed by the local body builders and you will be able to get it from them. other options for thinner leaf springs would be from the TATA ACE / AMBY etc. these would be about 8~10 mm thick.
2. these used spring (i am assuming you will be getting them from the scrap market) will have a lot of micro cracks in them due to years of use and abuse(lorries easily carry 40 tonnes). these might cause failure of the knife at any time.
3. all leaf springs are curved. you will need to hammer them straight. straightening, if done cold, will again stress the steel.
4. profile cutting using a torch will destroy the temper of the steel, leaving you with an annealed edge and a large grained micro structure.

if i may say so...i would prefer to make a slightly larger wooden model of the knife and have the blade forged by a local blacksmith. then i can grind the blade to its correct size, harden, temper, finish the blade and put a handle on it. (this is what i did with my kukri)

brihaji...i am no expert and definitely not in front of someone as experienced as you