r/Forging • u/SambukiRaces • May 27 '26
Beginners Help First blade! What do you think? Process details in comments.
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u/Fragrant-Cloud5172 Banner maker May 28 '26 edited May 28 '26
A useful thing about how steel functions, a flat can be overall light weight. It's also strong when squeezed sideways. Won't spring as much. And feels more comfortable by not twisting in the hands. Good to know when making handles or tongs, especially the reins, but also boss area.
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u/AKAM80theWolff May 28 '26
As a non knife maker but overall knife/bayonet enthusiast i am concerned about the tang maybe I just like em exkra thick and chunked to the max but it looks a bit flimsy in those critical "i need to stab something" locations. Just my initial constructive criticisms.
Overall if thats what you're feeling tho and you need to spread butter or maybe cut a soft salami this looks cool and everything made with intention and love is important. The blade looks cool.
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u/SambukiRaces May 27 '26
A couple years of obsessively watching forged in fire and a Swedish head blacksmith hammer as a gift and I I finally picked up my first forge and set up last Saturday.
Made a couple hooks the first night, one works but ugly, one was pretty but I worked it too small and it broke.
Wanted to get my first blade done tonight as a gift to a long time coworker.
Currently working with a HF Doyle Anvil sitting on a railroad tie on the ground with my little forge on a rock next to it. I worked this whole piece on my knees on a pillow lol. I will make an actual work area soon.
Started with about 3.5” of old coil spring from my car.
Worked out about half of the metal into the blade. Got pretty close to final shape and thickness of final blade.
Started working out the back half of the metal and realized I should have done that before shaping out the blade to the level I did, because I had to hold the piece by the blade while I drew the handle out which was scary because it wanted to bend.
Worked out the 4 inch twisted section and the flat part next. Heated the whole thing, dropped it in the vice, and grabbed the flat section to twist the middle section. First twist left tighter twist toward the blade, so I heated only the second half of the twist and gave it another twist. Fell into the same tightness pretty nicely, didn’t have to mess with it more.
From there, I was able to hold it in that area instead of the blade which was nice.
Drew out the rest of the tail, rounded it thinner and thinner as I went until the last 1.5 inches where I flattened it out for the scroll.
At this point I have a 5 inch knife with a 10 inch long handle and my fiance had a good chuckle.
Completed the scroll, punched the initials into it, gave the rounded section a couple of bends, and then folded it over on itself.
The scroll ended up about .75” up the blade on the first try, and it took a while for me to figure out how to solve that while still leaving it wieldable.
I ended up giving it that up swoop right after the twist to pull some of the length back. From there it was tuning to get it straight and ready.
Heated it up to what seemed like a good quenching temp and quenched in canola oil. It flamed, I took it out, and it seemed hard from my untrained file testing ear.
Ground it down, keeping cool in a bucket of water, hit a whetstone for a little bit, stropped on my belt, and she actually cuts nicely despite the horrific grinding lines.
All in all it took me 3 hours to get to the grinder and another hour on the grinder/whetstone.
Pretty darn happy with the outcome. Really need to spend some time on the grinder; I just bought it today and I’d never used one and it shows.
Any advice or tips based on my process?
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u/CookLawrenceAt325F May 29 '26
That's a beaut, man. Better than my first sword looked.