One Brick Forge

Can definatly be done with no electric but if you also have no gas it can help to have someone else to work the billows. lol

 

That's why I'm married, MM!

 

LOL keep her at the forge instead of the stove huh? lol (joke haha)

 

You guys crack me up !!!!

Been busy... I'll get some pics up later.... all that's left is a handle....

Melbo is so picky .... but I guess Valkman knows that already...

 

O.k.... sorry it took so long....
I broke down and used some electricity to temper this in my toaster oven..... wanted it to be tough...

Tested the edge twice against a 1/4" brass rod to make sure there wasn't any chipping.... no chipping...

Hammered it through a 1.5 inch seasoned branch.... had to use a 2x4 and my 3lb hammer on the spine.... no problems except my hand hurts from holding it with no handle.... no problems there... sailed through it....

Dropped from chest height... I'm 5'9".... tip first into the concrete 3 times to check that the tip wouldn't break off.... no problems there... tip held up ... had to spend a minute or two touching up a little ding on a fine stone....

So far... everything else has been by hand....
Sanded it down to 1500 grit... then Simichrome with cardboard... for a "Field Grade" finish.....

All done for now...

I may etch it to bring out the temper lines....

Just waiting for Melbo to choose a handle material....

 

View from the top.... nice distal taper....

 

I'd start the forming with a grinding wheel instead...

of a file, of course that's the lazy way. Ric

 

Yeah... that sure would have made it easier and faster !!!
I did this to show it can be done with just mill files and sandpaper....

Here's a pic of the knife after I etched it in some hot vinegar to show the temper line....

 

Here's a close up.... the lines you see are the transitions from the hard edge to the softer back... makes for a tougher knife... this allows for greater flex and toughness rather than a "brittle knife"....

The thought being that you would rather your knife bend under extreme conditions rather than break... at least you can bend it back and still have a usable tool....

 

That Flexibility is important. Nothing like a knife with a...

useless broken blade. Ric

 

Im envious. I still havent gotten my coal forge built yet, though I did finnaly get a few pieces of rail road rail about 18" long each so I can use them for my anvil.


Knife is looking great Bear. So what was it about etching it with hot vinagar? I had never heard of that before.

 

"So what was it about etching it with hot vinagar?"

When you heat treat a blade so that there are differing areas of hardness... the edge being the hardest and the back being the softest...

Many times after polishing you cannot tell if you did indeed harden the edge while leaving the back somewhat "softer"....

Etching the blade with some acidic fluid and then neutralizing it with an akaline fluid is the only way to show you what parts of the blade are indeed hardest and the transitions throughout the blade.... ultimately whether or not your heat treat came out the way you intended it....

If there are no "transitions" after etching then there is a really good chance the blade does not have differing areas of hardness.... That doesn't mean its not a great knife .... In fact, there are awesome blades out there that wouldn't show a temper line, but that are just tough as nails..... This is just one method of heat treating.

There are all kinds of scientific names for what happened to the steel in the different areas... but I'm keeping this simple...

If you want to try it on one of your knives... just heat up some distilled white vinegar, about as hot as hot water out of the tap.... and soak your blade in it... it'll show fine bubbles and turn a dark color....
Neutralize it with windex or some other ammonia product....
Then take some polish to it.... if lines don't show up.... its probably a good indicator that there aren't different areas of hardness on the blade...

Just want to emphasize... that it doesn't mean one way is better than the other... lots of good knives have been heat treated this way.... and lots of good knives have not....

I don't want to get into a debate on heat treating and which knives are the best...

The best knife is the one you have on you when you need to cut something.... IMHO... The rest is really up to you....

 

Cool, I just had never heard of etching with vinigar. The only type of etching I ever did was on a knifeI made a long time ago that was since stolen where I coated the blade in wax then scraped the wax off where I wanted to etch stuff into it and poared hydrocloric acid on it and let it set for about 20 minutes then washed it thuroghly. BTW, dont ever drip hydrocloric acid on your skin if your try this, its not a fun experience. lol

 

O.k.... finally finishing this up....

Here's the picks of the handle design, some in progress, and then the final fit....

Last picture is a close up of the right side of the handle.... I see 5 faces including one of a monkey similar to our mascot....
I used to love looking at the clouds for shapes.... this is kinda cool....

Just gotta glue it up and make the sheaths....

Pretty much done with this knife.....

Anyone can make a forged knife with a one brick forge and some basic tools.....

 

Awesome! Thanks Bear.

 

Man that is sweet!

You are right - anyone can do this if they have the drive. Knifemakers are made, not born, and we all have a pile of crappy knives to prove it! Anyone willing to tough it out for a while will aquire a skill few have, and it a very satisfying one for some reason.

 

Thanks SeaCowboys and Valkman !!!!.... means alot coming from you guys....

Thanks goes to Melbo who challenged me to do this the old way....

Finished up a simple pouch sheath... nothing special... did it with 9-10 oz vegetable tanned leather... left it natural... and finished it with copper rivets for an old time look... simple and solid....

Promised Melbo a desert camo kydex sheath as well... so I guess I'll finish that up and she's off to a new home....

Yup Valkman... you can do anything when you set your mind to it... and when its fun.... it just gets that much better....

 

O.k.... Kydex Sheath is finished.... closes with a nice "snap"... snug..

This fun project is now complete....