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Well, at the prompting of Josh... nudge nudge here is a couple more pics of this knife. It comes at the price of delayed deadlines and field of broken promises, but I’m slowly getting it done. What a crazy year. I wanted this knife to have somewhat of a narrative, I shied away from the perfect straight lines and the look of it being laser cut and strayed more towards the thought that it was engraved over time, by the campfire with things that the author saw/experienced at that time. I must admit I’m kinda disappointed in how the sheath came out, the antler port

A most excellent idea and one that is much needed. It is so easy for any maker to look at someone else's work and think "I wish I could...". We all do it. It's always important to realize that this is an art form and it takes time, patience, practice, and more practice. Never stop practicing and experimenting and you will always grow as a maker. I started making knives in 2005/2006. For the first couple of years I was a stock removal guy. I really wanted to get a good grinding process before I started to forge knives to shape. Here is the first knife I made solo, without any

Hello, this one commissioned as a gift for a husband who apparently really liked the Alone bowie I did awhile ago. Unfortunately I have run out of W-2 and so used 80CRV2 on this one. I explained to the customer that the hamon would not be pronounced as a result of the alloys but she was agreeable. Had to use a layer of clay twice as thick to get this, which really isn't a true hamon anyway, but the customer is happy. There is a bunch of alloy banding present in the "soft" area, which looks pretty neat also, but hard to capture in a pic. Clint

I got more done that I was expecting today. The flats are mostly ground on the longsword, and it's poised to be about 51" long overall. It's only at 50 grit but I did a test etch and I like it so far. The profile (still basically as-forged) will be touched up now that I can actually see how the bars shifted while forging. That way I won't end up all lopsided.

So I've been on the hunt for a suitable hood to get my forge inside before winter. This I what I came up with. It was a big hopper system of some sort. I got it inside and hung up today.

I've been working on my first sheath. I'm at the point I've got the front and back ready to glue together. Have to sew the belt loop before I do that, though because I designed it so the sewing is hidden between the back and one of the wedges inserted to compensate for the guard. Here's what I've got to this point. I know there are a lot of flaws but it's good enough to call it my first sheath. Oh, the spots on the front of the sheath are fresh water and not stains.

I hired a couple of local high school kids to come in this past weekend and clean out one of my mothers' old flower gardens. She has an "eccentric" taste in garden styles and we've been dealing with cleaning them up since we bought the house from them 4 years ago. I told the boys that they would most likely stumble across some interesting finds that would have them scratching their heads. As I was checking up on them Saturday, I noticed them struggling with some sort of massive square metal frame. When I went out to give them hand, they had uncovered an old driveway drag made from 2-8' sec

Alright, as this is a quite interesting post - I thought I'd throw my progress into the proverbial basket as well. Four years of progress. First blade was a full tang cooking knife in san-mai lamination with folded and twisted 15n20 and high carbon tool steel. Handle in african Ebony. I folded this steel entirely by hand as I had yet to aquire my pneumatic hammer at that time. Damn, I really punished my arms and shoulders with this one. Latest blade I suppose is known to most of you as I posted it quite recently here on the forum. I was thinking

1080 /15N20 crushed W's,twisted stainless fittings, dovetailed bolster and G10 handles.

I really like this thread. It gives me hope that maybe someday I'll be able to actually create the blades that I see in my mind before I begin. Lol My first: The last one I've finished:

Love this thread! First knife made 6 years ago this month (at the same place Alan "learned"). To my first real commission four months ago: And my personal new EDC one month ago:

No pics or vids yet, but as of yesterday I am now the proud owner of a working power hammer! Little 'woody' the 15kg anyang I have owned for about 15 years got well and truly BBQ'd when the factory burnt down (and a wall fell on him). I have picked away, couple of hours here, couple there, and hes back running Quite symbolic he's working again. Stubbon little fella actually seems to be hitting harder and more controlled than before his 'stress relieving' ! - New motor & belts, new lube system I frigged together from found bits, and ready for a bit of hot metal!

I totally forgot about my first stock-removal-only knife. Made about a year before my first forged knife, about a year after I started smithing: Bandsaw blade and walnut with brass pins, hardened in the fireplace. I made it to replace my grandmother's favorite paring knife she'd had since around 1935 after it finally died in 1999. She loved it, and I got it back when she passed on a few years back. It looks just like the old one, except for much less embedded grease and a full-width blade. The old one broke because she'd "sharpened" it into a hair-thin sickle over the 64

I got the upper guard peened on... And then peened on the pommel cap. I've got some touch ups to do, and I'll call it done.

All of these posts are so inspiring. WOW!

I had to dig quite far, but I managed to find a picture of my first knife, now 6.5 years ago. mild steel of course, and the picture is horrible too, but we all have to start somewhere. On the bottom a knife I finished earlier this year, which I'm quite proud of,takedown construction, my own damascus and leather sheath. I also got a lot better at taking pictures.

Ask and ye shall receive! Peter uses rabbitskin hide glue, but I've found that generic dry hide glue works fine. If you do it as badly as I do it'll look pretty good, if you do it as well as Peter it's awesome. Here's mine:

Been tweeking and tinkering with things like pommel weight and balance and cleaning things up a bit more. forward pivot point is right on the tip and it feels lovely and balanced... even lively! Amazing how the addition of a weighted pommel changes the whole feel of a blade. I know it’s looking quite plain and not very Hobbity but it could have been a knights side arm who fell in battle that a Hobbit finds... perhaps Anyhow I think I will do a leather wrap handle. Any advice on what glue for the leather and what kind of leather to use or even a go

Bjorn,Gerhard,Chad,Bob, Emiliano and Josh. Thanks so much for your reply and for sharing your work. This was just what I hoped. While it is clear the dedication and skill this craft demands sharing your journey from the beginnings to present shows with determination it is achievable and is a journey of constant progress and self reflection. No one should ever be ashamed of their beginnings or fails as they are the building blocks that pave our way. That being said Bjorn, your latest work is nothing short of inspirational. Gerhard, I look forward to y

Cool thread Rob. I started in 2017. First object was a nail header. First blade RR spike Hawk. First knife a chopper. Most recent knife in progress is hand forged 64 layers of folded 1084/15N20. I'm learning quickly from the masters on this forum.

I love this thread idea! For a long time I've been saying that for hammer ins people should bring their very first knife and something recent. I think as a way of helping new smiths settle in and realize that the only thing separating them from the older established ones is a bit of experience and some commitment. It's also a great way to remember where you came from, and how far is still to go! I still have this 'knife' hanging above my bench at the shop. The bottom one is lost to time, but the top one is the very first knife shaped object I forged, albeit in mild steel.

I took my first blacksmithing class 22 years ago this month, October of 1998. Did a lot of ornamental stuff before trying blades. Here's #1 (the little one with sheath) and #3: You can't tell from the pics, but the blade and guard of #1 are welded cable. What am I most proud of? Let's see... there's this repro of the last tomahawk presented to Meriwether Lewis, accurately dimensioned and using antique wrought iron: and the blades of the Maldon Foes collab between me and Petr Florianek (Petr did the handles and scabbards): And my trowel:

started on this addiction about 4-5 years ago.. My first completed knife was this one. Made it as a going away gift for my friends dad who packed up and went the expat route in Costa Rica. Still has it, still uses it to slice limes for his mixed drinks. And then I have this one, which is done other then a sheath and a sharpening. But its the best hamon I think I have ever done, and it feels just wonderful in the hand. Have my KITH tanto in the works right now ( sitting wired and clayed up in the garage right now. I am kind of hoping to surpass this one with tha

Here is one of my first and one from down the track. Still on the road too.

Here's my first "sword." I made it when I was about 13 years old from an old file. Not forged. The copper wire on the hilt is from telephone wire that I stripped the sheathing from. The pommel is a large brass nut that I filled in with braze (hence the bubbles). I think the guard was a bit of brass from a backing plate from an old boat. And here's another short sword I made a couple years ago. Long road . . . many miles left to go.

This'd by one of my earliest ones Rob (1970's) made entirely with an angle grinder froma piece of burst sawmill bandsaw blade so most likely 15N20. Did a lot of work with it and if it was the only knife I had today I could stiill do most of what I need to do (hunting wise) with it. Lots of them (over 450 in last 4 years) betwen then and now with the last one away being the River Sunset bowie

Hi All, I thought I would start a thread to see how far we have all come from the humble beginnings of when we first got that glint in our eye and made that first blade to where we are now. I would love to see pics of your first ever blades and of your most prized creations to date. Thought it would be a good inspiring thread for the new and old and everyone in between.

Still got more sanding to do on blade and hilt but getting there. My apprentice is dog tired so no more work today.

Had four knives ready to ship today and and sent three off without taking a pic of them. One was an AH EDC and two of the slicers from the the batch I did the other day. This one I will deliver on fri when I am in the city Gidgee and brass (with 3 copper pins) on the Nitro V stainless blade and in the first group of stainless blades that I have given a cryo quench.

Good news for my wallet....it turned out to just be a switch. I had an old bench grinder laying around collecting dust that had a push/pull switch like the Griz. Swapped em out an she worky now. Thanks for the replies.

My latest. This is from a piece of that Hunk O'steel I bought from Ray Rybar back in 2016. Crazy activity in this one.

Dayum !!..........

Never let it be said that I work fast when it comes to shop infrastructure. Only a year and a couple of weeks after I acquired an HT oven, it's finally up and running. Today I used it to spheroidize a pile of O1 integrals I forged last year that, even normalized, were too hard to file or drill easily. They were made as proof-of-concept pieces for the "knifemaking unplugged" series of classes I did for my local guild last year, and taught me first and foremost that if you're gonna go unplugged you should use a simple steel rather than O1. For the class we used W1 drill rod, which worked gr

Now what do I do with it?

It was actually two years yesterday that I finished my first blade. I had wanted to become a bladesmith for years and had just moved countries to make that become a reality. As you may notice I liked long knives then and that has only grown on me But I do think there has been some improvements over this time even though I don't have as much time as I would like to practice

This is the last thing I made for my self.Two holsters and a sheath. Had to quit. Health went to hell. Didnt even get a belt made to match it. Sold every thing off when I quit.Didnt even keep my first pieces. kidterico

Otto Frei is currently having a sale on SWISS MADE FILES FROM GLARDON-VALLORBE They are also having a 10% off sale on bench tools using coupon code: BENCHX https://www.ottofrei.com/jewelry-tools-equipment/bench-tools?utm_source=bronto&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Image+-+Save+10%+in+the+Bench+Tools+Category+with+Coupon+Code+BENCHX&utm_content=Swiss+Files+on+Sale+with+BENCHX&utm_campaign=The+Otto+Report+-+October+2020+Vol+5&_bta_tid=16113537935476410410207431320215207152235341842928355149291251778485440540863184379530608987922877250876

Thankls Brian. They are barely visible after the high polish so it takes a few weeks till they start to show themeslves more clearly. I have taken to doing that on all the larger bolsters now. Another thing I will do on some of the larger knives is to do the mark on the blades as a drill through rather than a partial drill mark, radius slightly, peen the pins in place and have them visible on both sides of the blade.

While I was beginning on another sword I threw this piece of steel I with it and wanted to see how long I could draw it out with no real plans as usual. Ended up with a 46cm long blade and way to big of a tang. Also decided that I will to most of the stock removal with a file as I just got some fresh big mill files and I actually think it's going faster than with the belt grinder Haven't fully decided yet what kind of hilt will go on it. First thought was a Swiss baselard type but the do feel rather plain and I kind of want to try something challenging.

I love those two knives, that ironwood handle looks really comfortable.

They have them with the leather craft goods in my local store. SKU 328120 https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Leather-Crafting/Tools-Finishes/Wool-Daubers/p/151988

I just use paper towels. With rubber gloves, of course.

I'm barely starting now. Later in line than I wanted to. But I'm putting with towards it. So all I have is really early work at the moment. Stuff I just am trying with. My first knife was all grinding no forging from an old file. This is my second knife I ever made also all grinding and no forging. I have a third one also from a file but it's not done. I've been working on my actual hammering skills more than anything right now. It's a slow process but I hope to get as good as some of the stuff I see on here some day. But I'm definitely motivated to be able to do it

Pieter, I cant see how you can improve on that last knife. Thanks for sharing Jaron, good work on that multi bar and carving. Alan that First knife thread has some old gold. I really enjoyed that and seeing the work on this one too.

Finally got around to making some quick change die plates for the press: and some squaring dies:

The chrome wrench with the black handle is a beam-style torque wrench and should be forgeable. I would spark test it to be sure.

I'm still in the driveway on the journey. I started end of June this year when I suddenly had more time than I anticipated and have been going hard since. I've got 12 or 13 blades forged, my first was from a coil spring and I've mainly stuck to simple leaf springs and solid wood scales. I'm even trying for a little short sword but I need to fix the tang on it. The top is my first knife, the bottom is my most recent chef's knife.

First knife about 25 years ago,band saw blade stock removal.Brass pierced scales with buffalo horn underlay.

New member here, just wanted to get your opinions on this, walnut handle finished with tung oil. Have made a couple more knives and tomahawks since this.