Zeb Camper

Hey, look up "forging a blacksmiths knife" on YouTube. Look for Owen's name. I'm not sure where I saw it on here.

Cool! Now I just gotta convince my dad to give it to me. I'll replace it with a 4x4 or something. Thanks!

Thanks! And no it's a typical steel combination, but in a lower layer count than normal. 15n20 does appear lighter because it has more alloys like nickel I believe. The ferric chloride doesnt attack the 15n20 as much as the 1080. Owen has a video on how to forge these in a pinned topic in hotwork I believe.

Never mind.

I think what we got here is some shear steel... Old seat springs for a wagon? I think what we might have here is pig iron. It looks like it was cast into a hole in the ground. Its a solid bar. Probably 50+lbs. Cant you refine pig iron into wrought?

Hey guys, today I made another "lady's knife" for this years gift exchange. I made the same thing last year out of 1095 and posted it on here somewhere. I got the idea from Owen Bush, his look much better, but I try lol. The specifics: It's 1080 and 15n20. It's about yay long and hey wide and about that thick. It's hard as a rock and it's just bout sharp 'nuff. Happy holidays everyone!

Awesome stuff Kris! Can't wait to see it done!

Nice! I like that you went for a certain style and it actually looks pretty close to being right. It looks like a scaled down version of a sax. Obviously it's not quite big enough to get a proper handle on, but why not make it a miniature? You need more definition on the top of the tang to show where the blade stops and the handle will begin. I would cut that tang in half. It's about 2x as long as it needs to be. You can fix the warps cold if you'd like, or do it before normalizing. Nice job! Edit: next time you forge a blade like this, forge the tip to a point first, then forge the step down on the spine before shaping the profile and forging the bevel in. Forge the bottom step in after the bevels and then shape the tang up. This will keep the tang centered and give you a good looking shoulders

Vern really did hit the nail on the head. That's how I did it. It helps you understand every aspect in depth before you move on. A box fan is a good investment for the "tools to buy now" list though! If your overheating and feeling like its a workout you may want some cardio in your life. It's a lot more fun to swing on steel if your not light headed worried about stroking out. I love this time of year for forging though instead of 110° in the shop it's 60° after forging for a while.

I'm a blown burner guy too. My horizontal forge I use for general forging and this one is for welding. I can get u a supplies list for the burner if you'd like. I just welded up around a 4 pound billet with it, so it works!

It tastes how scent blocker smells to me! I did try a "hopy lager" (so called by the brewer) that I enjoyed quite a bit though.

Too slick

Lol! So who here likes IPAs? I call it dirt beer. I tried my first and last 6 pack a few moths ago.

Yep, try before you buy. My best friend started blacksmithing, gathered tools and then quit soon after. You might think you're in love with something, but you should live with it for a few years before you marry it. This can be as primitive as you allow it to be. Go and enjoy it, tear that list of yours up, maybe take a class or two, and re-evaluate after you've made some things.

Good luck! Post pics! Sorry for the hijack Brian. Looking forward to see what you make!