As stated, and you probably already know if you have made it this far, I
make hand forged knives. This allows me to have far greater control and
impression on the steel I am working with. There is a degree of artistic
impression that a maker has when he forges a blade that is not satisfied by
any other method of blade shaping. When a blade is born in the fire, shaped
by the hammer and the sweat of the makers brow, the blade becomes an
extension of the makers mind, body and spirit. Don't want to sound too
crazy here, but simple and logical thought will bare out this reality.
Any how, since I forge only, I base my knives on steel types that benefit
from the forging process, and forge without undue stress or complications.
I generally do not make knives from air hardening steels (stainless steel,
CPM steels etc.). I will work with the following steels, although some are
harder to find readily than others: 1095,1084, 1075, 5160, 0-1, L-6, W-2. I
have had excellent results using these steels, L6 and W2 can be hard to
locate, but are available at times. The other steels listed are widely
available. If you want a specific steel type in your forged blade, please
inquire.
Right now my blades are forged to exact shape with only minor clean up done
on the grinder. During the forging process, great care is taken to stay
within proper forging temperatures. The last few passes are only to
'true' the blade and all blades receive a triple Normalization process,
which in simple terms serves as a 'stress relief' for the blade. The next
stage is annealing the blade, which is done in a Paragon heat treating oven.
This allows me to grind easier, but more importantly lets me know for sure
what state the steel is in, and another stress relief for any work induction
issues that the Normalization may have missed.
The blades are then flat ground, basically by the time I knock the scale off
and clean up the plunge line, the grinding is finished (this is another
great benefit of forging to shape). I normally go to 220 grit before heat
treating.
Heat treating is done in the Paragon heat treating oven, this ensures me the
exact temperature each time I heat treat, no guessing on colors or fiddling
with magnets to check the blade. I can do zone hardening via edge quinch or
Clay, or full hardening ( I actually prefer fully hardening, but will zone
harden as well). The benefit of using Clay to zone harden, is that you can
pull some really nice temper lines. See the Gallery for photos of some
temper lines done with Clay.
I normally do a hidden tang with either a mortise cut handle (two pieces
milled and fit around the tang), or a 1 piece handle with hidden tang.
Eventually most all of the blades will have 1 piece handles, as there are
more un necessary steps in the mortise tang method. All handles have at
least 1 pin running through the tang, and all tangs run to within to 3/8" of
the butt of the handle. This makes for a very strong, knife without the
weight and bulk of a full exposed tang.
Guard material I normally use is Nickel Silver or Stainless Steel. In the
next few months I will be using a lot more Wrought Iron, and forged/etched
steel.
I will use about any handle material as long as it is suitable for a working
knife. I normally have a good supply of Walnut, Curly Maple, Curly Koa,
Coca Bola, and some really nice Antique French Cherry. The French Cherry I
just received from an old friend that is in the antique business in New
Orleans. I will be using some of it on my own Bowie that I will be making
soon. Any how, to get back on track, I will explain to you the woods I have
on hand, or you can send in your own, just inquire.
I don't make sheaths. The sheaths I normally supply are made buy a Dave
Smith in Arkansas. He came by way of John Fitch and Jim Crowell, so I
decided to use him and I am very satisfied with his work. I supply a basic
'stud' type slip sheath in either Cordovan or Natural tan. This provides a
good basic carry platform for your knife. If you want more than that I will
be happy to point you in the right direction. I recommend Dave Smith, Kenny
Rowe and Lifter for leather work. I can provide contact info for them, just
inquire.
Pricing is real simple, knives are $50 per blade inch in a working finish,
with wood or micarta. This is normally a 400 to 600 grit hand rubbed
finish, but on occasion I may belt finish or even bead blast the knife,
pending style and desires of the customer. On blades that have a temper
line I may charge a bit more, as there is much more time hand polishing the
blade to achieve the visual benefit of the temper line.