Draw out the handle
“Most things start with drawing out.
That’s the boring part,” he says.
- Mark the blank about halfway where
the handle will meet the blade at the
knife shoulder. “I know not to go past
that mark so I have enough material
for the blade,” Josh notes. - To draw out the handle piece take
about half of the blank — if you want
a normal 110mm handle — bring it
out to 270–280mm long. If you want
a shorter handle you won’t need
that much. - Heat it up to just past red but once
the metal becomes thinner during the
drawing-out process, ease off a bit on
the heat, otherwise you will melt it
and it will just be gone. This is pretty
much an even taper. When you heat
the blade, as it gets thinner, watch it
in the forge so that it doesn’t melt.
4. When the blank is red-hot, take it
out with tongs, place it on the anvil,
and hammer the handle area evenly,
turning it, and drawing it out along
the length to a taper.
5. Repeat the heating and hammering
process until the handle taper is
about 280mm long.
6. The place where the tang meets the
beginning of the blade should be
thicker and square-ish.
Form the twist
- Heat the handle section to red-hot.
Place the part that will be the blade
in the vice. Using the wrench, about
halfway (40mm) from the end of the
blade, twist the tang 360 degrees
then make sure the handle lines up
along the whole length of the stock.
“On the top of the handle where the
palm of your hand would be, the twist
makes for a secure grip,” Josh says.
Descale the metal as you go by brushing
with a wire brush. It’s important to clean
the scale off and not hammer it in, as it
is hard to remove later. f
While new steel may
be dearer than scrap
metal, it is much more
predictable in terms of
quality and how it will
behave when heat treatedLeft: Cranking up the forge
Right: Removing the corner
with the hammer and rounding
the tip
Below: Placing the knife in the
vice and preparing to twistTwisting with the wrench
to make the grip