The Shed – September-October 2019

Complete the handle

8. Return the knife to the forge; when
   orange/red, take it out and place the
   tang on the edge of the anvil where
   you want the end of the handle to be.


9. Bend the tang over the edge of the
   anvil while it’s hot. Use the hammer
   and monkey wrench to bend it
   around to form a piece that will sit
   nicely in the palm of your hand. Line
   it up along the length of the knife.

Making the finger guard

10. Reheat; place in the vice, then use
    pliers to bend the tip of the handle
    into the niche behind the shoulder

where the blade meets the handle.

Tap gently with the hammer. Check

again that everything lines up.

Forge the blade and bevel

11. Heat the blade area in the hottest
    part of the forge.


12. Remove and place on the anvil.


13. Hammer a bevel along the length of
    the blade. Work on both sides of the
    blade to prevent distortion.


14. Forge the tip of the blade by hitting
    the corner of the end of the blade on
    a 45-degree angle and then rounding
    it further.


15. Heat the blade. Place it on the anvil

DW D ÀYH WR GHJUHH DQJOH DQG

hammer gently along the edge of the

blade opposite the spine, drawing the

hammer towards you at the end of

each blow.

“When you put a bevel in, you have

taken metal from the edge and it’s got to

go somewhere. It will elongate the whole

thing like a banana. You need to rest the

spine on the anvil and strike down on what

will be the knife edge to straighten it out.”

16. Do this on both sides to get a double
    bevel. The edge can’t be too thin or it
    will crack when hardened


17. Add your maker’s mark with a small
    chisel. f

“Oil gives a nice mellow

harden but some

steels are designed for

water hardening”

Heating the metal as part of the

normalizing process

Hammer the tang over the edge of the anvil

to start forming the handle

Turn the hot metal with pliers to form

the finger guard

Lining up