HELP needed in forging my first bushcraft blade...

[bryanr]

Guys,

I need some help. I am going to be forging my very first knife on Monday at a coal forge and I would like to get a set of prints for a good bushcraft design blade. If anyone has anything they can e-mail me, I would be forever grateful. I would also be open to any steel recommendations as I will be picking up some blanks to work with on Saturday. Thanks for all your help and wisdom!

Sincerely,

Bryan
bryanr@geekwerks.com

[Geoffrey]

Myself I do not think you can go far wrong with the very plain Mora knife. A simple oval handle and simple blade. I prefer 01 and D2, but I have forged a few knives from 1095 and railroad spikes. I also like a very natural handle, curly birch, oak, maple, arctic birch.

Currently my knife is an Allan Blade with micarta and 01. In the future I am getting a S30V and maple version.

I think you will get great results from keeping it simple, nice wood and good ole carbon steel.

Just my 2 cents worth.

Geoffrey

[Snufkin]

Hi Bryan :wave: . I've no experience with forging blades but have done some stock removal blades, for a bushcraft knife you don't really need the blade to be wider than your palm, 4 inches is pretty much ideal IMO. 1/8th-3/16ths of an inch is ok for thickness and a width of 1 1/8th of an inch is pretty good. Grind is a personal choice, I favour a single bevel scandi grind but convex and secondary bevel are more durable. It's up to you, do you want maximum durability or the finest edge?
For steels I have used old files and 01 tool steel both are good.
Here's a pic of my latest knife.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v54/LJintheUK/blades/applewood3.jpg
Hope this helps.

[Snufkin]

Forgot to say let us know how it turns out, with pictures if you can :biggthump .

[Geoffrey]

very nice knife.

I would say that is about ideal as a "bushcrafter" knife.

:You_Rock_

[Snufkin]

very nice knife.

I would say that is about ideal as a "bushcrafter" knife.

:You_Rock_
Thanks very much :o): The one in the pic is actually a little shorter than 4 inches 3 3/8th to be precise.

[Paganwolf]

I agree Geoff, Snuffy's blade is alot like my bison, it goes thru wood like nobodys buisness, Snufkins made a winner there, an ideal blade for bushcrafting :-)

[C_Claycomb]

:yikes: Starting Monday and you haven't got plans or a steel type? :yikes:

I would imagine that given the time constraint you are going to be forging whatever you have at hand. Bits of car spring are a popular sourse of 5160, which makes good blades and is available by the ton in scrap yards.

Things like O-1 will work, but need to be bought as they are tool steels and don't tend to be found lying about.

Hope you were able to find blanks that worked out.

I wouldn't try to forge a knife exactly like the one in the picture, the flat tang could be a problem. I reckon it would be easier to make something with a short stick tang, and either mortise the handle, or drill it.

http://www.engnath.com/public/manframe.htm
http://p222.ezboard.com/fprimalfiresfrm12.showMessage? topicID=25.topic
http://www.knivesby.com/knifemaking.html
http://www.primosknives.com/articles/mortised_tangs/mortised_tangs_1.htm

Desing wise, well, that is a tough one. You can't go far wrong with making a blade about an inch wide and 4-5 inches long with a tang of about 3.5 inches if it is to finish in the handle. You don't need to make a guard when doing a mortise/hidden tang, but it isn't all that hard either.

This one was made of inch wide stock.
http://freespace.virgin.net/en5chc.ky42420/semiscandi.jpg

I found getting a full flat tang shaped right, getting it flat, getting the holes in it drilled, then the holes in the handle slabs drilled straight, much more trouble than fitting a guard and using a hidden tang.

If you have time to look at the work of Allan Blade, he makes some good hidden tang bushcrafting knifes.

Best of luck! :biggthump Do show us what you come up with! I have only tried forging once, and just made a useful size bit of steel much, much smaller :rolmao: