Poll. Those who forge vs those who do stock removal.

Do you forge, use stock removal, or both?

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I forge only one knife from japan made ball bearing . But there is something lovely about it ....... to see how from piece of steel something nice is coming out .I love that knife ................most of all and it's not the best one I made.Rest is stock removal , maybe thirty of them .
 
I do this purely for fun, and I find the forging the most enjoyable part. If I had any intention of making any kind of money doing this (I've never sold anything) I could understand doing the stock removal path. It would be far quicker and easier to get a clean straight unblemished blade. The closest I've come to stock removal is for some I've forged to flat and forged the handle and point, but I did the beveling on the grinder. Anything "scandi grind" gets that treatment and I've done the same with others because I wanted more control of the bevel. I also have not made very many yet, so things could always change as I go.
 
Stock removal right now. Slowly acquiring forging equipment. With a 19 month old running around its nice to have a hobby that I can pick up and put down as needed. Having a coal fire going doesn't really allow for that. By the time he starts pre school I should be ready.
Until then I have no shortage of skills to learn on the stock removal side.
 
I do both. I'm thinking most who forge also do stock removal, as they don't forge knives to their finished state.

One of the reasons I LOVE knifemaking is there's so many different avenues to go down. So many different types of blades to make. So many different techniques to be used.

I find forging to be less limiting in some regards. It also has the potential to not be as wasteful of material. For instance, I'm making an integral knife right now from a round bar. That wouldn't be possible with stock removal. I'd have to start with a huge piece of blade stock and grind half of it away.

I like that you can do forge welding and elaborate pattern welds with forging. You can forge weld stainless, like with San Mai, but it's a real PITA.

Also, it's light years faster to heat treat simple carbon steels in a forge than using my kiln to do high alloyed steels. I can pretty much turn the forge on, set the quench oil on the hot plate, go inside and set the oven to preheat to 400f(for temper), go back to the forge and harden the blade, and then be back into the kitchen at about the same time as the oven finishes preheating.

Long story short, DO BOTH. Don't be intimidated by potential failure. The worst that can happen is you ruin a cheap piece of high carbon steel. Also, don't feel like you need an expensive anvil or forge to get the job done. Put a piece of railroad track on it's end(vertically) and make a simple two brick forge with a leaf burner. A lot of folks over look the reality of the situation by thinking they need an anvil with a hardened face. Is that a nice thing to have? Sure. But when steel is at forging temp it's a LOT softer than what you're gonna be hammering it on. Even if it's a $40 harbor freight anvil.


(Don't take that as me endorsing those Harbor Freight anvils.)
 
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E.Carlson said:
With a 19 month old running around its nice to have a hobby that I can pick up and put down as needed. Having a coal fire going doesn't really allow for that.
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Mine are 7 and 5 years old, so I'm a bit better shape than you ;) Even still, give some thought to propane as your fuel source. I started with a wood/charcoal forge, and it is harder to "fit in" forge time when needing to worry about fire start up and especially turn down time. After getting a propane forge I have had far more opportunities to forge just because I need smaller gaps of time to do so. You're at forge heat quickly and there's no more fire to worry about as soon as the gas is off. The other time saver is you absolutely need a shower after coal/charcoal.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
I do both. I'm thinking most who forge also do stock removal, as they don't forge knives to their finished state.

One of the reasons I LOVE knifemaking is there's so many different avenues to go down. So many different types of blades to make. So many different techniques to be used.

I find forging to be less limiting in some regards. It also has the potential to not be as wasteful of material. For instance, I'm making an integral knife right now from a round bar. That wouldn't be possible with stock removal. I'd have to start with a huge piece of blade stock and grind half of it away.

I like that you can do forge welding and elaborate pattern welds with forging. You can forge weld stainless, like with San Mai, but it's a real PITA.

Also, it's light years faster to heat treat simple carbon steels in a forge than using my kiln to do high alloyed steels. I can pretty much turn the forge on, set the quench oil on the hot plate, go inside and set the oven to preheat to 400f(for temper), go back to the forge and harden the blade, and then be back into the kitchen at about the same time as the oven finishes preheating.

Long story short, DO BOTH. Don't be intimidated by potential failure. The worst that can happen is you ruin a cheap piece of high carbon steel. Also, don't feel like you need an expensive anvil or forge to get the job done. Put a piece of railroad track on it's end(vertically) and make a simple two brick forge with a leaf burner. A lot of folks over look the reality of the situation by thinking they need an anvil with a hardened face. Is that a nice thing to have? Sure. But when steel is at forging temp it's a LOT softer than what you're gonna be hammering it on. Even if it's a $40 harbor freight anvil.


(Don't take that as me endorsing those Harbor Freight anvils.)
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Very inspiring! You described the forge and railroad track anvil I'm planning on building exactly! Loving the answers! Keep em coming!

Daniel.
 
Interesting thread. I'm 68 and retired. I putter with knives for fun, a hobby where I get to use some, relatively, expensive tools (Starrett, Mitutoyo, Foredom, Nicholson, Nicholson, Nicholson (I like files what can I say?) etc) I've collected over the years and make some utilitarian and fun things. That said, I live on the border of Chicago (very convenient and lotsa great chow). Living where I do somehow I don't think my neighbors (to say nothing of my wife (more later)) would appreciate the noise and grime I'd generate if I wanted to set up a forge (to say nothing of the local fire dept. and my insurance company). I've forged a bit and can weld some too but if I were to opt to convert over to less wood and more metal in my shop (which I can easily afford to do) my wife might object a bit, She likes having custom knitting gadgets made ON DEMAND and the occasional fanciful, exotic hardwood box handed over. So no forging (or much welding) in the foreseeable future for moi even if my shoulder could deal with it (which isn't a foregone conclusion). I can admire the work of bladesmiths a great deal (I differentiate forgers from stock removers btw) but I can't see myself achieving any level of skill at it ever.

My wife has surrendered a good chunk of the utility area in our basement (clean room) and our entire front garage (dirty room, and as opposed, to the back garage) to my workshops. She hasn't griped about running 220v electrical or air compressor lines or dust collector tubing. She might gripe if she saw a GLOWING forge or I needed to redo the concrete floor for a heavy machine. I'm not gonna test her forbearance on something frivolous. I can wish I had a friend nearby with a smithy set up for now.

Corey "synthesist" Gimbel
 
Stock Removal...as a retired machinist all I want to do is make chips and dust. It's a comfort zone thing.
 
I've made a dozen or so successful knives since I started a little over a year ago. I have forged all of them, and do clean up work with an underpowered 4X36 grinder.
 
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Mostly stock removal. Fewer ways to screw up the steel, and stock removal guys get more action. :rolleyes::rolleyes:

Seriously, it depends on the steel and the desired end result. Stainless and high alloy steels don't forge well.

Damascus and simple steels? Forge away!!!!
 
I do forge my fixed edge blades, and i do stock removal of my slipjoint knives...at least until i'd put my hands on a surface grinder :(
 
I guess you could say I do both, but mostly stock removal. I'm working on my first two forged bladed now. A Chinese vegetable cleaver and not sure on the second one yet. Still drawing out the steel from the original 3/4" thick piece of steel.
 
Forge for sure, but I am just a beginner knife maker and only do it for fun. I have been swinging a hammer professionally for more than 20 years and love shaping the steel. Tons of respect to all who make and sell the exquisite knives shown on this forum!
 
I do both but ALLWAYS looking for a reasion to fire up the forge. I find forging is alot more versatile and is much less dependent on stock size. It's nice to just have a big chunk of steel, chop it up and forge it into any blade you need. Plus there is the whole damascus thing that makes forging more then worth it.
 
I only do stock removal, but thought you guys that forge may want to see this.

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I do stock removal only. I would like to get into forging but since I make knives for a living, it's hard to find the time to forge. Plus I would need to invest in more equipment. I have forged a couple of blades with a friend.
Scott
 
I use the stock removal method currently, but will learn to forge in the future as money allows.
I built my own grinder if that tells you how cheap I am!

To me it does not matter what method you use if the end result has poor fit and finish, and isn't heat treated correctly. So the argument of "forging is better" kind of becomes a wash.
 
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