Lines of the hand-forged and machine made blade

[golok]

I understand that a hand-forged blade does not have such clean and clinical lines like a blade that is cut by machine. That, of course, doesn't mean that the hand-forged knife is in any way inferior to the machine-made piece.

Is it the norm to find a hand-forged blade with its own distinctive look? I mean when you look at a knife, would you be able to tell me that is hand-forged or machine-made?

Anyway, what are the advantages of a hand-forged blade, if any?

 

[Laredo7mm]

Well, I think it all depends. I am sure there are all different levels of forging. I forge my own damascus, but do not do much forging to shape. Basically, after I get the billet completed, I use the stock removal method. I know there are smiths out there that can get the blade forged to within 90+ % of final form. I would not doubt if there are guys forging 100% of the knife, which would include profile and bevels.

But what I have seen is that most hand forged knives still see the grinder at some point. I think your best bet for seeing 100% forged knives is the Neo-Tribal makers. They are making some really neet stuff.

I will leave it to the more knowledgable people here to tell you the advantages of a forged knife.

Hope that helps.

 

[Will52100]

First, a forged blade and stock removeall blade can be identicle in aperance. I can't speak for everyone, but I try to round everything and give the blade a flow with no sharp edges anywhere but the cutting edge. To me a knife that has sharp lines or edges anywhere, with the exception of a saber type grind line or dagger, is unfinished.

I have noticed that a lot of stock removeall blades have little or no distal taper, while a lot of forged blades do. This may not be aparent on small blades but on the bigger ones it is. Not to say that all are one way or the other, depends on the smith or grinder and the look he's going for.

There is no real easy way to tell that a blade is forged or just ground out, even the hammer finishes could be aplied to a stock removeall blade. I forge mine to about 90 percent shape, tange, bevels, tip, ricasso,distal tapper, the whole knifes there, just thicker. I then take it to the grinder and maybe it's just me, but it looks no diferent from one of my stock removeall blades, just less stock to be removed.

One way to tell with damascus is to look at the pattern. If the pattern follows the shape of the blade and gets finner at the edge and point it is probly forged to shape.

I might get in trouble here, but which is superior, stock removeall or forged? Sometimes the forged and sometimes the stock removeall. There is less to go wrong with stock removeall, but with proper forging and heat treat some steels show a marked advantage to forgeing over stock removeall. Also if it's forge to shape it's slightly stronger due to the grain following shape of the blade. In real life you will probly never notice much differance though. What it all boils down to is a combination of proper heat treat, edgeomitry, and desighn, with heat treat being the most important aspect in eigther to me.

This is all just observation and guess work on my part, so take it with a grain of salt!

 

[DaQo'tah Forge]

golok , Hi this is DaQo'tah

Im new to knife making, so I only know what I have read from books. But in Knife books like "KNIFE TALK" Mr. Ed Fowler talks about the difference between the normal stock removel blade, and a good forged blade.

Now on the "Outside" the two different blades might look the same, but the heat treatments that happen to the forged blade can really work to make the forged blade out-cut the stock removel blade.

But, it is not always true that "every" forged blade can "always" out-cut other blades. It seems to depend on the skills of the knife maker to bring out the best in the forged blade.

Now all of what I have writen above is what I have learned out of books,,,,here now is what I have learned on my own...


In most of the knife making books I have read that are teaching about stock removel, they always seem to use a steel that must be sent out in the mail to a company to do the special heat treatments that the type of steel needs.

The reason for this is that many type of stock removel steel are far to hard to heat treat correctly for the Average Guy in a small shop.

But to my point of view, sending my steel to some stranger to heat treat for me would almost be like cheating. I would not be able to look people in the face and tell them that "I made this blade myself" , if I knew that the blades ability to cut had little to do with my work, but was just due to the efforts of someone I have never met.

My blades must show my work...

 

[Guy Thomas]

The biggest and possibly only consistent advantage of forging over stock removal is the greater range of blade shape and size that can be achieved from the same sized stock. A smith can make a piece of metal thicker or thinner, longer or wider and can add curves to the blade and handle that would require much wider stock than usual for a stock removal knife blade. As Will pointed out distal taper is easier to add while forging than during stock removal. Forging also allows the use of steels not commonly available to stock removalists simply because they are often only available in odd sized stock.

I believe that a stock removal blade made of, lets say 1084, can be made to perform as well as a forged blade of 1084 if the heat treat is done correctly. In reality the heat treat of a forged blade begins when the steel is first put into the forge before a hammer even touches it so consequently there is a greater range of time and oppurtunity to mess things up also. That said, a skilled smith can add many desireable qualities to a blade through a combination of mechanical and thermal manipulation of the steel.

The main thing is forging is just plain fun and will test your mettle to achieve the desired results. Fire, hammer, tongs that actually work and a sweet anvil, what more could you ask for?

 

[Epsilon]

I agree with everything Silent said. Couldn't have expressed that opinion better myself. I favor neither in the name of "better", except that forging is a hell of a lot more fun.

I make my forged blades look just like how I used to grind them out, when I was only doing stock removal. Currently, I forge to shape at least 90% and then they go to the grinder to get nice, clean, sharp lines. I.e bevels, distal taper, etc. Plus, you still have to remove the scale and decarb anyway.