Basic Blacksmithing Projects, Part I

THIS is part 1 of what I hope to be a many part series on blacksmithing. In this part, I will go over the tools and equipment, plus making a basic rebar knife. For those of you who have not subscribed, now is a good time to do that.

TOOLS:
First you will need a forge, which is the heart and soul of this whole thing. There are still a few available you can buy, although it is a lot easier to build one. Check out my making the trap spring knife post to see a link to a swallow forge video on doing this. Be sure to use coal or charcoal in your forge, only they will burn hot enough to really forge.
For holding the metal while its hot, a pair or five of tongs are a must. You can find these at flea markets. It is best to go ahead and get a good anvil at the beginning, you wont regret it. These can be found at junk yards and bought online. You will also need a stand. If possible, you can cut a stump off at the right height, and fasten your anvil to that. If this feat is not possible, just a large log that is even at top and bottom is great. A quenching bucket is like a paint can, or other can filled with oil. If you are only working with medium steel (rebar), then water will work fine, but oil is a must for high-carbon steels. And it doesn't have to be special oil, just cooking oil or old car oil. All this does is keeps it from cracking when you harden it. Then grinders. A good bench grinder is a must and a belt sander with metal belts works fine to put a good high grind on your knife. Then last but not least, safety equipment. I use good calf leather gloves and clear safety glasses. When you are working with heavy metal, a good leather apron is a good guard against melting or burning your shirt. And those are the basic tools.

MAKING THE KNIFE:
To start with, get a 2' piece of rebar red hot in your forge.

nice and hot!

Then start flattening out about 5" at one end. Stop when its about 3/4", and square the sides off. It should end up being about 1/2" wide, and 1/8" thick.

It should end up being about 1/2" wide, and 1/8" thick.

handle shape

Get the whole flat end hot again, and curve it around the end of your anvil, like in the picture. That is the handle.

almost done

For the blade, go about 1" up from the beginning of the handle, and measure how big you want your blade. Then, with a hacksaw, cut it off. Now, go about 1" up from your handle again, and flatten and shape your blade, then, with angled blows, put a little taper on it.





When you have the desired shape, get it a dull red, and set it aside to cool, no water. after it's cool, it is very soft, and you can do what ever grinding you need. When that's done, put it BACK in your forge and get it a glowing red, and quench in oil. It is now very hard and brittle. We need to take some of the hardness out. Polish the knife blade, but quench about every 4 seconds, so you don't ruin the temper. Once it is shiny, grab the handle with vise grips, and put it spine DOWN in your forge. Do not turn on the billows. You will see a yellow, then a blue coming up the blade. When the yellow reaches the edge, quench it in water very quickly, NOT OIL. Your knife it now the correct hardness, so you may finish grinding, but keep it very cool, quenching every 2 or 3 seconds, then put an edge on it.

finished knives

Have Fun,

Caleb
P.S. please comment!!!!