Forging a desk knife!

This project stemmed from a small blade I forged years ago and a chunk of amorphous burl. There was such a positive reaction to the first that I decided I would make another, and show you how I did it!
This one, and others like it will be available on my etsy store:
www.etsy.com/a...
Check out my Patreon:
/ samtownsbladesmith
all my other links can be found here:
il.ink/samtownsbladesmith

[@ValhallaIronworks]

I really love the springy look of a rectangular twist profile. Really makes the twists on the more delicate pieces pop that much more. Nice work!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate, yeah I like them too!

[@charliebowen5071]

This style is often referred to as a Celtic knife.... this is hands down the best natural organic knife of this style I have yet seen... this is how a Celtic knife should look... proportional and aesthetically flowing.... beautiful... then the burl as a holder... I’d kill for that on my desk!!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate! I have made quite a few over the years, my second video was of a Celtic Blacksmith's knife! This one is actually still available on my etsy store!

[@j.r.5130]

Just a story about the file you made it out of. The Wiltshire File Company was founded prior in 1938 because its founder predicted the war and believed that Australia relied too much on imported goods and that manufacturing during the war would be therefore crippled. So he started the company for this reason. I believe it is out of business now. Beautiful knife by the way

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks for that! Yeah Wiltshire was bought out and incorporated into the Nicholson tool company.

[@neonturtle6480]

I love the way you made the knife holder, it almost has a rotting apple look which gives the knife character, like someone planned on eating lunch and forgot about it

[@vanillanut8908]

I love it!! Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!! Now I wanna make one. lol

[@sidehillforging]

My goodness! Looks awesome! Your stand looks like a piece of rotten fruit like apple! Thanks for the great video!

[@lancemillward1912]

The cutest knife. Fiddly stuff to forge and grind I bet

[@californiagunner7020]

ooo that's a tiny knife...good work there

[@lukecope4212]

Love the knife, but I would highly suggest avoiding glass containers for quenching. They are prone to cracking from those flames and next thing you know you have a wave of flaming oil all over you and everything in the area.

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Yeah, this was for demonstrative purposes, my usual quench container is steel. Thanks for watching!

[@odinallfather4560]

nice knife Sam really great use of the basic techniques on display

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate!

[@liamsheehan4514]

That is a gorgeous piece of work I’m extremely impressed

[@nugnug63]

Wow Sam love your work , I'm just about to set myself up to do some knife making ,,, really love this desk knife saw raw and rustic ,can't wait to watch you other videos , keep on inspiring ....Damon cheers

[@gerjaison]

Beautiful work!

[@GaryForgingOn]

Extremely Nice, Sam. Love the knife and the holder.

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate!

[@Moondog-wc4vm]

Really liked this knife! I've done a few mild steel letter openers in the viking style, but not seen one made from carbon steel and heat treated before. It looks really tidy, and the burl holder is outstanding! First time I've seen your channel and immediately subbed. Looking forward to some more great content sir!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate!

[@aidenonfire]

This is wonderful man!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks!

[@sbjennings99]

Awesome informational educational video experience Y'alls

[@random40s]

Dang man... That's awesome man. I like it a lot! Very slick little blade. I do hope I can catch up with you some if I can get enough signal for the live stream. Fantastic work as always man. 👍👍

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate, hope to see you there!

[@nickd5943]

Very nice looking knife. It would make a great everyday carry knife.

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

It's a little small in the handle for comfortable utility use, but a slightly scaled up version works well! I make them in all sizes

[@jansternv.5367]

Nice and clean!

[@VictorRodriguez-ue5bp]

Hola !!! Woow ! Que bonito trabajo con son limas para metal pequeñas, que a visto! me gustó mucho y el detalle de porta cuchillo muy bien !! Saludos me gustó mucho Felicidades desde México!

[@jonkwilloughby]

Great work, thanks for sharing!

[@jamesball7322]

Would look great on anyone’s desk ,good work bro

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate!

[@georgebecker1191]

Very nice! Looks cool

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Cheers mate!

[@blackthornknives]

Great job!

[@shdluft1727]

Oh god, you just gave me the inspiration to get back to my forge

[@shdluft1727]

Don't mind if i do the same knife)

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Glad to hear! Go for it!

[@shdluft1727]

@@SamTownsBladesmith i just did it, for my first twist im proud but the tip of the tang cracked, i try another and its fail too, probably bad steel. I will try again when i will get better steel. (I get back to forge immediately after i post the comment 🤣)

[@shdluft1727]

@@SamTownsBladesmith i succeed to make the handle. I forge the blade tomorrow)

[@jimbojet8728]

Well done. Great. Thanks.

[@louisianausmc0331]

I gotta get one!!

[@stephenholmes4432]

You make that look easy

[@SteveWrightDesign]

Really cool little project, will try this when my first forge arrives next month!!!

[@romannicolau5533]

stephen wright how did it go?

[@SteveWrightDesign]

Roman Nicolau it actually went quite well!! The first attempt snapped when twisting but the second attempt went great!!

[@holler8594]

That is a sweet little knife. Burl looks good also

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate!

[@ark9959]

Really enjoyed the video! Subscribed!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Glad to hear, thankyou!

[@brownstonecustomcabinetry5309]

Dude you are a beast with the hammer

[@LockNLoad777]

I'm a new subscriber and I am impressed with your work!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks for subscribing, I'm glad you enjoy it!

[@rab337]

Great video. Great artisan work.

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thankyou!

[@h.schmid1965]

Very nice Job! 👍🏻

[@michaelrobertson8795]

I've used those small Nichols files before they work great and they take a real good polish.

[@arondennis4810]

That design could be used for a neck carry, with a sheath , also! Awesome, Sam!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

I have thought of doing a small run of them as neck knives. We shall see. Thanks mate!

[@garrinsonlopez5275]

Nice work!!!

[@kickfrip420]

first time viewer and instantly liked subscribed and saved to be my first forge attempt one day great content =]

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed it!

[@Mwhbmnabjms]

Nice piece

[@tasbutcher6395]

Love it! Awesome work!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate!

[@DeliberateGeek]

Hey Sam. As always, some really great work and content! I'm curious about the finish on the handle. It looks a bit textured, though it's hard to tell for certain. I would think that any texturing left from the original file teeth would have been long since forged out of that part of the knife. However, looking at it closeup on Instagram, it almost looks like the texture still left from the file teeth. Is that simply what I'm seeing, or was there something else that I missed or that wasn't filmed?

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Hey Stephen, the texture you see is indeed the file teeth! The forging process flattens the teeth down, but unless you forge weld them down the texture will remain. I like the look so I keep it. Thanks for the question!

[@stefanmierke4801]

Wow, this is burl? I mean translated from english to german it says only root wood. (Wurzelholz) Is it a certain tree? It looks really great with that shiny finish. The knife is also really fine looking. Great work. So it seems I need a hell lot of rasps and files :D

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Burl is the lumpy bulges you see on trees where a branch that has broken off heals over. Any tree can have burl, in this case it's Australian jarrah

[@hannemannironworks1651]

Very cool but I gotta say from the thumbnail the wood looks like a rotting apple lol good job man!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Haha that's what everyone says, thanks mate

[@mje3055]

Very nice

[@PourMeAnother]

Beautifully done!! New subscriber and new to blacksmithing. What type of wood was the burl that you used? It looks amazing!!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate! Welcome to the channel, it was a jarrah burl offcut

[@cliffordbaldwin9157]

I love that knife ! ! ! !

[@18deadmonkeys]

that was very satisfying to watch

[@peteremerson4150]

Nice!😃👍

[@jefferyyancey1616]

Very cool u inspire

[@ronan66]

Awesome knife lad it turned out great! I was wondering how come I often see blade smiths exclude the handle of the knife when quenching? If its a long answer no need to type it all out though I'll surely find out over time!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Thanks mate, the main reason most knifemakers don't quench their tangs because there's no need, the handle doesn't need to hold an edge, and it's better for it to be annealed so that it won't snap under pressure

[@annotten7413]

Other than the fact that there was way to much talking, this was a great video- thanks for sharing. Also thanks for no annoying music

[@veteranironoutdoors8320]

Why did you cut the tang off and not forge it into the piece? Were you going for a small knife and that would have given too much material?

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

That's the one. I was looking for a small blade, and didn't need the extra material

[@marcelofigueirafigueira4361]

Amazing

[@mattwyeth3156]

Really nice little knife is it ground to 20° on the bevel

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Roughly, maybe a little more acute

[@auberichard5793]

tres beau video et un super de travaille

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Mercí beaucoup!

[@Sova_Poliyrnaiy...]

Симпатичная работа!!!!

[@lalk8104]

I'm in the process of making a video so similar to this one

[@lalk8104]

Love your videos

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

@@lalk8104 cool! I'll have to check it out when you upload!

[@josemarialvesjunior8134]

Y from Brasil . Belo trabalho

[@kdarkwynde]

What kind of wood was the burl, and what did you finish it with? That's beautiful.

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

It is jarrah burl, and I just used marine varnish

[@MAFahim-my3tq]

nice

[@ironninja9873]

Nice job ! Wts the name of this padron of bizantine Bracelet that you use ?

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

I'm not sure I completely understand your question, but my friend Alex Norton at Valhalla Ironworks made my chainmail bracelet for me, he has an etsy store: etsy.me/34gfVzF

[@tubbysnowman]

That bit of burl looks a bit like a half eaten petrified apple.

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

It kind of does!

[@fourteencrows1244]

I thought the same thing and was like how long did bro wait to take the pic? Great video.

[@liamsheehan4514]

I’m some what certain you should go against the blade on the higher grits to

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

There are quite a few different techniques for sharpening, the end goal is material abrasion, so the direction doesn't entirely matter. I follow the style set out by the japanese bladesmith I learned from, especially with the soft waterstones which are susceptible to edge grabbing. Thanks for watching!

[@garethbaus5471]

That burl sortove looks like a piece of rotten fruit. Burl sortove has that look by nature, and shaping it too be almost round has that effect. Still a nice holder, I just wouldn't want to eat it.

[@josephallegar7748]

What rotary bit did you use?

[@animusreptorcrafting]

that piece of burl looks a lot like an old partially rotted apple

[@НАХОДКИИЗПРОШЛОГО-о3ц]

Super

[@amosrogers840]

When i seen the video in my feed i thought why did he use a rotten apple to prop the knife on lol but it turned out nice.

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Haha thanks mate, yeah quite a few people made that connection!

[@Chris-sv7xq]

Consider this hot item idea stolen sir Compliments to the chef

[@afrocatpro]

Who else thought the burl block was a rotten apple at first take?

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Quite a few people haha

[@cliffordbaldwin9157]

How much ? Wood it takes to get one ?

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

This one is still available on my etsy store! www.etsy.com/au/shop/samtownsbladesmith

[@davidmir2175]

Good job man . I new

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Welcome! And thankyou 😁

[@anhduc2161985]

I want to buy this knife

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

It's available on my etsy store! www.etsy.com/au/listing/724799384/hand-forged-blacksmith-desk-knife-in

[@joaocastilho3252]

Aaawwwwsome, what's the measurement of this little beauty?

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

She's 15cm (6") overall

[@marcosferreras7772]

Why you cut the back of the file at the begining

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

Because I wanted less material for the knife

[@oithuong1333]

cho mình hỏi lọ nước đó là gì vậy bạn

[@evanlebaron9465]

Name your price!

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

I'll have another couple done in a bit, these go for $120aud +p/h

[@evanlebaron9465]

Wow great price! I'll probably just end up making my own, but thanks for the idea!😎👌🏻

[@lucianoassis3797]

Vc fazer espada tbm

[@АндрейШанчук-ш4у]

Крассава

[@Pvenir]

4:51 метал сжог ннах

[@coreywilliams8816]

I'm a potato

[@SamTownsBladesmith]

As am I

[@mje3055]

Very nice