Forging a Solid Steel Knife

#forgedtofinish
A bit of an experiment this one, with a bitter sweet ending.
I wanted to work on my forging technique, as well as practicing my bladesmithing. As you can see, with mixed results.
Hope you enjoy!
Music: Bensound.com

[@TyrellKnifeworks]

I was very impressed you got such a nice handle contour. People have a hard time doing that with wood on a grinder, nevermind with a hammer on steel! My one takeaway from this video... power tools work much differently in the UK than over here. 😜

[@PJTForging]

Thanks Denis! I was definitely concentrating on, and putting a lot more effort into the handle than the blade... which I guess became evident. 😅 I have no idea what you mean with that last comment. 😉

[@brysonalden5414]

@@PJTForging Yes, I actually plug my angle grinder in over here. Clearly not needed over there.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Great video. Its a lot of work to do a forge to finish. Its not easy at all. Remember theres no such thing as a mistake only a smaller knife lol

[@PJTForging]

Never has this phrase been so true. 😂

[@Bridgercraft]

Nice work! You really went savage with the jokes in this video too, love it!

[@PJTForging]

I thought I was going fairly tame on the jokes. 😅

[@Trollsky]

Nice video, enjoyed it a lot !

[@PJTForging]

Thanks brother! 🤘🔥

[@White_devil1980]

Great royal family reference 😉🤔

[@PJTForging]

😉😂

[@richardhazell2601]

As ever, cool work and entertaining. What! No welding!!!

[@PJTForging]

If I could, I would! 😅

[@stephengriffith1605]

That’s a kick in the teeth after all that work it has a crack. What a knife it is. Keep up the great work

[@PJTForging]

Thanks Stephen! There may have been a few choice words off camera when I found it. 😂

[@DavidRDumke]

I Need to replicate this design in my next knife fast! hahaha Great Job!!!! Beautiful design

[@theriversexperience9383]

Awesome job, it might not have worked out perfectly but it did give you some great experience. I'm happy that you just let it be and kept it how it was. Not every build needs to be an EDC of some sort.

[@PJTForging]

Yeah, whilst it was a bit annoying to get so close, I'm still happy with the overall piece. If this had been a knife intended for use, there would have been a lot of rude words said. 😂

[@TooTall553]

Outstanding video 😢😭👍

[@PJTForging]

Thanks! 😅

[@brysonalden5414]

Thanks for the Grand Tour of your process (yes, even on this side of the pond some of us know who Jeremy Clarkson is!). I have no suggestions as to why it cracked; sometimes I think it's just plain bad luck.

[@PJTForging]

Thanks Bryson! The only thing I can think of was when I put it in the vice after quenching, it may have cracked as the metal continued to stress.

[@farscape3100]

you can always use it to carve your christmas turkey this year 😉

[@PJTForging]

The turkey might break it. 😅

[@thespartan2224]

Very nicely made, mostly, forged to finish knife. Bit of a shame about that crack, would have been sweet to see it in action. But still a very nice hanging piece for sure.

[@PJTForging]

Thanks! Like I say, win some, lose some. But I got what I wanted out of this project. 😁

[@thespartan2224]

@@PJTForging at the end of the day, that's the important part, regardless of any imperfections that cropped up at the end. Sometimes you gotta fail so that you can progress/succeed.

[@r4dwolf]

Great work, despite that little hiccup 😁

[@PJTForging]

Thanks! Leaves room for improvement. 😅

[@r4dwolf]

@@PJTForging we had a sign ar our school workshop, over the forge that said "We don't make mistakes, we do variations" and I think it could apply here too ❤️

[@scottjerome2786]

Weird but very true!

[@CrudeButEfficient]

Nicely done, what a chunky monkey of an handle! And thanks for all the angle grinder tips, turns out I've been using it wrong all these years...

[@PJTForging]

Everyday is a school day! 😂😉

[@CrudeButEfficient]

@@PJTForging You just have to choose your teachers wisely...

[@stufq]

More, more pretty knifes pls 🤭

[@PJTForging]

I will see what I can do!

[@whuop-wadeshumbleopinion625]

Great job! Sorry about that crack. It looks mean as hell though.

[@PJTForging]

Thanks mate! Like I said, I could grind the crack out? But I like the mean. 😁

[@whuop-wadeshumbleopinion625]

@@PJTForging is there a way I could contact you via email? If you wouldn’t mind.

[@sharpestbulb]

I was thinking as you were normalising the knife, I am pretty sure that O1 air hardens a little and its better to let it cool slowly in a hot environment (or an insulated one so it doesn't lose its heat too quickly). Might have contributed to the crack. Looked good though in a rustic sort of way, is a sword on the horizon?

[@PJTForging]

No 01 definitely hardens by oil quenching. I think perhaps I didn't have the oil pre-heated enough, or it had cooled down too much when I clamped it in the vice after. Sometimes it's just bad luck. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@sharpestbulb]

@@PJTForging I know you oil quench it to harden it, I meant that leaving it out in the air cools it a bit too quickly. Though this is remembering stuff from prepandemic days talking to a friend over a forge so might be mistaken

[@addisonmoncelle5022]

@@sharpestbulb There are a number of tool steels (A2, D2) that are air hardening. You may be thinking of one of them? I don't think I've heard of O1 having issues in air, but I may be wrong.

[@sharpestbulb]

@@addisonmoncelle5022 I didn't mean to suggest air hardening to the state D2 does, just to a point that you don't want during forging. I looked into it afterwards to check my sanity. You should allow O1 to cool slowly when going through a normalising cycle, but it hardening in the air somewhat is mostly anecdotal

[@big-bricks5880]

Legit.

[@James60226]

Who cares if you cheated lol it’s your knife and it looks awesome

[@PJTForging]

Thanks James! :)

[@James60226]

No problem, so sad to see the crack at the end. I keep telling my wife I need to get into knife making. One day

[@samcoolbaugh7754]

Im curious, is it of any consequence to put a project through more than three normalizing cycles just to be sure? Is it different for different blade designs/steel types?

[@ilee3544]

I knew I was using my angle grinder wrong..

[@PJTForging]

It takes many years of practice to get to this level of skill. 😉😅

[@threecatforge]

Such a shame about the crack. The knife has a real post apocalyptic look to it. Very brutish.