First steps - forging knives

[benenglish]

I sent this to my customer a couple of hours ago...

I've seen people opine that traditional cleavers shouldn't be sharp, that they're for chopping bones and sharpness will be quickly lost, that only strength is of importance in a traditional cleaver. Be prepared for the naysayers.

I, OTOH, really, really like that. Then again, I'm a fan of those Chinese cleavers that aren't really cleavers just very sharp knives with the silhouette of a small cleaver. So, yeah, this look like the best of both worlds to me and I really, really like it.

Am I repeating myself?

 

[Hoji]

I've seen people opine that traditional cleavers shouldn't be sharp, that they're for chopping bones and sharpness will be quickly lost, that only strength is of importance in a traditional cleaver. Be prepared for the naysayers.

Get both.

 

[General Zod]

I'm late to the party, just found this thread. I just replaced all the leaf springs from one of my trailers. Can you do anything custom with steel from a leaf spring?

Sent from my SM-A135U1 using Tapatalk

Yes, definitely. Leaf springs are typically made of 5160 spring steel. It's perfect for blade making.

 

[General Zod]

I thought you weren't supposed to cut paper since it's so abrasive.

If I did my heat treatment right it shouldn't be an issue. Remember, my test blades survived a cinder block...

 

[General Zod]

I've seen people opine that traditional cleavers shouldn't be sharp, that they're for chopping bones and sharpness will be quickly lost, that only strength is of importance in a traditional cleaver. Be prepared for the naysayers.

I, OTOH, really, really like that. Then again, I'm a fan of those Chinese cleavers that aren't really cleavers just very sharp knives with the silhouette of a small cleaver. So, yeah, this look like the best of both worlds to me and I really, really like it.

Am I repeating myself?

I figure a cutting tool should cut, especially in the kitchen. What good is being able to cut a bone if you make a mess of the meat getting to it?

 

[General Zod]

Get both.

I like to try to make both in one blade...

 

[General Zod]

Size contrast between the finished cleaver (I did more sanding today) and Hoji's bonechopper in the making.

 

[Axxe55]

Size contrast between the finished cleaver (I did more sanding today) and Hoji's bonechopper in the making.

View attachment 364924

we really need to build you a 2x72 belt grinder it will make grindingyour knives so much easier

 

[General Zod]

we really need to build you a 2x72 belt grinder it will make grindingyour knives so much easier

No argument here. The 4x36 is much, much better than trying to do it by hand but...its limitations are many. I can't even consider a knife with a downward curve like a kukri, and sharpening is...stressful. To get a decent plunge line I've resorted to using magnets to hold a 1/4" thick piece of steel down to the platen and run the belt over that so it's raised up a bit. That's also the only way I can get a slack belt to round and smooth corners.

 

[Axxe55]

No argument here. The 4x36 is much, much better than trying to do it by hand but...its limitations are many. I can't even consider a knife with a downward curve like a kukri, and sharpening is...stressful. To get a decent plunge line I've resorted to using magnets to hold a 1/4" thick piece of steel down to the platen and run the belt over that so it's raised up a bit. That's also the only way I can get a slack belt to round and smooth corners.

regardless of the size of the grinder you need a decent sized work table on the grinder that's why i made mine biger than when i originally built the grinder

 

[General Zod]

regardless of the size of the grinder you need a decent sized work table on the grinder that's why i made mine biger than when i originally built the grinder

Right now I've got an old dresser masquerading as a work bench, but I can always build a table to suit my needs. I've got a couple of spots left where one could go.

 

[Axxe55]

Right now I've got an old dresser masquerading as a work bench, but I can always build a table to suit my needs. I've got a couple of spots left where one could go.

actually iwas referring to the work tsble that is mounted directly to th belt grinder itselfmy first one was abou 6"x6" new one is now twice that size i'm fixing to add a tilt feature to the work table for grinding the bevels

 

[General Zod]

actually iwas referring to the work tsble that is mounted directly to th belt grinder itselfmy first one was abou 6"x6" new one is now twice that size i'm fixing to add a tilt feature to the work table for grinding the bevels

Oh nice! Yeah, I've got nowhere to mount a table - the one that came with the grinder is cheap and flimsy. I have to do all my grinds by hand - way more difficult and nerve-wracking.

 

[Axxe55]

Oh nice! Yeah, I've got nowhere to mount a table - the one that came with the grinder is cheap and flimsy. I have to do all my grinds by hand - way more difficult and nerve-wracking.

WHY IT'S A GOOG IDEA TO BUIL AND CONFIGURE YOUR GRINDER TO YOUR PERSONAL NEEDS

 

[General Zod]

Hoji's bonechopper continues to come into shape. We're almost done with the forging part of the.process and into the grinding and drilling.




And the smaller cleaver had been shipped. I thought I'd share the blade guard I made for it so it hopefully won't shred all its packing material (it slices bubble wrap and closed cell foam like a damn lightsaber) and wind up rattling around cutting the box. That would be bad. So I made it a muzzle. Hoji, I'll make one of these for yours, too.

 

[kbaxter60]

Started on attaching the handle on the reasonably sized cleaver today. I'll be grinding the metal bolsters down to match the handle shape, putting in the walnut scales, and hopefully finishing and sharpening tomorrow. We'll see how far I get.

I'll also be doing more forging on the humongous cleaver, getting the handle all the way in place and refining its shape.

View attachment 362530 View attachment 362529

So how humongous is that thing?
Could you take a pic with a 1911 next to it, for scale?

 

[General Zod]

So how humongous is that thing?
Could you take a pic with a 1911 next to it, for scale?

LOL I might. From spine to cutting edge is just over 4 inches. Overall it's slightly longer than 11 inches. In the linked videos (and in the one I'll be working on tomorrow night) there are shots of me holding it before it went into the forge. But here are some screenshots from the coming video to give you an idea. These pics are, of course, from the beginning of the past weekend's work - before the curved cutting edge and the cleanup on the blade and handle. The handle is also slightly longer now, and I've really refined that cleanout where the index finger can rest up next to the blade.





Also, the steel is still nearly 1/4" thick.

 

[kbaxter60]

LOL I might. From spine to cutting edge is just over 4 inches. Overall it's slightly longer than 11 inches. In the linked videos (and in the one I'll be working on tomorrow night) there are shots of me holding it before it went into the forge. But here are some screenshots from the coming video to give you an idea. These pics are, of course, from the beginning of the past weekend's work - before the curved cutting edge and the cleanup on the blade and handle. The handle is also slightly longer now, and I've really refined that cleanout where the index finger can rest up next to the blade.

View attachment 366982

View attachment 366981 View attachment 366980

Also, the steel is still nearly 1/4" thick.

Thanks! The video and these pics cleared it up. For some reason in that earlier pic, it looked a bit stretched. I thought the "blade" length might be 10-12 inches...

ETA- I like the look of that profile.
Kinda wedge-like!

 

[General Zod]

It's a beast. And it's feeling like it'll be very nicely balanced. I'm going to try a couple of things on it to make it really nice in the hand so Hoji enjoys using it.

 

[candcallen]

LOL I might. From spine to cutting edge is just over 4 inches. Overall it's slightly longer than 11 inches. In the linked videos (and in the one I'll be working on tomorrow night) there are shots of me holding it before it went into the forge. But here are some screenshots from the coming video to give you an idea. These pics are, of course, from the beginning of the past weekend's work - before the curved cutting edge and the cleanup on the blade and handle. The handle is also slightly longer now, and I've really refined that cleanout where the index finger can rest up next to the blade.

View attachment 366982

View attachment 366981 View attachment 366980

Also, the steel is still nearly 1/4" thick.

That will make some chop suey.

Or lamb chops
Pork chops
Ribs
Half hams
Ham fists if the user ain't careful.

@Hoji can really pull off the serial killer Halloween costume next year.