Thanks for checking out my latest video. I ventured into unknown territory with this blade and I was surprised by the result. This knife is available for purchase, here: www.watersforgellc.com/produc...
Great looking knife! As a 40 yrs+ knifemaker I learned a long time ago I could take a blade out of the tempering furnace at some point near the end of the cycle and while still hot and not letting it cool too much do all the straightening that needs to be done, then put the blade back in to finish the cycle.
Thank you! 40 years is long time, that’s awesome! Yeah I’ve seen that technique! I currently temper in a kitchen oven (super accurate haha) so the blue back method is my go to. I also try to get it straight in that window right after quench.
If you polish the faces of your hammers and anvil you can forge more and grind less. Planishing out the blade means less scale to grind off and reduces stresses in the metal that cause warping in the hardening/tempering phase.
Planishing is an excellent skill to have, but the real time saver is in the finish forging. It's always faster to forge thin than it is to grind heavy. I've been forging knives for over 10 years now. I've been through a lot of phases of hammer and tool types and maintenance levels and during all of the different experiments I've done planishing with everything from a custom blacksmith hammer with a mirror polish on a perfectly milled flat anvil, to a 100 year old rusty 4 pound sledge that was used for concrete stakes for 20 years on a piece of unfinished railroad track with all it's scars and pits. It honestly makes very little difference as long as it's not too rough. Obviously if it's smooth it will be better than if it's chipped and pitted, but there is no reason to polish the tool faces or to make them anywhere near perfect. You just need to hit it with a belt sander somewhere around 150-250 grit till it's not mangled and ugly anymore, and then get to work. Honestly, having a good handle on time and temperature, and preventing scale from building up is far more important. Surface scaring from forge scale will happen no matter how polished your hammer is and it's generally worse than any irregularities that you're creating with your hammer (assuming you have good control and technique).
That is a very interesting concept and design right there. Certainly not your conventional pattern of blade for sure. But damn it works well. Well done on that. Very well done.
Sweet knife mate.... I actually live in mallee stump territory and love the this beautiful wood, but, as you found it's amazingly tough to work with.... love the idea, style and look of this knife. Well done m8..
the reason is the fullers reduce the surface area of the knife that is exposed to the potato therefore breaking surface tension and so the material doesn't stick
@@mattwatersbladesmith you are welcome. I have been making knives,mostly throwing knives,,for a couple of years. A lot of stock removal. Leaf springs have been kind to me. I am gradually getting into the forging part. Thanks for your videos,they are quite helpful
Great video. You should look into getting some poundo board from the craft store. It has pretty good grip for keeping the sandpaper in place so you don't have to hold onto it as aggressively. It has just a little bit of give without losing any support, it comes in all kinds of weights and thicknesses and densities, and it seems to last forever. I think I first heard it from a Walter Sorels video and I've been using it every since. I like to make little wood pieces that match all the knife shapes and make sure they have a good handle on them and then I just gorilla glue some poundo board to the contact face. Really saves your fingers and allows for accurate, safe and secure sanding.
You might want to heat treat and temper after you grind the final grooves of the shape. Also, I like the scallops that are perpendicular to the long groove you used, called a Granton edge sometimes, that is also a food release. My favorite is a Japanese knife with a hammered finish, and if the hammer dents are deep enough, you still get the food release effect, and a cool finish. This is all extra credit stuff anyway, and you made a damn fine knife in this video
Very well done, especially as a proof of concept. I didn't personally need the descriptions of what each step was, but I still find it nice, especially to introduce to others--such as my kids--who aren't [as] knowledgeable on these things. A tip for hand sanding hollows/fullers: If you take a piece of wood (for example, or really any substrate that is stiff enough for a backing material) and make it into an oval cross-section, you'll find it can work out for a number of different fuller widths or hollow radii. An old piece of oval-shaped axe handle, made from hickory or even fiberglass, might be an excellent candidate for such a task. I learned this when I was hand sanding auto body parts after spray priming, though in my particular case I was using a foam-backed sanding block instead. This way I didn't need to keep finding different sizes of PVC pipe, etc. to use as the complex curves of a door panel or fender changed.
@@0num4 Thanks for the tip Matt..will also certainly bear that in mind..❗🤔🙇♂️ I find most of you Bladesmiths in USA very sharing with info as opposed to here in Africa..⁉️🤔🙇♂️🇿🇦
What I have found also works really well is a piece of hard foam rubber. Something like a nerf dart but with much more denser consistency To it. Follows most or any hollow groove easily. Without you having to clamp down on it to hold it. Less stressful on the fingers in the long run.
@@bernardhill1622bud. I’m also in SA which smiths have you tried reaching out to for advice or info. Most of the guys I’ve come across are very forthcoming with info to beginners.
I wonder how much the upper fuller is contributing to the release aspect. It looks like the combination of the hallow grind on one side, with the convex grind on the other, is what is mainly responsible. It would be really interesting to experiment with that. Of course, the fuller helps with weight, which is always a good thing. Nice work!
Upper fuller, probably not contributing much. I mostly just really wanted to grind a narrow fuller 😂 I think you're spot on, the convex matched by a fuller on the other side is what gives it the release. Thanks for the comment!
@@mattwatersbladesmith is a challenge for sure a friend of mine makes them in a previous mold and we hydraulic press it to have a general shape more closed to the desire one
That turned out incredible! Great video, I recently got that grinder but definitely need to get used to operating it. It’s impressive how crisp those grinds turned out. What light are you using on the grinder if you don’t mind me asking?
Thank you!! 🙏 I switch to new belts so fast haha, it helps with getting crispy grinds. And I think it’s a sewing light off of Amazon? I don’t remember exactly, but it was like 12 bucks!
Nice work man and greetings from germany. How thick is the spine compared to the classic flatgrind chefsknife. Dont u loose slicyness due to the thicker blade?
Interesting. I wonder if the food would release just as well with only the lower 2/3 of right hand side of the blade hollow ground, but the rest of the knife flat ground.
Really interesting idea for kitchen knives. but if you change the bolster to a lighter one, won’t it become more convenient to work with such a knife? ))
do you have to forge the knife a little thicker to account for the hollows? I like to forge as close to final shape as possible, but I may have to give this a try some time!
Great concept! + no powerhammer + quench at around good temperature + freehand gerinding + no stick cutting. Congrats! Greetings from Hungary, Budapest. What steel did you use?
@@mattwatersbladesmith How does the 1084 compare to the 1083 Shovel Spring Steel i used to supply to the Lawnblade manufacturers in 1976 which was a replacement for EN42F..⁉️🤔 What i do know is if your hardening & tempering is not done correctly you've got a potential foot amputating blade on hand..lots of shrapnel etc.❗🙄🇿🇦🏴
That's awesome. I wish the town I lived in was a little bit bigger so that it could support something along these lines. Great job on the knife and thanks for sharing.
Can I ask ... When you put borax on your billet, why do you not put it on over the bowl so the bits that miss go back in the bowl and not on the floor? Seems like a waste
Thank you! Yeah it really is one of the most important steps. I was taught how to normalize in the forge by Master Smith J.W. Randall and Kevin Cashen. Invaluable in my smithing career
making a kitchen knife witch so much chimic products is getting me out of my shoes. All the vegetables hurting this blade will remember of the chemical particles used during realisation... Have you ever thought to use more natural products ?
