Point forgeing

[deker]

I've always forged the corners back in at a 45 degree angle and then drawn the point down. It may have something to do with the teachers I've had, but that's just the way I learned. Every time I try to preform in any way it ends up horribly.

I also learned a different method for the ricasso. I was originally taught to never touch the ricasso with a hammer. "If you don't hit it, it'll stay square". What I do instead is to set the steel at the near side, left corner of my anvil with ricasso hanging off of the anvil and "pinch" the steel between the corner of my hammer and the corner of the anvil to draw the choil down. Once I have the choil as defined as I want it, then I work my way up the edge bevel to match. If I do need to define it more, I'll set the bottom of the ricasso on the anvil 's edge (holding the blade by the tip end in my tongs) and give it a good half-faced blow or two to shorten the height of the ricasso. This usually requires a little clean up of the top of the spine, but if my initial stock is wider than I want the ricasso to be, that's just something I have to do.

If I had a working camera right now I'd get a few pictures since I'd bet that my description doesn't make much sense...

-d

[ranger1]

Actually it does make sense.The problem I have is I don't see as well as I used too and the hammer doesn't always land exactly where I plan for it to.

[Harry Mathews]

"Sometimes the 'Boss' or 'SWMBO' seems like a real killjoy but if your's is like mine, she is the main reason we aren't living in a tent, taking showers with the garden hose, and eating beans out of a can.

Gotta love 'em.

God bless them."


You said it Carey!

[cdent]

Yup, what he said. Thanks Harry.

Take care, Craig

[Greg obach]

on a round bar... 3/4 ... i make sure to take a good heat... the use a heavier hammer to point it... its a 8lb with lotsa crown...

light hammers like to fish lip the end of the bar.... seems like they move only the surface and not the core of the stock..


G

[SteveA]

Forging without getting into the ricasso: I finally made a spring fuller tool and use it with the treadle hammer. Position it just like I want, never get onto the ricasso, and pull metal down into the bevel real nice with just a few licks. Add a shank to fit the hardie hole and the same tool would work with a hand hammer, just take a few more licks. Well, maybe a couple more heats.

Um... blacksmiths have "spring fullers" in lots of different shapes. I don't mean the tool that's used to draw out a tang. The top and bottom faces are an inch or so wide along the long axis of the knife blade with a very gentle radius perpendicular to the long axis. That is, shaped to draw metal down into the bevel without pushing it along the length of the blade at all. There, I tried to say it two ways, probably both unclear and confusing.

Steve

[Thingmaker]

Thank you for the tips, gentlemen! I will try all three!
(And any more to come!)