Very nice Lin!!! Beautiful knife!

Thanks for sharing that with us!

Thanks for posting that up, Lin.

Very inspirational.

Well done Lin.

Thanks guys. By the way, this blade is 11 1/2 inches and slightly over 2 inches wide. I pointed out that I forged it from a drawing. The plan called for the plunge to lean forward and the choil to be pulled back creating a curving line that gives it it's character. Without be able to forge that into it from the beginning, there is no way to get the desired result and look. I just thought I'd throw that out there.

Thank you Lin. Very neat and good forging. Love the knife by the way. Will it be at Little Rock?

Brion

Thanks. Yes Brion, I plan for it to be at the Little Rock show.

Lin,

I like everything that was forged, and the handle <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//smile.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /> Beautiful overall design.

Nice close up of that guard jig too, thanks! Dan

Man is that beautifiull! thanks for taking the time to post that!

Hi Lin, Absolutely fantastic Bowie ! And a really great job documenting the process - Thank you very much for that.

Hey, I realize this question is just a little bit "after the fact", so I understand if some of the details may be in the "filing cabinet".

Anyway, here goes ............. I'm sure everyone has heard the old adage "forge it thick & grind it thin".

Approximately how much meat do you generally leave after forging, thickness wise, lets say at the ricasso.

And what thickness did this blade inevitably finish at, thickness wise, again, at the ricasso.

Thanks again.

<img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//cool.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />

David,

I generally try to forge closer to finish than some. I figure if I get the scale off that there will naturally be some decarb, what ever there might be, go along with it. But I do not worry too much about decarb due to my care in forging. I do not work at extreme heats that endanger the carbon much past a few thousandths. What it boils down to is that some people's thick might not be the same as other people's thick. Also, if one takes that old adage too literally, we would all just end up grinding from bar stock which is certainly thick.

It's my belief that this adage was to help new guys to get a nicer finished product even if it took forging thick to allow grinding out the hammer marks. If there were no hammer marks, there would be much less need for thick forging. In general blacksmithing good forging will carry a fellow a long way but in the bladesmithing of high carbon steels, one has to be much more careful with controlling the temperatures for the steel's sake.

Another thing. The geometry of a blade is such that decarb along the blade's cutting edge is really the place where it can leave us with a sub standard blade. I think that by forging the blade somewhat larger in profile we can allow sacrificial material to remove in the initial profile grinding along with the edge roll. I don't mean to say that I forge so close that I can just roll an edge and have a blade. I can forge close But even if I could forge that close I prefer not to because the more you go in and out of the fire, the more prone to decarb it is. That's why I don't want to go over board forging too close and why I don't want to forge too thick having to spend a lot of time grinding.

I generally forge the ricasso a few thousandths thicker than my target thickness and work inward throughout the grinding and heat treat stages, approximately .010 to .020 per side at the ricasso while my allowance is somewhat more along the edge and bottom half of the blade flats. It depends. If there is some complexity to the grind I allow more. The shape of the blade might mean that it will be more prone to warpage in the quench. You'll know this after you have quenched several blades of the same shape. I find that Southwest blade shape likes to twist more often than some others in the quench. So I leave it a little thicker and taller in the spine and grind the swoop in after heat treat. So the principle of "forging thick and grinding thin" can be used in different areas for different reasons.

If you decide to allow a small margin of sacrifice on the ricasso, you will have to use good hammering skills and a clean anvil or dies. If you are new at forging or uncertain for any reason leave more thickness to buffer things a little. That's smart forging.

The blade in question was forged about 3/8 thick at the ricasso and finished at about 5/16, maybe a hair under. Keep in mind that it was 11 1/2 inches long with a handle that was in proportion.

Wow! That was an extremely informative explanation. Thank you, once again, for taking the time to explain in such detail. We are indeed blessed, to have such amicable mentors at the ABS as you Lin, among others. The approachability here, of who I consider to be the "Rock Stars of Bladesmithing" never ceases to amaze me <img src=' http://www.americanbladesmith.com/ipboard/public/style_emoticons//cool.gi f' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='B)' />

Thank you Lin. Great explanation. Sounds very familiar.

Brion

David and others,

I think what Brion is referring to as sounding familiar may come from many conversations that he and I have had over the years, some by phone when the question arises. We have discussed the things we notice in our shop such as particular behaviors of steels and blade patterns. I think it is good to have these type friends to go to when the thought crosses your mind. Some one who will know what you're talking about because they are on the same level as you in their knife making career. If I wait around till I see them, I'll surely forget the question.

Karl Andersen is another that I often talk to. He can call and ask a question or offer a suggestion and be off the line in a minute or two if necessary but don't mind hashing out an knife problem that takes longer. Karl, Brion, and I have deep seated beliefs and have been taught by the best in the knife making field. That don't mean we cant be offered correction or a better way. I value this ability to approach one another and encourage that you do the same.

Amen to that Lin. I could not have said it better.

Brion