Centering Edge on forged blade

J

JSteiner

Active Member
Just got my forge and anvil set up and on 2 knives I've run into the same problem. After forging in the point, distal taper and setting the ricasso I start forging in the bevels with the blade perpendicular to the anvil. When I am forging the bevels with the edge facing me the side hitting the anvil has a nice defined bevel whereas when forging with the edge away from me the anvil side is flat with no decernable bevel. Now my edge is not centered in relation to the riccasso. Any tips would be welcome.


Thanks
Jon
 
I don't have this problem but that's neither here nor there. Try raising the spine of the blade just slightly as you forge the bevel in, possibly just on the one side, if that's what it takes. Sometimes we just have to find a method that works for us without regard to how others do things.

Doug
 
I use the sharpest edge I can find on the anvil to create my plunges......with the hammer head at a steep angle, I seek to strike with a "half-face" blow right on that sharp edge to create the plunges....once you've established them, you must be careful to NOT lay the ricasso on the face of the anvil when working on the remains of the bevels....otherwise you will "push" the entire mass of the blade to the anvil face when working on one side, and will do the same thing when you go to work on the opposite side. The "tilt" that Doug mentioned is an absolute necessity to get then centered. It's all about practice and concentration....before long the hammer will "learn" what it's suppose to do.
 
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Ed made a good point and it goes beyond forming the plunge lines and ricassos, don't hit on the steel that you don't want to move. It sounds so stupid to even say it but it's something that can escape the beginner and even the more experienced person. If you have the steel where you want it, stop hitting it, and one of the best way to assure that you will not hit it is to keep it off the anvil. It involves using the edge of the anvil to move the steel where you want it. If I were establishing a ricasso I would mark where I wanted it to transition to the edge and get the area behind that mark flat then I would make sure that I kept that section off the face of the anvil as I worked on the bevels, just like Ed said. Most of my blades don't have ricassos but the same principle applies to the transition from the tang to the blade, establish the flat and then work the bevel. I even work from the flat to the bevel when I'm grinding.

Doug
 
Great info given on how to FORGE the edge to the center of the blade !

As always Ed is correct that practice and concentration will improve our abilities and hammer control and of course the result of our effort.

I'd add to this discussion that especially newer smiths (like myself) will find that we must spend some time and effort learning to get our forged blades STRAIGHT and edge centered without using the hammer and anvil to do so.

As our skills improve less and less tuning will be needed after forging but what to do in the mean time ?

My own personal weakness with hammer and anvil is not shape,bevels, or dropped edge forging but straightening and edge centering so this is how I approach that process today-

Forge out my blade until I'm happy with it and work at reduced heat straightening and edge tuning until I believe I wont get it any better on the anvil.

Continue at low heat and clamp my blade by the spine, edge up, in the vise between two foot long pieces of angle iron. This allows me to get the blade really straight and having the angle iron down the sides of the blade provide a visual reference as to how centered the edge is on the blade. Coloring the hot edge with soapstone will also aid in getting a clear view at it.

Now that I can see where any problems lie I'll reheat then back to the vise and pull my edge over to center wherever it's needed. I'm currently just using a large and loosly fit cresent wrench for this purpose but a more proper tool would be a straightening fork, or a pair of straightening forks. I haven't gotten around to making them yet but will eventually.

At this point my blade is done but instead of moving on directly to normalizing I'll set it aside and leave it cool to room temp so I can REALLY scrutinize how good of job I've done with the above process and ensure I'e got a forging worthy of finishing out. If it needs more work then back to the forge it goes. If not it's onto the oven for normalizing etc.

Boy would it be great to just bang it out on the anvil and have it come out sweet every time ;)

Happy forging !

-Josh
 
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You are not alone Josh. After being fooled by heat waves or altogether missing a defect, I too, scrutinize after forging(before normalizing). In the vice, on a table or with a straight edge... I am very particular about my forgings, now.

Good thread.
 
I'm not sure how one would forge a blade straight with centered bevels without the use of hammer and anvil so I'm at a bit of a loss to understand that comment but I entirely agree that the forge work's not done until the forge work is done. You also can't be afraid to admit that the piece has to go back out to the forge before it's worked on in the grinding shop. I too had a problem when I started out spotting curves in the blade and putting a straight edge on it can really help. Also learn to hold the blade out at arm's length to check for straightness.

Doug
 
Doug,

Please allow me to clarify my previous statement.

Once I've forged my blade completely to shape including bevels and tapers she's typically not 100% straight and the edge is typically not 100% centered down the entire length of the blade. A little snake edge, a tip pushed to one side, or an edge thats straight but not in line with the center of the ricasso have all caused me to pitch blades that would have otherwise been fine if straight and true.

From this point I can continue with hammer and anvil for what seems like ever and still not have those two criteria met. As such I use my bench vise with the angle iron and the cresent wrench to get things right.

Guess I wanted to be sure the OP knows there are other ways of moving hot steel besides hitting it with a hammer :)

Great thread fellas !

-Josh
 
One thing that you can try is a hardwood board with a notch in it to slip over the blade and apply pressure to bend the blade. You can also try tapping the curve out with a wooden maul on a block of wood. You can try this on a blade that is still fresh out of the quenchant and still hot but it's safer to try on one brought back up to tempering temperature. Did you ever consider mounting a leg vice to the wall of the kitchen?:3:

Doug
 
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