Brut de Forge Challenge

Tim Lively

Tim Lively

Well-Known Member
I Challenge all Knifemakers to a Forging Competition with some basic rules. Any takers?

A one piece knife under 9 inches in overall length with a hammered finish.
 
Dumb question,
Just a bare steel knife no handle materials. Sorry I haven't been following the Brut De Forge kinda stuck in the way back but interested.
 
I would give it a try. i need a little information handle ?, hidden tang? forged to shape only ? or a completed cleaned up after forging?
 
Tim Lively said:
I Challenge all Knifemakers to a Forging Competition with some basic rules. Any takers?

A one piece knife under 9 inches in overall length with a hammered finish.
Click to expand...

How long do I have before I'm judged the winner? Who's the judge? What's a 'Brut De Forge'? :1:
 
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Stu Mason said:
I would give it a try. i need a little information handle ?, hidden tang? forged to shape only ? or a completed cleaned up after forging?
Click to expand...

Aye, I would think the tang will be the handle, and vise versa... I like to call therm one-piece wonders...:)
I'm good with it, except I do not know how to sharpen a knife with just a hammer... I assume some degree of stock removal will be needed/allowed? Time limit?
 
One piece knife. Hand forged. Under 9 inches. Hammer finish.

Brut de Forge means Raw from the Forge. This term was first applied to knifemaking in a Neo-Tribal forum about 12 years ago. It was used to describe the hammered finish put on some Neo-Tribal work.

One piece, meaning just a piece of steel forged into a knife. Hand forged, meaning no power hammer stamped out cookie cutter mass produce stuff. Under 9 inches means from tip of blade to end of handle. Hammer finish, meaning the one piece of steel you use to make the knife is hand forged and that you leave that finish on the surface so it shows your skill with a hammer. Can you grind out a knife and then forge a finish on it. Yes you can, if you have no ethics but if you want to show what you can do with your arm and hammer then let's play!
 
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Now to find which rasp in the bucket to use. What's the expected finish date?

I'm in the middle of an order with a couple of pieces in it. If I can start it like mid February I'm in for sure.
 
So yo are saying, no scale removal at all, no hand sanding, no files, nothing? Forge to finished shape, HT and photograph?
 
I'm in. No stock removal except for the final edge, and to keep it tribal I'll use a rock...:)
I assume no time limit?
 
My first ever "brut de forge" inspired by Tim's DVD

Wanted to see if I could forge a knife in a coal forge as close to finished as possible, then used hand files to do the edge and lots of hand sanding. As per Tim's vid I tried to use no electricity except for the holes that were drilled using a drill press. This was done two yrs ago and no one liked it so went back to making knives that paid the bills. LOL





 
I love the top one. I've been busy hammering but I see now what tight restictions I made in this challenge. Doesnt give you much room for creativity but I still want to see what I can come up with but so far they all look very similar. I'll post what I got so far asap just to keep the ball rolling. Here's my new propane forge set up.
propaneforge10.jpg
 
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