Q&A for How to Forge a Knife

Do all your rough work first. The hardening and subsequent tempering process should only be followed with light grinding so you don't lose the temper in the steel. You can always make it softer, but you can't make it harder unless you reharden it all over again.

You can use vegetable oil or motor oil.

A regular kitchen oven works fine, same level of danger as heating up a cast iron skillet or an enameled steel pot (none, except maybe burning yourself if you carelessly touch the hot piece). Don't use a microwave.

Put it in a nice box and wrap it, if it's for a special occasion. You may even want to include a small, handmade card if it is a homemade knife. This way, the receiver can show proper appreciation for the gift..

This depends on the type of knife and how experienced you are with the ways of making a knife. The forging can take anywhere from 1-4 hours for smaller knives. Then it will take 2-3 hours to harden and temper, depending on how many times you choose to temper your knife.

This would be a waste. It is already hardened at this point, and you would lose your polish.

Yes, you can make a knife out of a file. The older ones are better for this, they hold a great edge.

Maybe 440c or 440hc. There are many good ss to use but stainless is a real bear to move under a hammer. It's better to use a simple carbon (10XX) steel to practice/begin with.

If you are a beginner, peanut oil is a fantastic oil for quench, I use it myself on particular steels. If you want to lessen the chance of warping the steel, which can be an issue, I suggest heating the oil you are going to quench in to around 40°C.

Leather grips are necasary for making it easier to handle the knife when using.

Very important. You don't want to use a bent blade for any reason.

Always wear leather gloves to protect from burns and/or rubbing blisters on your hands while using a hammer. Safety glasses and even a face shield are important to keep debris from getting in your eyes. Hearing protection is also important, you won't believe how loud it can be when hammering and/or grinding.

Depends on the forge, the tools, and your drive to make it. I have, with a hole-in-the-ground forge, make a karambit in about 4 days. It will take at least 2 days, as you need to leave the blade in the hot coals overnight to harden it.

You can do this by drawing out your first billet and then grind equidistant groove(s) where you want the steel to fold. Then reheat to a bright white color and clean off any scale buildup, because that will prevent the welds from sticking. You can also use flux, a chemical binding agent. Then you can fold your steel and hit it hard. It’s the combination of heat and pressure that causes the steel to weld. It is a lot trickier than you’d expect, so practice makes perfect.

No, that's not true.

Yes, you should never work cold steel, if the steel isn't at least a red you put extra stress on the metal when hammering and risk putting cracks in the blade, which can cause it to break later.

Tempering the steel is to help remove some of the excess hardness that is caused from the quenching process, helping reduce wear and tear, as well as the chance of the steel cracking during use or accidentally dropping it.

You can use a different type of steel that contains less carbon. You can look up most rust resistant steel types and find lots of types.

No. A blacksmith is one who makes objects of iron or steel using various tools including hammer, anvil and forge. A bladesmith is a blacksmith who specializes in making blades such as knives, daggers and swords.