Forgecraft mods

I spent some time with Forgecraft. Mainly I thinn it a lot, etch it, polish blade road to mirror finish, make the choil bigger and rounded it as well as the spine.

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I was surprised that it was so hard to mirror polish it. It is still not perfect. Steel is very soft and gets those micro scratches super fast and you can notice that even after drying it with towel

 

I had plans on doing the same thing with my forgecraft about 1-2 years ago... after some hours I just stopped and did something else.

 

That is very impressive! How long did it take you?

 

Should mirror the last image to make the joke of your shirt's reflection. Looks pretty good, in my opinion. I like the texture on the initial blade but it's a real shame if it is too thick.

 

Lots of work there! Sure looks good.

 

Very nice! A little concerned you might be loosing some of the "vintage" look.

 

Did you thin entirely by hand, or was there some belts involved with this?

 

Boy, you weren't kidding when you said you thinned it a lot! I hope there was a belt involved, my right thumb hurts just looking at that, otherwise.

 

Thanks guys. I thinned it all by hand. Atoma 140, JNS 300 when convexing and sanding paper. It wasn't that bad to be honest. However I had many problems with mirror polish. First of all after thinning I etched the whole blade, masked the top part and started polishing bevels. I wanted to do as much as possible on the stones but on the right side, near heel, there was low spot near ''shinogi'' which I couldn't reach. This is why I left JNS 300 finish and then sand it with sanding paper. I was doing that 3 times and results were crappy. After first time I noticed that there are some micro marks from etching. Then I sand it again and again. I will tell you one thing. I really don't know why but I couldn't make perfect mirror polish, perfect flat surface. It doesn't look good when you look at it from close distance. Also it is very soft and it is getting scratches even after proper drying with towel. Maybe it is only my imagination but this is what I noticed. Definitely not worth the work I put in.

 

I've had the same experience with my Forge mod that Mike Henry did for me a couple years back. The more you polish, the worse it gets...

 

I have one on the bench ready for scales. It is going to be my girlfriend's knife. Her first carbon. It is getting some blue dyed buckeye scales with brass liners and pins. I need to finish it. I'm tired of not working on it!

 

I too have noticed that drying knives with a towel can leave scratches---doesn't even have to be a mirror finish. What are they putting in towels these days?

Great thinning, by the way.

 

Looks great

 

Thanks guys. Maybe next time I will do nice satin on it.

 

I am very interested to see how well the edge holds up. I am working a similar project and have been hesitant to take it that thin on the softer steel. Let us know it does!

 

I really can't answer that because it's not mine knife. I think that even if it will be able to hold edge for only few days then it won't be bad. I don't mind sharpen regulary. This is something I really enjoy. Also this is not a knife in pro kitchen.

 

From what I understand it really depends on what generation forge it is. You can tell by the styling of the lettering in the 'Forgecraft' stamp. Son knows waaaaaay more about this that I, or probably most other people do.

 

There is something about those Forgecrafts that seem special to me. Now more so.

 

I just found that picture. Can you say something about it?