forged my first blade.

[beaver#1]

well i finished my first all froged blade.  its ugly,and rough(kinda like its maker).  sorry about not having any pictures but one of these days i will figure it out.  its a big, heavy blade.  i didnt really know how to make a point yet so i just let the metal do what it wanted to and worked it as i learned.  im going to cal it a hacthet-knife cause it will really good for chopping and stuff like that.  its nothing pretty pr anything special to look at, but it is my first taht i did this way so im proud of it. just thought i would let yall in on my progress in this game.

[Lin Rhea]

That's good Dustin. I look forward to seeing your work as it progresses. Keep up the good work. Lin

[Ray Hammond]

good for you. Keep after it. Doing is learning..and the more you do, the quicker you will get where you want to be.

[JEFF B]

good for you man keep at it .that reminds me i must make a few for gifts for next year when i come over.

[d. ward]

Hands on for sure is the best teacher.Anything crafted with your own hands is always special.bowdoc

[beaver#1]

well i just got back from my hunt.  didnt see anything.  but i used this knife alot. chopping, and even some splitting.  worked great. i was worried about the edge and how well it would hold.  well i surprised myself. it held an edge better than any knife i had made.....until i, by mistake,  hit the back of a machet when i was putting in a stump.        :(   yah it chipped , not a real big one but enough to where i will have to rework bevels.  other than that little mishap  i was very proud of my super ugly hachet-knife

[beaver#1]

any tips on getting chips out of a blade?

[Lin Rhea]

Is it too hard to file? If your file has very much trouble removing material, the blade may be too hard and will continue to chip. If the edge just rolled a little it will probably be OK. Is there a chunk missing? Lin

[beaver#1]

yah just a little chunk.  i bet i can do it with a file.  it willl take a while but i think it will be ok.  i think i might have had a small crack in it cause when i finsihed forgeing and then hardening there was a line in that same spot.  when i put the final edge on it the line went away but i think it might have been a weak spot.