Overview

Moving forward we bevel the blade, create the wooden handle and cast it in resin so we have a clear plastic handle and we etch the blade so the damascus pattern comes out clearly and crisply. Then we put everything together including the brass guard.

Part 1 of this tutorial is here

Lets start by making the bevel in the blade. I drew it out with a sharpie. This is what we are looking for on both sides of the blade.

We do it with a file. And we use a mill file.

A quick note about filing your blade - You have to follow good form with your filing. First off always use a Mill file. This is the kind of file that has only one set of angled grooves. This is rather than something called a bastard file that has a crosshatch of grooves. The bastard file will leave a rough finish.

The picture here shows a closeup of a Mill File. There is no crosshatching.

And, when filing you only file in the forward direction. See how in the previous picture I am holding the handle with one hand and pressing down on the front part of the file with the other hand? This is the technique you want to use. Press down as you move forward, then lift the file right off the knife and return to start. File forward, lift and return, file forward, lift and return.

Ok, the bevel is off to a good start.

We continue this on both sides of the blade.

I made and used a file jig to make the filing easier and more accurate. I will be posting a tutorial on how to make one of these. Look for that link here.

I recommend you don't file it all the way down to a sharp cutting edge. This makes the steel very thin. And it could cause challenges when hardening and tempering the knife with heat. That thin steel could easily overheat.

Continue

Video Tutorial is here:

Tutorial on How to Forge a Knife - I take you through the complete process of forging a knife. All the way from raw piece of steel to finished knife. With lots of pictures and even videos. How to forge a knife

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