u watch "FORGED IN FIRE"?

always wanted to learn how to make your own knife/axe/spear/bow, etc?

admire scenes of blacksmith crafting things in movies?

probably already have a collection of knives/weapons already?

... then u'r probably the kinda person this post is meant for

let like minded peeps meet & craft something together.

whether kukri, karambit, competition chopper, duku chandong, wakazashi, bamboo bow, etc = whatever. all good.

no need to pay obscene prices for beautiful knives/swords, etc... we make ourselves. stock removal method first. then try actual forging.

just need interest & elbow grease - can create (almost) anything.

holla if interested. i'm in kelana jaya area.

any skill level is welcome. learn slow & build a tight knit smithing community together.

come wannabe and future smiths!



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forging, hardening, tempering, etc - much more advanced techniques. creatin damascus - even more harder. its one of the pinnacle of forging.

even sifus regularly run into difficulties doin it ;0

start wid stock removal method first & build towards it.

have u made any pieces so far? got pix?

same here. lol.

thats why wanna do a very relaxed 'come when u can, as u can' approach for this co-op.

dun want to take away too much time from real life. no big time/capital resources required. treat it like a fun hobby to de-stress with. work on it a little bit here & there over a long period. thats wat i do.

that being said - its surprising how much can get done in 40 mins. its probably due to my years of experience/having made all the mistakes there was... but learning from it. its leveled up skills a LOT.

in 40 mins - i can cut my billet to desired knife shape, do quick bevel & attach a quickly shaped pinned handle/drill through handle to make a bushcraft ready knife for batoning & rough use. same thing wudda taken me 4 - 6 months when i first started.

now, in 3 hours & despite my very bare bones set up - i can create a fully functional knife with a polished mirror surface, chisel ground edge that can shave with + a intricately designed burned wood handle or leather/paracord wrap it. & i dun even have dedicated knife making tools, just basic tools. can even make nice leather sheaths too in bout 20 - 30 mins... prob can halve that time once get more practice in.

the pix in my OP took under 1 hour for the state u see. flat bar + rambutan tree branch.

anyways, no pressure

all welcome. comelah if got time/hands itchin to create sumtin... we keep it chill & relaxed.

janji got a nice looking piece of created steel art that u'll be proud of at the end of an hour... as long as the design not too

sad, sad.. if nearby can come & make sumtin.

upside tho - got lot of old skool knife makers in ur neck of the woods.

i learnt how to make goloks & duku chandong frm a terenganu cikgu.

unfortunately my sifu passed bout 20 years back - else i pass u his details. he was an old skool forger - like the type u want. used lorry spring steels to make knives. sumtimes make damascus keris.

anyways, ask around. for sure got sum1 willing to reccomend/point u 2 sum1 who still forges. prob within 1 km distance frm ur place too.

g'luck! hope to see u post ur beauties sumtime down the line

great!

actually, got quite a lot of ppl who make knives & EVEN MORE who r interested to do so also in msia.

i hope to bring these folks 2gether & co-op together.

i'm particulalrly focusin on total noobs/slightly xperienced peeps as i'm in a position to help them make things since i got the materials & tools to get them started.

they dun need to outlay any $. i can provide most of the things they need. just need interest & time.

more experienced/dedicated knife makers though will def have waaaay superior equipment than me. they r also welcome by all means to come & share their knowledge. cyberjaya bro must be quite high level since he specialises in small knives.

sama-sama kita create

how bout u, ukapaka? got interest? made nytin b4?

i luv 2 see wat other home knife makers have created & how their set ups look. can get ideas/improve mine.

lulz.

why u no smith?

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d2/7f/7a/d27...4f9a3e02c62.jpg

knife making, at least for me, doesnt just focus on the art of crafting metal...

my woodworking skills too lvl up like anytin... i do stuff i never thought possible

boken, kendo stick, tonfa, jinga set, etc... all ez can do

think i will do some on weekends & post pix

akan datang...

all my smith-ing peeps in shah alam area, i recommend go see this gentleman; Alzaidi Khosni

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QcI-LLXwjyo

like me, he will train u for FOC

makes gorgeous knives. self taught. eager to pass on/share knowledge.

pigi belajar lah.. free mah... syiok mah

fantastic!

got pix?

lol.

well, lets make that wish finally come true.

are u in kj area/can come to kj area?

else if very far - i try find & recommend sum1 else nearer to u.

lemme know. we'll make it happen.

movin along - wat idea of edged tool do u have in mind? > knife, sword, axe, spear, etc?

we are only constrained by ur creativity, my available tools' capabilities and source material constraints.

within these parameters - we can create wonders.

lets get on with making ur beauty & posting the pix here someday!

nice collection!... if got pix, even nicer

ah, the age old dilemma of putting/sharpening an edge.

for immediate gratification - u can try these guys:

https://www.facebook.com/khidmatasahpisau/

their starting rate is RM 1.50 per inch.

seem to have lot of happy customers in their FB page.

but, if u wanna learn urself how its done/experiment - come on over.

we can talk shop bout the diff edges, grinds, finishes, sharpening angle & how each individual steel alloy's HRC affects the final outcome. can play with my variety of whetstones, sandpaper & finishing buffers on grinders.

i have put differing edges to many a blades over the years with a variety of tools. made the requisite mistakes too. so know firsthand the 'dangers' of putting the wrong bevel & eventual grind... luckily, with experience - also figured out how to overcome this hurdles too. best to start of with tools and finish with hand using a leather strop.

i'm currently perfecting my chisel grind. its somewhats keeps in line with my initial japanese sword making roots as well as greatly compliments the rough & tough bushcraft knives i make these days.

honestly, its a lifelong learning/experimening thing. have seen 'experts' screw up edges coz they were unfamiliar with the bevel. sumtimes it permanently affects/changes the profile of the knife. ex: putting a full hollow grind on a convex grind. so, i can put an edge on a knife that u can shave reasonably well with - but it is dependent on the underlying bevel/knife HRC. i learnt that from trying to sharpen my pure tungsten carbide knife. that was a trying week

it has to be understood too that certain knives cannot be edged further beyond the day they were made, without drastic change in bevel, appearance and edge geometry. doing so would effectively reduced its 'lifespan' by removing milimeters from its edge during sharpening - this effectively 'shrinks' the knife.

i'm happy to explain if u ever wanna talk bout it further (my replies will take a long time tho coz i'm still allowed oni 3 posts a day) or meet up straight.

so to that end, consider this an invite - u'r most welcome to come over & talk shop/experiment if keen.

i end this post with this video of the day. look at that gorgeous handle made by this artisan! > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrFoPGmL7h4

their starting rate is RM 1.50 per inch. <-- THis is very good price, are they any good? >> i cant say. never used them.

but, if u wanna learn urself how its done/experiment - come on over. <-- Hence my problem, had to give up too many hobbies as it is due to lack of time >> lol. yup, join the club. when the collection gets big = space to display & maintenance becomes an issue.

key reason why i gave away like 90% of my hard earned collection - now i just make what i want when i want. no more payin huge $$$ for knives 4 me anymore.


i'm currently perfecting my chisel grind. its somewhats keeps in line with my initial japanese sword making roots as well as greatly compliments the rough & tough bushcraft knives i make these days. <-- I have a few japanese kitchen knife (made in japan), picked them up at those small little japanese knife shop whenever i dropped by Japan, not big commercial brands >> hmmm... those dont sound like they use chisel grinds to me... all my jap/sushi knives are def hollow, flat or high flat grind... no chisel at all ... yours are true chisel?

honestly, its a lifelong learning/experimening thing. have seen 'experts' screw up edges coz they were unfamiliar with the bevel. sumtimes it permanently affects/changes the profile of the knife. ex: putting a full hollow grind on a convex grind. so, i can put an edge on a knife that u can shave reasonably well with - but it is dependent on the underlying bevel/knife HRC. <-- THIS is my concern, anyone can put a edge to a knife, but if its done by totally changing the grind.. then I'll probably prefer to keep a dull knife.. >> 2 things > (1) for those new to edged tools/smithing/knife aficionados - it has to be said that not everyone can put an edge on a knife - at least not a razors edge. this would be up to the individuals skill & tools, the knife's HRC & even the edge geometry up to a point. i worry this over simplification might result in those reading these posts wasting their time trying to sharpen 'unsharpenable' knives like i did in my early days of trying to sharpen those cheapo alumunium taiwanese machetes - they cannot be sharpened beyond a terribly dull edge. not all knives, regardless how much time/skill used, can be 'sharpened' or retain its edge even when slicing something as thick as cardboard.

(2) seems like u have 3 options >

1) try buat sendiri. study the knife thoroughly and decide what grind is best suited for it. i have all sharpening tools other than a belt sander.

2) try the above service. if so - suggest meet em up first & actually look at their collection of finished work & see what watches the grinds of ur tools. chances are if u dun see any grinds that match urs - probably they cant do it. even experts are clueless & will just do their best when faced with a unusual/unfamiliar grind. i spoilt the edge of a urasuki and a few asym semi convex grinds this way, despite the sharpener being a master sharpener of more than 40 years.

3) retain blades as is - sad to see a knife not live up to its potential... but to gamble sharpening it at the risk of permenant damage - thats a tough choice

its been a fun long weekend!

as stated, i made some fun lil projects.

here's the first of the posts on wat went down...

here's a wooden dao (chinese braodsword) made over the course of a weekend. pix below. all steps from start to finish are outlined clearly.

enjoy & hope it serves as muse to others.

i will consider what kinda handle to put for it & whether to thin out the edge, etc at a later date. no rush. enjoy the process

material: scrap wood. 6 mm, mid hard wood.
time taken: under 1 hour.

ps: lookin fwd to a time when can make as many posts as want without worryin bout goin over the 3 - 6 a day limit...

handle wrapped with electrical tape btw

just a temp place holder for better grip pieces

this vid below is another example. it shows the rough steps i did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5Zl2nYp-hI

this will be the next projek,

an egyptian khopesh. a forward heavy slicer/chopper.

i'll give it my own twist & flourish.

a quick wood version first to serve as prototype. belajar from it.

then down the line - prob the real deal.

akan datang!

hi fellow pj-ite

1) thats not my vid/channel. i added a link to a vid that best-suited my working method/final creation to show others how to replicate my results. i will do so for most of my projects. it'll help others to recreate my results & pay homage to my fellow crafters. so to clarify - not my channel ya... no time to edit videos... i spend my (limited) time makin knives & dreamin of makin knives

2) koff koff.. the usual questions.. 1) have u made anytin b4? 2) keen to try if not?

lol.

in my next few posts, i'll elaborate on the knife making options available. most of the pm's to me cant difeerentiate between stock removal style and forging style. these have further sub-sets within them.

i'll find sum nice vids & post. hopefully ever1 gets a better idea of the differences/requirements. the version i'm reccomending is the super easy & more relaxed/forgiving one.

right, lets get started.

first, a vid to broadly explain the 2 major differences > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3fNxCEdk9I

this will aid in understanding the requirements and challenges of each.

later posts will delve deeper into the minutia. enjoy!

now, we move on to the first of the stock removal methods.

below video is the most hardcore version of stock removal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUS1ExIo8p8

just need piece of steel, hack saw & file. thats it to start.

if the steel u use does not require heat treat (like mine) - even better/faster finish.

based on size of ur knife design & steel thickness - can be done in 3 - 5 hours.

the whole process is very zen...

next is stock removal style using power tools - this is the style i use most frequently now.

u will need an angle grinder with cutting & grinding disc & a drill usually. can skip the drill if gonna paracord wrap the handle or do a burn through.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2YGx4CIuEM

it will cut knife making time down tremendously. anywhere from 60 - 90% faster.

results will also be more uniform, especially if using a belt sander/grinder.

lol.

new knife making style - must learn from tofu sifu.

prob all the tofu makers / soya bean drink sellers are masters in this.