THE PROCESS
Material Selection
I make the vast majority of my blades out of high-carbon steel. When buying bar stock for my knives, I use several different grades, and make both damascus (or pattern welded) and mono-steel blades. Damascus steel making is a labor intensive process of choose two dissimilar steels and fusing them together to create a contrasting pattern, while monosteel blades use only a single alloy.
I choose the steel for each project based on the blades desired purpose. Different functions require different demands on the steel. For example, I choose a tough, resilient if I am making an axe and pick a steel known for it's edge holding capability if I am making a kitchen knife. Often times, with a good heat treatment, the same steel can be used for a variety of applications. Below are the alloys I use most commonly.
-1084 High Carbon Steel: This is really the work horse of many blade makers shops. It is easy to work, easy to heat treat and leads to a knife that can be used in a wide range of situations. It is also high in manganese, which allows it to be a rich black when etched.
-1095 High Carbon Steel: Also another common grade, this steel has slightly more carbon in it allowing it to achieve a slightly harder edge and hold that edge for longer.
-1060 High Carbon Steel: Although it has less carbon in it than 1084 or 1095, it is generally tougher.
-80CrV2 Spring Steel: This steel is by and large my favorite to use in the shop for monosteel blades. More or less, it is 1084 but with a small addition of chromium and vanadium. This results in a blade that is very easy to heat treat in a wide range of different uses from springs, to choppers, to skinning knives.
-15n20: This is actually a common steel used in Europe for saw blades. What makes 15n20 special is the addition of around 2% nickel, which not only gives the blade added toughness but it also makes it slightly more resistant to corrosion. When used in damascus, this provides a very bright silvery contrast to the dark etching of 1060, or 1084 or 1095.
As a final note, I do not use many recycled materials for my blades. It comes down to quality control and the risk vs reward of mystery steel. Many of the early knives in my gallery were made using old files and railroad clips. They made fine blades and the people who own them haven't had a single complaint. That said, I have had several instances where I poured a lot of time and effort into a piece of steel only to have it under-perform as a blade. With enough time, effort and careful analysis, scrap/recycled steels can make excellent blades. However, using carefully chosen, high-quality materials provide the best value for my customers.
Forging
This is where the "smith" in bladesmith comes from. It is here, that the chunk of steel begins to take shape and transform into what will be the blade. Using a forge - or furnace - I heat up the metal past a specific point and hammer it into shape. Although forging is not necessary to make a great blade nowadays (even if you were to grind a knife out of a bar of steel, it was still forged into that bar) It allows me more artistic freedom to make the best possible blade for my customers.
In the case of damascus, or pattern-welded steel, forging is actually the cornerstone of the process. Here I take alternating steels and layer them. I then heat them to around 2300 degrees Fahrenheit and, using a hammer, fuse them into a solid bar of steel. Then, depending on the pattern desired, I will repeat this some number of times to achieve the desired pattern. This folding/fusing is what gives a damascus blade its characteristic and unique "ripple-like" appearance.
Grinding
Here is when the specific geometry is defined. Using a grinder, I will smooth out and grind away all my hammer marks, leaving the bar looking more or less knife-like. This is where the final profile is made, and the chamfers for the edge are also refined.
Heat Treatment
This is the most important step of the process outside of material selection. You can choose the greatest steel for your application, forge and grind it to perfection and it wont make a lick of difference if your heat treatment is wrong. As a counterpoint, you could choose a steel that might not be the best one for the job, and with a spot on heat treatment, you might never know the difference. Each steel I use is unique in a way, and as such, each is treated differently to produce the optimal performance.
Heat treatment is composed of three parts: Normalization, quenching and tempering. Normalization relieves some of the stress from forging, while reducing grain size. Quenching is what turns the soft steel hard. Tempering relieves the stresses from quenching and removes some of the brittleness given to the steel from the quench.
Final Grind, Polish, Fit and Finish
Here the knife takes its final shape, the geometries are finalized and the blade is polished. If the blade is damascus, it is etched in acid to bring out the contrast between the steels used.
Once that is done, a handle material is chosen, attached and shaped to complete the blade. Some materials require stain, or sealant, but some don't. I use primarily hardwoods for my handles but when something neat strikes my fancy I usually play around a bit. One the handle is shaped, sealed and finished, the knife is sharpened. It is then ready for the customer.