Bladesmithing UK
A gathering of bladesmithing and knife making information for the UK.
I’ve been keen on knifemaking since a young age and having recently received a 72″ belt grinder, my dreams of making them more easily have now arrived. This site is a gathering of all the ideas I’ve come across and will hopefully serve as a resource for anyone else interested in this fascinating hobby (or business).
Bladesmithing vs Knifemaking
A topic of often heated debate: Bladesmithing is different to knifemaking.
Bladesmithing involves forging bar stock or odd shaped materials into a rough or semi-finished blade shape before refining into a final blade. A bladesmith is less limited by the initial steel stock than a knifemaker who must usually work within the size of the steel he starts with. He can thin out or thicken up certain portions of the steel and shape it with hammer blows while hot.
Knifemaking, on the other hand, is more like being an artisan who reveals a shape from within the steel size he is given. You might be using a pre-made blade blank, or bar stock of a particular size and thickness. Then designing and crafting the handle, finishing, and overall aesthetics of the knife. Both approaches are equally valid as a means of producing a blade, but one’s more about raw creation and the other’s more about finished article.
I guess in summary, a bladesmith will use a forge initially while a knifemaker doesn’t. Oversimplification but that’s the way I see it.