Hand
Forged or Ground from Flat Stock?
Which is a better knife?
Woodcarvers
are on a constant search for the perfect carving knife. In that
search, they sometimes ask me which is better, a forged knife
or a ground stock removal knife?
First,
some definitions:
Forged: heated and shaped from one shape to another with
a hammer and anvil or power hammer close to final shape and then
heat treated.
Stock removal: ground to shape from a flat piece of steel
and then heat treated.
My
answer may sound diplomatic and even evading a clear answer but
here goes.
Metalurgically,
neither is better than the other.
There
are bad handforged knives and terrible stock removal knives that
would not even make a good butter knife.
Staying within the realm of woodcarving I will try to explain
my position. Each knife is the product of the knifemakers skill
in different processes in design, materials, and heat treatment.
Design
Each wood carving knife made today is a combination of several
factors in just blade design; low cutting angle, edge geometry,
wide blade, thick or thin spine, long or short. Blade shape and
size for the style of carving. Comfort of the handle, Finely finished
handle or raw wood. Handle style, long, short, fat, skinny, square,
oval or round.
Materials
O1 tool steel, W1 tool steel, M2 high speed tool steel (sorry
this does not mean that you can carve faster with this steel)
this in my opinion, makes little difference.
A bad knifemaker can ruin a perfect piece of expensive steel.
Excellent tools can and have been made from junk. I'm thinking
of the Monks who carve elaborate panels using knives and gouges
made from motorcycle spokes. The steel used is usually chosen
for the convenience or personal taste of the knifemaker. The ease
of heat treating, availability, price etc.
Heat
Treatment
These are the processes that the knifemaker uses to make the steel
he uses to produce specific characteristics. Flexibility, edge
retention, toughness, and ease of finish.
There
are a huge number of metalurgical processes that anyone can use
to make a blade.
Multiple quenches, temperature temper cycling, salt pot tempering
(dipping in molten salt), cryogenic cycling, (freezing a blade
at -300 degrees F in liquid nitrogen) differential edge quenching,
quenching fluids, quenching temperature, interrupted quenches
(quenching in oil first, then in water, brine or any other goop
you can come up with)
These
three aspects are only the beginning of what someone may use to
declare a "perfect carving knife". The combination of
all these factors produce what the user thinks is the perfect
carving knife.
Pick the right tool for the carving at hand.
My
point is that the perfect carving knife should be good for you
in making your style of carving a joy. Whether that knife is forged
or ground.
