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.
Metallurgically,
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 carved 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 metallurgical 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.
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