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From
time to time I am asked "What is a bladesmith?",
or "What is the difference between a bladesmith
and a knifemaker?" Well, a bladesmith is a knifemaker.
The confusion comes from not understanding the difference
in methods of producing a knife. There are two basic
ways to create a handmade knife from a piece of steel.
They are:
-
Stock Removal -
With this method the maker starts with a piece
of steel, often precision ground. A blade
pattern is transferred to the piece of steel. This
is often done by spraying the steel with layout
fluid, placing a template in the shape of the blade
on the
piece of steel, and scribing a line around the
template. The blade is then cut or ground to the
layout lines.
If cut, the blade shape is then refined on a grinder.
The process of creating the outlined shape of the
blade is referred to as profiling. Once profiled
the blade
bevels are ground (or sometimes filed). When a
knifemaker uses this method we often refer to him/her
as a stock
remover, or say that he/she uses the stock removal
method.
-
Forging - With this method the maker takes a piece
of steel, heats it in a forge to a point in which the
steel becomes malleable. The hot steel is placed on
an anvil and shaped with a hammer. The goal with this
method is to achieve 90 percent completion of the blade
at the anvil. This means that the profiling and creation
of the blade bevels are done with the hammer. When
the maker has the skill to do this, a grinder is used
primarily to refine and cleanup the blade. One who
forges blades is referred to as a bladesmith or sometimes
just a smith. I'm sure you can figure out why we don't
refer to ourselves a forgers.
This is an over simplification of how knives
are made, but the intention here is just
to get the idea across.
I once heard an explanation that simplifies
the processes even further. A stock remover
takes a piece of steel
and grinds off everything that doesn't
look like a knife. A bladesmith heats up
a piece of steel and taps
it with a hammer until it looks like a
knife.
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