This is JJ and my son Davis and I are big fans of the History show, "Forged in Fire". We were gifted the experince of forging these beautiful and leathal edged weapons at "Big Daddy's Hammerworks" in Sterling Heights. The forge is owned and operated by John Summerhill, a Forged in Fire champion. He also made another appearance in the most recent season "Beat the Judges".
It all started with this billet of 96 layer San Mai Damascus steel.
The billet was actually large enough to forge 3 13 inch long Bowie knives.
We stretched the steel to length and width on the hydraulic press. We gave the blades their rough shape with a hammer and anvil, then refined the shape of the knives on the grinder. Finally, the really fun part, the Bowie knives were tempered in the kiln and quenched in oil for hardness.
Oh, and of course we had to test them with a water bottle slice!
Check out John's website HERE and all of this Instagram photos HERE.