# Forgecraft Upgrade



## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2017)

Here's a vintage Forgecraft chef's knife that came in for a facelift of sorts. Actually when I think about it I really body-lifted it as there's nothing that got left untouched on this one. 

I started with the blade which was too thick and had a lot of deep pitting along the bevel. I thinned this section down and removed as much of the pitting as possible but there's still some evidence present of it's former life of service. 

The Forgecraft pattern on the blade was reconditioned to show off better and the spine/choil were re-worked/rounded for comfort.

This knife had a full tang but was converted to hidden and a new handle fashioned out of figured maple & ironwood burl along with nickel silver accents.

In my opinion this knife is BADASS! If I had this knife I'd use the hell of it, it's just that nice. :cool2:


Please feel free to let me know what you think....


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## foody518 (Mar 13, 2017)

Nice stuff, Dave!
I'm guessing the Forgecraft can be treated essentially as a flat-ish wide bevel knife (everything under the iconic pattern)?


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## valgard (Mar 13, 2017)

I think this is my fave forgecraft makeover so far. The blade came out amazing, especially the tip looks pretty sweet. And the handle gives a modern touch to a vintage looking blade. This restorations are the reason why I almost picked up a forge craft from eBay a few weeks ago.


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## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2017)

foody518 said:


> Nice stuff, Dave!
> I'm guessing the Forgecraft can be treated essentially as a flat-ish wide bevel knife (everything under the iconic pattern)?




I grind the bevel as one large entity but then I add a primary bevel (edge) just the original did. The thing to keep on mind is that the large bevel isn't anywhere near flat or stone ready, it'll need grinding to get to that point. Hell, even after I flatten it on my belts it's not stone flat so even if I flattened a Forgie for you it'd still require some sweat equity to make it match up with your stones. 

I recently saw pictures of a guy's efforts to re-do his Forgie on stones and man let me tell you how nice that thing was. I should send him an email and get him to post pictures in the general forum.


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## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2017)

valgard said:


> I think this is my fave forgecraft makeover so far. The blade came out amazing, especially the tip looks pretty sweet. And the handle gives a modern touch to a vintage looking blade. This restorations are the reason why I almost picked up a forge craft from eBay a few weeks ago.




Thanks val!


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## cheflivengood (Mar 13, 2017)

10/10 would rock this for sure. I think we all need to get Dave a big back stock of forgies ASAP.


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## WildBoar (Mar 13, 2017)

Whoa! Definitely looks killer, Dave!


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## steelcity (Mar 13, 2017)

I think everything goes together very well on this piece. Nice job.


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## brianh (Mar 13, 2017)

Wow!


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## larrybard (Mar 13, 2017)

Remarkable transformation. Congratulations on the impressive work.


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## Dave Martell (Mar 13, 2017)

cheflivengood said:


> 10/10 would rock this for sure. I think we all need to get Dave a big back stock of forgies ASAP.





WildBoar said:


> Whoa! Definitely looks killer, Dave!





steelcity said:


> I think everything goes together very well on this piece. Nice job.





brianh said:


> Wow!





larrybard said:


> Remarkable transformation. Congratulations on the impressive work.




Thanks gents, it's all appreciated.


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## daveb (Mar 13, 2017)

Yours is purtier than mine. A lot.


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## chiffonodd (Mar 13, 2017)

that is just killer


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## Dave Martell (Mar 14, 2017)

daveb said:


> Yours is purtier than mine. A lot.





chiffonodd said:


> that is just killer




Thanks guys.


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## TheCaptain (Mar 14, 2017)

Geesh! Makes me want to go out and get one just so Dave can work his magic. That is truly impressive!

Gotta keep telling myself, no...no...no...


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## daveb (Mar 14, 2017)

TheCaptain said:


> Geesh! Makes me want to go out and get one just so Dave can work his magic. That is truly impressive!
> 
> Gotta keep telling myself, no...no...no...



If you don't have a good boning knife yet, the Forgie is a great one.

And what's this "no" chit? Haven't you passed indoc?


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## TheCaptain (Mar 14, 2017)

Actually watching ebay right now. I've resisted the urge to get into vintage knives so far...it's soooooo tempting!

This will likely be enough to push me over the edge.


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## valgard (Mar 14, 2017)

TheCaptain said:


> Actually watching ebay right now. I've resisted the urge to get into vintage knives so far...it's soooooo tempting!
> 
> This will likely be enough to push me over the edge.


Same here, thank lord this wasn't posted a couple of weeks ago when I was about to pull the trigger on a Fogecraft from Ebay that was in pretty good condition (brick pattern was very visible and it height was steel there) and only ~$30. Gotta keep myself away from that stuff... mumble mumble...


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## foody518 (Mar 14, 2017)

valgard said:


> Same here, thank lord this wasn't posted a couple of weeks ago when I was about to pull the trigger on a Fogecraft from Ebay that was in pretty good condition (brick pattern was very visible and it height was steel there) and only ~$30. Gotta keep myself away from that stuff... mumble mumble...



10 inch? I think I saw the one you are referring to. The profile had more of a frown than I wanted to sacrifice my stones fixing, would lose knife height too

I keep a watch out on eBay occasionally too... There's those 80-100 buck ones on there, but I really try and look for the occasionally better deal (however much that exists with this inflated pricing currently)


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## valgard (Mar 14, 2017)

foody518 said:


> 10 inch? I think I saw the one you are referring to. The profile had more of a frown than I wanted to sacrifice my stones fixing, would lose knife height too
> 
> I keep a watch out on eBay occasionally too... There's those 80-100 buck ones on there, but I really try and look for the occasionally better deal (however much that exists with this inflated pricing currently)



Maybe it was the same, there were two up at the same time at around the same price (only about 3 days difference for the auction) one had more signs of previous sharpening and less of a dark pattern. The one I'm talking about needed some work on the stones for sure, I don't remember noticing too much of a frown but right at the middle there were some ships or deep pitting marks at the edge so I think it would have lost about 1-1.5 mm of height to get it right (rough estimation of course).


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## valgard (Mar 14, 2017)

Right now there is a rather big lot for action that includes two chef knives. However, there are still several days left for the end of the auction and I have zero use for a lot that big.


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## foody518 (Mar 14, 2017)

One for every day of the week... And then some XD


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## cheflivengood (Mar 14, 2017)

valgard said:


> Right now there is a rather big lot for action that includes two chef knives. However, there are still several days left for the end of the auction and I have zero use for a lot that big.



I'm all over it


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## valgard (Mar 14, 2017)

cheflivengood said:


> I'm all over it



I knew someone here would :angel2:


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## Dave Martell (Mar 14, 2017)

That's a good deal even if just for the two chef's knives.


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## valgard (Mar 14, 2017)

Dave Martell said:


> That's a good deal even if just for the two chef's knives.


Let's wait and see where it ends up, although those auctions don't seem to go too crazy.


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## daveb (Mar 14, 2017)

Sorry - No links to auctions. Only to "Buy it now" Keeps us from bidding against each other or some such.

A search should find it. [FONT=&quot]*12 Old Hickory Ontario Forgecraft Carbon Steel *[/FONT]

They look like they've been through purgatory. Or been used a good bit.


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## valgard (Mar 14, 2017)

daveb said:


> Sorry - No links to auctions. Only to "Buy it now" Keeps us from bidding against each other or some such.



Sorry for that.


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## Dave Martell (Mar 14, 2017)

BUSTED


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## Lucretia (Mar 14, 2017)

This knife was purchased a few years back from Goodwill's online auction site. The auction site has been "discovered" since then and you don't see as many bargains, but they do have the occasional treasure, and it's for charity. :angel2: Mostly they have cutcos and henckels, but there are some other interesting knives that pop up. Seems like a lot of people clean out their parents' houses and take everything to Goodwill, so you never know what you'll find. Right now there's a big vintage F. Dick chef and a Randall hunter that people are bidding up. Another site that's worth looking at if you're seeking out an ODC.


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## Dave Martell (Mar 15, 2017)

Lucretia said:


> This knife was purchased a few years back from Goodwill's online auction site.




Thanks for giving me a reason to stay up late last night, so addicting. :scared4:


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## CB1968 (Mar 15, 2017)

Fantastic work Dave.


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## Dave Martell (Mar 15, 2017)

CB1968 said:


> Fantastic work Dave.




Thanks David


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