close up of peening

[lockbreak12]

why do i never see info about peening any type of blade save for e a scythe? does it have to do with the weight of the blade? perhaps the bevel angle?

[ndudman8]

@lockbreak12 do you mean blades like kitchen knifes or other blades which would be sharpened on a wet stone etc ? If thats what you mean then I think its because of the type of metal in some (Austrian scythes, not English or American stamped blades) which lend them selfs to be peened, which improves the edge quality and strength is done well, and of course makes the metal last longer as apposed to grinding them away. The hardness of a scythe (47Rc on the ones we sell) is less than good knife.

[fdssg]

@ndudman8 I peen other 'soft' metal tools aside from scythes. Shovels and hoes take well to peening using a metal block and a ballpeen hammer, for example.

[ndudman8]

@fdssg I've peened some bronze tools, shovel, and a hoe, but the level of detail and fineness wasn't the same as when with blades.

[Vot63]

Great video! I've never heard of "peening" to sharpen an edge. Fantastic skill to have. Thanks very much for taking the time to film this.

[ndudman8]

@Vot63 Thanks for the kind words :)

[don2x8]

it looks fun to do :)

[Snurdgerbly]

You certainly have developed a fine craft skill. I am guessing that the peening work-hardens and forms a strong, sharp edge, which can then be honed to razor sharpness. This would mean that grinding and honing, without peening first, would not make strong, long-lasting edge. Is that correct?

[ndudman8]

@Snurdgerbly run out of space in the previous reply... ...yes your right, if you are peening well there is no need to do any grinding, except perhaps to assist in fixing damage, which is most cases is caused by a badly peened blade in the beginning (inconsistent, and over peened in spots), of course we can still mess up a good edge by wacking stones etc... but the last pass with the hammer (hardening blow) really helps to harden the edge. Its very satisfying, and only a question of good practice

[richard2mitchell]

what does this do?

[ndudman8]

@richard2mitchell Thanks for the comments and compliments :) I wouldn't go so far and say razor sharp edge, it can be made pretty thin, so the thumb test is really easy with hardly any pressure, and there is no damage to the edge of blade. But just to empasise that although this is the kind of edge I like for what I mostly cut, its not the most ideal for all situations... In one of the newer instructional videos I talk about the two different hammer blows 1) moving metal 2) hardening the edge...

[ThePolysyllabist]

Very useful video. I appreciate you having taken the time to make it!

[ndudman8]

@ThePolysyllabist thanks for the kind words, encourages us to make more :)

Good luck with your mowing

[zdrav24]

when you do that looks easy , when I" do that looks impossible, but I" have still time to learn.

[ndudman8]

@zdrav24 Its really not so differcult, practice, and change and modify things as you go, avoid hitting harder to compensate for not being able to see the marks made on the blade (marks and not deformations)... using the sanding block/rubber really help to keep hammer, anvil and blade really clean and mat so that each and every mark can be seen)...

Good luck

[JanForest]

Beautiful work! I have tried peening a few times, but the edge is uneven afterwards...guess i just need more pratice and maybe a better hammer..mine is a bit small..I really admire your precision!

[ndudman8]

@JanForest I helped alot when I got a better quality hammer (which we do sell, but you can get from various places) also keeping everything clean (hammer, anvil, blade) during the job. Keep practicing, I've been peening hundreds of new blades over the last few years (not yet 1000 but getting there). Thanks for the nice comments

[bezbarvaponozka]

ahoj mohli by jste mi prosim poradit jak se jmenuije to na čem to naklepavate?? a jinak dobre videjjko a k tomu by se i hodil hlasovy komentář co a jak po jakym uhlem a tak jestli mi rozumite

[JanForest]

@bezbarvaponozka jmenuje se to babka..a dá se koupit v běžném železářství :)

[ndudman8]

@JanForest The only problem is the quality is not good with the normal ones from Czech shops (They are mostly made by a cz firm Spirovi) and we did try to get them to make them a bit harder (we had them tested and they where under 20 RC, but they need to be harder then the blades (Austrian ones are 47RC) So the high quality anvils we sell are 55RC.

[JanForest]

@ndudman8 Yes that seems quite logical, I bought the cheepest one they had in store, so I'm not surprised at all anymore.

[Solechnaya]

I have been using a sickle for this years harvest. Could you give me some advice on how to sharpen and maintain it, ndudman8? Or is it the same as the scythe?

[ndudman8]

@Solechnaya I peen and hone the sickel the same as scyte blades, it did take me a while to get to grips with holding them but have peened about 10 from new so far, not as good results as with the scythes as the metal quality dosn't seem to be as high, but I'll try and make a video of how I do it, may take a few weeks buy I'll try.

[toolslinga]

It appears to be a 3 or 4lb drilling hammer. Scythesman's looked like a mechanics hammer. I have mine (austrian) mtd. on an aluminum snathe. How do you like these, ergonomically? I'd also add your blade is beautiful. Always loved the look of hand forged tools with their mirrored edge and the transition to the rough, black steel on the the heel. Do you polish the back edge? I know on my plane blades this makes a tremendous difference in the level of sharpness you can attain.

[ndudman8]

My blade is a 3 year old 75cm new production from Austria, exactly the kind we sell in czech. I'm very happy with it. Its improved since I'm getting better at peening, its shiny as i keep it clean so as to see the hammer blows better etc, ala Peters Technique. My hammer is a Picard hammer, which we also sell (thanks Botan). I'll try that with my plane blades :) thanks

[toolslinga]

I've got about 4 old blades that are still in wrapper. One's quite old looking, and it is a Vic brand made in austria. The others are old Tru-temper from the 50's judging by their label. I assume the Vic is a good blade by the fact the price tag says $38.95 and I'm guessing the tag to be at least 35-40 yrs old. Do you know anything about the Tru temper? Also, what type of metal is the dengle? Can this be made at home without too much trouble? Is your hammer face polished?

[Yukonmoose11]

About how many passes does it take you to achieve a good edge?

[ndudman8]

Good question... I'll try and answer from my experience over the last few months.

Depends on the blade, anything from 1 pass to 20 (loosing count after 6 or so). The old production Austrian blades I've done about 3 passes, while the new production I do from 3 -> sometimes 6 or more.

An old russian blade of neighbours I peened last week, which was in really bad shape, I grounded the edge a bit to straighten and remove much damage before doing perhaps 20 passes (lost count).

[ndudman8]

still could have been a bit thinner, but didn't want to over do it for neighbour he's quite strong.. He managed to snap the tang completly from the blade, he gave me the snath with ring and broken piece still attatched :).

Best answer is to test thickness with your thumb, see other video, for the ripple of edge. Also of course its easier to damage the thinner the edge is when you hit something occasionally.

[ndudman8]

Of course the strength of hammer blows depends on the type of blade and the thiness of edge, type of blade, and how accurate I am.

:) Hope this helps, I'm sure there is more to this and someone with even practice can also comment.

[Scythesman8]

Excellent footage!!! I can clearly see the metal edge turning shiny when struck by the hammer.