close up of peening

hammer blows - hopefully visibly, just a test to see if quality is high enough on you tube

Category:

Education

Tags:

• scythe
• blade
• peen
• mow

[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 :)

[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

[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...

[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?