Forging a Twisted Railroad Spike Knife

Twisted Railroad Spike Knife - Brown County Forge

Blacksmith Project Breakdown: Twisted Railroad Spike Knife

Students forge railroad spike knives in class every weekend at Brown County Forge.

From time to time they opt for the twisted handle look above.

In this post I’ll go through the steps it takes to forge a twisted railroad spike knife.

The Basic Steps:

  1. Forge the blade.
  2. Twist the handle.
  3. Clean up the knife profile and grind the rough bevel.
  4. Harden.
  5. Temper.
  6. Final polish and sharpen.

Step One: Forging the Railroad Spike Knife Blade

Railroad Spike Knife - Brown County Forge

Get the railroad spike up to a nice glowing yellow-orange color.

Start hammering half way up the spike and out towards the tip.

By starting halfway up you’ll leave enough room for a handle and have plenty of material for your blade.

Depending on your hammering stamina and hand-eye coordination, this thinning process can take some time.

Usually it will take anywhere from 45 minutes to 2 hours for a beginner.

Step Two: Twist the Handle

Railroad Spike Knife Close Up - Brown County Forge

Twists look great, but I’ll let you in on a secret:

They are one of the easiest techniques to do.

Due to the thickness of the material, we need to do one quarter-turn per heat for the railroad spike twist.

For each quarter-turn you will put the heated spike into your viseĀ blade down.

You then grab just under the head of the spike with a pair of locking vise grips.

Keep the grips level and pull toward you for one quarter-turn.

Reheat and repeat.

Step Three: Set Aside to Cool and Then Grind the Profile

Now that you have your basic knife shape forged and the twist made, set it aside to cool completely.

When it’s cool to the touch (about 20 minutes later), use a hand file, a bench grinder, or an angle grinder to clean up your rough edges.

You can also start cleaning up and polishing the flats of the blade.

As you do this you will see just how consistent your hammer blows were.

Your goal at this stage is to get smooth, clean lines and the final shape of the knife.

If you want a bowie railroad spike knife, you will grind in the bowie anatomy.

If you’re looking for more of a skinner, you will grind in skinner lines.

The grinder is your friend. =]

Step Four: Hardening

Hardening a Blade - Brown County Forge

Now it’s time to reheat the knife to just above cherry red.

The reason this color is important is that it’s our visual signal that the knife is approaching non-magnetic.

We want it to lose its magnetism before we harden it.

This is an additional sign that the molecules in the metal are aligned properly for hardening.

(Want to see this in action? You can sign up for Online Classes here or take a class in person!)

When it’s hot enough and nonmagnetic, we quench it in oil for a count of eight seconds.

Then the knife is set aside to cool.

Side Note: We use vegetable oil as our quenchant in the shop. It does a great job and isn’t as toxic as burning motor oil.

Step Five: Temper

Tempering Colors In Steel - Brown County Forge

After cooling, the knife is ready for a polish to help the silver of the blade shine through.

This is necessary because we need to see the temper colors as we apply low level heat to the blade.

To temper we use a propane torch and apply heat to the spine of the knife.

Making steady passes across the spine, we gradually heat the blade up.

When it is a light straw color (the color all the way to the left in the photo above), we quench it once again in the vegetable oil.

(Click here for a full breakdown of tempering)

Step Six – Polish and Sharpen

You don’t have to leave the temper color on your blade.

When it’s completely cooled down, you can take a piece of sandpaper and sand it back to silver.

Some people like the “Man With the Golden Knife” look, but it’s up to you (bad James Bond reference).

Now it’s time to put the final edge on your twisted railroad spike knife.

I prefer to use a 10-inch Single Cut Hand File.

If you have experience using whetstones you should use what you’re comfortable with.

Proper sharpening with hand file involves these five things:

  1. Only file with forward motions. NEVER saw back and forth.
  2. Start with a steep angle to make your two bevel sides meet. Then go shallower for your final edge.
  3. If the file is screeching, adjust your file’s horizontal orientation.
  4. If you over-sharpen it’s not the end of the world. Knock the burr down with light strokes against the grain.
  5. Test carefully as you work. Don’t slide up and down the blade to test. Lightly pull across the blade edge to feel for sharpness.

If you’ve never done it before it will take some time to get good.

All of this is a patience game.

Thanks for Reading!

Twisted Railroad Spike Knife - Brown County Forge

Sword Sharpening Service in Indiana

Did you know that Brown County Forge offers a sword sharpening service?

[Updated for 2024]

Terran the Blacksmith is happy to sharpen any bladed tool from knives to axes to longswords.

Sword Sharpening Service in Indiana

Sharpening a Katana

Bloomington local David brought in seven Japanese swords for sharpening earlier this fall (2023).

They shipped from Japan with blunted edges to make importing simpler, but having them stateside without sharpened edges didn’t seem quite right.

After a few hours and approximately a week turnaround time, the seven katanas were sharpened and ready to go.

Sharpening a Katana

Sharpening a Longsword

Sword Sharpening Service Indiana - Brown County Forge

Beck brought in his longsword in June 2019.

His goal was to have it competition-ready with a clean edge and a new polish.

The sword is almost four feet long from pommel to point.

The Sword Sharpening Process

Sword Sharpener Indiana - Brown County Forge

First, Terran assesses the condition of the blade.

He observes these key points:

  • Any chips or hairline fractures.
  • Bluntness along the length of the blade.
  • Nicks and gouges on the flat of the blade.
  • Any visible rust.

Beck’s blade (the longsword above) was well-cared for so all it needed was a sharpen and polish.

To get it ready for competition, Terran follows these steps:

  1. Hand-filing the edge from hilt to point. Maintaining a micro-bevel along the length of long blades takes practice and patience.
  2. Any marks and scratches are polished out using finer and finer grits of sandpaper.
Sharpening a Cutlass
Assessing a Coast Guard cutlass to be sharpened – 2023

Next Day Service

The sword is ready for pickup the next day.

Most bladed tools will be ready within a few hours. If you arrange to drop it off in the morning, it will be ready by afternoon.

Axes or knives in very poor condition may take longer. Terran is happy to provide quotes on costs and timelines.

How Much Does It Cost?

Sharpening swords properly takes time. For a sword like Beck’s that is in good shape, it will take an hour or so.

The shop hourly rate is $45 per hour for most services.

There is a sliding scale depending on exactly what you need done and your budget.

The most important thing to Terran is that you have a functional edged tool.

Shipping a Sword for Sharpening

Depending on where you are in the United States, shipping your sword for sharpening may be your best option.

Terran recommends using USPS for better rates compared to FedEx.

FedEx is a good provider when it comes to overnight, express shipments, but is usually too expensive for everyday items.

If you need help with packaging, send Terran an email. He’s happy to provide ideas.

*The cost to ship your sword is your responsibility both ways. We recommend insurance up to the replacement value of the sword.

Sword Sharpening Blacksmith - Brown County Forge

Want to Learn More About Blades?

We cover knife making basics every Saturday throughout the year.

You will gain the knowledge you need to take care of all of your bladed tools.

You can get more information on the Classes Page.