Do forged knives outperform stock removal knives?
First off let me say I use both stock removal and forging in my knives so I am not biased. This is one of the most argued topics in the custom knife industry and many people get very passionate (and easily insulted/angered) about it so I will try to keep this short. In most cases I don’t believe forging enhances performance. In some instances it can….for example if your steel has flaws, inclusions, etc in it then forging will most definitely help spread those out which can greatly affect the steel. For example if you are casting your own steel in a crucible then I would highly recommend you forge it afterwards. If not the blade may end up fragile. Now the modern day steel we buy from steel warehouses have already been forged. Thats not to say they have burly men beating them between hammers and anvil, but during the process of the steel manufacturing it is forged. First think of what forging is…it is applying heat and pressure. Custom knifemakers often use a hammer and anvil for th
