Forging A French Nail Trench Knife Out Of Rebar - Sharp Works
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ต.ค. 2024
- The French Nail was a knife made during World War One that was created due to a need for melee weapons in the trenches. It was typically made near the battlefield from local blacksmiths and given to the troops on the frontlines. Since raw materials were in short supply during the war, troops had to salvage the metal to make these knives from whatever they could find. Scrap steel from metal posts and rebar from defensive structures were the chosen material for the French Nail. It features a spear point, leaf-shaped blade with the metal bent in a way to form a guard for the user’s hand all in a one piece construction. It can be seen in the popular video game Battlefield 1.
Today, I am going to attempt to craft one of these trench knives. Since these were made from steel salvaged from reinforced concrete fortifications, it's only fitting to use rebar. I will forge out the blade first, cut the steel to the desired length, and grind to shape. I made a number of mistakes along the way, first of which was bending the handle perpendicular to the blade. Later on, I correct this by twisting the blade to be parallel to the handle, even though it wouldn’t have been a problem to the function of the knife. I also made the handle a bit large, which in turn made the blade shorter than I would have liked. Next time, I’ll take extra time to mark out my bends. The grinding really made up for a lot of my shortcomings while forging. I got most of the hammer marks out with a 120 grit finish. Lastly, I sharpen the knife and its ready to test out on some water bottles. While testing the trench knife, I noticed the leaf shape is perfect for piercing. It went in like butter and I almost didn't realize that the knife already had pierced them. I know its just plastic, but blade geometry really makes a difference.
Down the road, I plan to make another French Nail, one that is a little more historically accurate and, frankly, better looking. Please let me know in the comments if you liked this video and what you’d like to see me make in the future.
Interested in Forging? goo.gl/YhSdCU
Camping / Survival Hacks: goo.gl/NBaM7h
Knife Making: goo.gl/bvDcaa
Will It Rust? goo.gl/J7vPz4
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Sharp Works
Don't forget to read the description for more information on this project.
Let me start by saying that I am not an expert blacksmith. I have only forged a handful of times beforehand and I know that I need a lot of practice. I made a lot of mistakes on this project, but I learned more than I imagined on how I can improve for the next time. This video is meant to take you along with me as I learn to forge.
Sharp Works yeah don't worry man, you should probably start with getting a more stable base for your anvil to improve accuracy and reduce fatigue, liked the project a lot granted it's not pretty but it sure could fulfill his purpose
Sharp Works also I noticed a lot of the stuff you use looks new, anvils can be cheap if you buy an old one used as for tools now that you have one hammer and one pair of pliers you could try and make them yourself, could be fun and many blacksmiths do it
Sharp Works also I hope you checked if these were legal in your country
Robin Pohl thanks for the comments. I will need to look for a better stand. While forging I don’t notice the shaking, but I know it’ll help in the end. Where I live, used anvils are not common so that’s why I went for the store bought option to start as I look for a better option. I will definitely be practicing on making some tongs and punches down the road. Thanks again for the helpful advice.
Great work
This is great man. I love seeing what people can make from rebar. Nicely done.
Thank you!
Interesting. Looks like you got the Beasty very sharp.
Really good video, I like it when someone does stuff like that.
SurvivalAustria thank you!
Just as a historical footnote, the first French Nails were made from cut down bayonets as they were little more than oversized knitting needles (which is what the Germans called them, the French called their bayonets Rosalie) Up to three could be made from the one Lebel bayonet.
Ian Finrir very interesting information thank you for sharing this!
Wow love that history !
man i was feeling frustration watching you use that wobbly cast iron anvil. I been there.
Cool project man!!
xRoSkii thank you!
Great little project, I like it!👍🏼 But man you really need a better anvil stand like a tree stump or something similar🤔
Freizeitflugsphäre thank you! The reason I made the stand was because I don’t have a chainsaw and I couldn’t get my hands on any stumps that were reasonably flat or at a good height for me. But I’m still keeping my eyes out for one that I can use.
Sharp Works man I could get you a nice live oak stump. As tall as you want. Hard as a friggin rock.
Pretty cool! I need to just play with forging to see what it is all about. The forging was cool but the blade looked really clean on the grinds. Well done.
Joey Atilano thank you! I’ll admit my forging was pretty sloppy but I made up for most of it in the grinding.
Not the best good looking knife but pretty darn good
+ It looks fiting for a post apocalyptic world
Hey bro. You mite like a smaller hammer better
Thanks for the suggestion 👍
I really want one of these. I have no idea where to get them. Sadly I do not have the equipment to fabricate one such as this user did.
You could try to look up local knife makers / blacksmiths / metal workers in your area. I’m sure you could find someone willing to make it for you. Good luck!
@@SharpWorks if you ever sell one, let me know. You can check my feedback on eBay it's flawless.
Dana H As of now I don’t have plans of selling but I’ll keep you in mind if that changes.
I made one just by using a fire with some surrounding bricks, a large hammer, and a piece of rebar I found at a Bunnings. For the anvil, I used a metal ammo crate with more bricks on inside