How about forging a unique type of knife like Charay? Sounds interesting? Why not start your adventures by understanding the procedures involved.
The Charay is a common weapon in the southern part of Asia. It is a type of knife used in combat and sometimes in localized wars.
The Charay is native to the Indo-Persia regions. It is also known as Khyber. The name ‘Khyber’ is a derivative of its use by the Khybers against the British. Forging a Charay is one of the prominent skills of the early blacksmiths.
Essentials
You should make use of tools when forging. The use of tools simplifies your task. Here are tools you should use when forging a Charay;
Forge
Hammer
Crucibles
Gloves
Belt grinder
To forge your Charay, you have to follow specific steps. These steps will guide you in forging your Charay and also ensure you have the best results.
Instructions on How to Forge a Charay
Step 1: Get Your Materials
Before you start forging, you have to get the material you will use to forge your Charay, preferably steel. You can make use of a flat steel plate or a steel rod.
Whatever you use, you should know that the Charay you are going to forge should have a flat blade. If you are making use of a rod, you will have to beat it to a flat shape before forging.
Step 2: Heat Your Material
You have to heat your steel to make it easy to forge. You might waste a lot of time and energy if you forge cold steel.
To heat the steel, place it in a forge. Heat the steel at high temperature till it becomes very hot (about 1500℃). At this temperature, the steel will be malleable so you can forge.
Step 3: Beat it Into the Shape
During this process, you should always place your steel in the forge at intervals. This act will keep the steel hot and malleable. To beat the steel into its shape, you have to;
Quick Steps
- Retrieve it from the forge using a crucible.
- Beat the hot steel into the shape of a Charay. You can either make use of a beating machine or manually make use of a hammer.
- Beat the steel in a way that the edge of a side is flatter than the other side. The flat side will serve as the sharp edge.
- You should also beat the shape into a triangular shape. The blade should be broad at the handle but thin and pointed at the tip.
Step 4: Grinding
After beating, you will have a rough shape of your Charay. It is one of the defining steps when forging a Charay. To make it take its exact shape, you have to;
Quick Steps
- Prepare and set your belt grinder. You can make use of other types of grinder to grind the surface of the blade.
- Set the rough blade against the grinder to grind it. You should move the blade around for uniform grinding.
- You should grind the flat edge to a thinner piece to make it sharp. The other side of the blade does not need much grinding.
Make sure you grind the blade very well. After grinding, the blade should have a perfect shape of a Charay. So, you should grind perfectly.
Step 5: Harden and Temper Your Blade
When forging, you must harden and temper the blade. Hardening and tempering your blade comprises two steps; heating your blade and quenching /annealing.
Quick Steps
- Heating: Heating the blade requires you to place the blade in the forge for heating. The blade does not have to be as hot as it was when you intend forging.
- Quenching/annealing: These two processes perform the same function. Quenching involves putting the hot blade into a quench liquid; the quench liquid can either be oil or water. The essence of quenching is to cool down the hot blade and harden the blade.
Annealing involves cooling the hot blade slowly and gradually. You can cool the blade in the air, and you can also cool it in wood ash. Most people make use of wood ash to anneal their blade. The function of cooling and annealing is to cool the blade down.
Step 6: Finishing
One of the important aspects of forging is finishing. You have to give your Charay a befitting finish. The finishing includes;
- Polishing the blade.
- Add finishing touches to the blade. Finishing touches like grinding, beating, etc.
- Joining the handle to the blade of the Charay. Your handle might be plastic, wooden, or metallic.
FAQs on How to Forge a Charay
Question
Is steel the only metal for forging a Charay?
There are many other metals used in forging Charays, with steel being the most commonly used metal. Steel is a good metal for forging and one of the best you can get.
Steel has many qualities that make it suitable for forging and probably the best material for forging.
Question
Is there any other way I can forge my Charay?
There are many other ways you can forge your Charay. Due to limited resources, we only talked about one way. In blacksmithing, there are different methods you can use to forge; you only have to make use of a suitable method.
Question
What is the difference between a Charay and a Khyber knife?
They are both the same. ‘Khyber’ is another name for Charay. The name ‘Khyber’ originated from the use of Charay against the British soldiers by the Khyber tribesmen.
Video on How to Forge a Charay
Warnings
When forging, you should follow certain safety precautions. These precautions will keep you safe from accidents when forging. The precautions include;
- Always wear safety attires that will cover your body.
- Be careful when handling tools, especially sharp ones.
- Always make sure you have a fire extinguisher close to you in case of fire outbreak.
- Always handle hot substance with equipment, not with your bare hands.
- Use the appropriate tool for every task.
References
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytebh8PIQws
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-i7H_GKXbk
3. https://sellantiquearms.com/shop/khyber-knife-sword-with-original-scabbard/
4. https://www.outfit4events.com/eur/product/6608-charay-khyber-knife/
5. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/primalfires/forging-a-t-section-blade-t3880.html