Metallurgy: creating art through knife-making

Cadet 1st Class Ryan Hebert forges a knife in the U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Mechanical Engineering March 11, 2024. Cadets in the senior-level Physical Metallurgy course construct a knife for their class project. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Trevor Cokley)

By Randy Roughton
U.S. Air Force Academy Strategic Communications

U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – Each cadet in Capt. Michael Lee’s Physical Metallurgy course constructs a knife for their class project. This semester, two cadets satisfied the requirement by producing knives for the 2024 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Bladesmithing Competition in Orlando, Florida.

In early March, Cadets 1st Class Colton O’Dell and Ryan Hebert became the first U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Mechanical Engineering team to take their knives to the competition since 2019, Lee said. Knives made for the course and competition must be blunted with no sharp edges.

Cadet 1st Class Colton O’Dell displays the knife he made for the 2024 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Bladesmithing Competition March 11, 2024. Cadets in the senior-level Physical Metallurgy course construct a knife for their class project. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Justin Pacheco)

Knife making in Physical Metallurgy

In the class, cadets learn about solid-state physics and dealing with various types of metals and alloys. They learn how to use heat treatment and other processes to change the properties of materials such as the steel in knives.

“The knife mirrors what we learn in class,” Hebert said. “You select your materials, process them and put them through a process to achieve a certain property. That is a reflection on the entire course.”

Cadet 1st Class Ryan Hebert lowers the hammer on the knife he made for the 2024 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Bladesmithing Competition March 11, 2024. Cadets in the senior-level Physical Metallurgy course construct a knife for their class project. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Justin Pacheco)

The benefits of hitting hot metal

For me, it’s a mental release,” O’Dell said. “Sometimes, it’s fun to just hit hot metal with a hammer. For mechanical engineering majors, everything is step by step. With knife making, you don’t have any steps. You use your creativity and your art to make it what you want.”

O’Dell’s knife is a hand-crafted Damascus blade with a complex pattern. Hebert made a knife with a feather pattern. The forging of the blade was the easier part. Getting their knives ready for the competition took an additional 30 hours, O’Dell said.

Both cadets became interested in knife making through the program “Forged in Fire” and began making knives in high school. Their interest peaked when they came to the Academy and learned of the available resources and tools.

“I didn’t have a forge at home, so I couldn’t bend metal, shape and hammer it out,” Hebert said. “When I came here, I had a lot more tools, which means I needed to learn a lot of new skills. A Class of 2022 cadet and lab technician, Gregory Waldheim, helped me and taught me the initial forging skill. From there, (O’Dell) and I started making our knives our junior year.”

Cadet 1st Class Colton O’Dell works on the knife he made for the 2024 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Bladesmithing Competition March 11, 2024. Cadets in the senior-level Physical Metallurgy course construct a knife for their class project. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Justin Pacheco)

A keepsake for life

Lee said some cadets consider this senior-level course a difficult elective. Those who take on the challenge get to keep their creation. Lee, Class of 2014, still has the knife he made when he took the class. Likewise, Hebert and O’Dell said they plan to keep theirs.

The cadets also said they are not finished with making knives, even if it is a hobby they return to after their U.S. Air Force careers.

“I will,” O’Dell said, “even if it is 20 years from now when I’m retired. If I can get a forge, I will still go out and hit hot metal.”

Cadet 1st Class Colton O’Dell forges a knife in the U.S. Air Force Academy Department of Mechanical Engineering March 11, 2024. Cadets in the senior-level Physical Metallurgy course construct a knife for their class project. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Trevor Cokley)

For more photos of cadets making knives, see Flickr.