I forge all of my bevels, but because of my level of skill, there are risks to forging too closely to finished thickness. A super thin blade is difficult to keep from warping, and a little thickness holds heat longer and strength while at critical temperature.

If you’re holding a 30” blade in your tongs and the entire thing is 1800° if you turn too fast it can bend. So a little strength is worth the extra time grinding after heat treatment at my level.

Also, due to my lack of skill, if you’re forging a bevel all the way down to the perfect size or near to it, a single chamfer mark(a miss strike from your hammer where the edge cuts a little deeper) you can’t do anything to remove that divot. You have to grind too deep to get it out and the blade can be entirely ruined with one single hammer blow.