Steel for a knife

[flatyre]

no worries, I think the thread has moved away from the context of the original post. Only my opinion but if the original poster needed a specialised knife made from the correct grade of steel and manufactured in a way that optimised the material, then he would buy one, the fact that he is toying with making a knife himself out of whatever steel he has easy access to, implies he just wants to have a go at making a knife that can hold a decent edge. A homemade knife may not have the correct grade of steel but chances of it being pushed to the limits of the material are pretty slim. If you're looking to forge a traditional Samurai sword that can cut someone in half then probably best to use the correct steel, you want to have a go at making a simple bushcraft knife out of what's available then an old file or leaf spring is a good place to start.

[Stubby]

no worries, I think the thread has moved away from the context of the original post. Only my opinion but if the original poster needed a specialised knife made from the correct grade of steel and manufactured in a way that optimised the material, then he would buy one, the fact that he is toying with making a knife himself out of whatever steel he has easy access to, implies he just wants to have a go at making a knife that can hold a decent edge. A homemade knife may not have the correct grade of steel but chances of it being pushed to the limits of the material are pretty slim. If you're looking to forge a traditional Samurai sword that can cut someone in half then probably best to use the correct steel, you want to have a go at making a simple bushcraft knife out of what's available then an old file or leaf spring is a good place to start.

 

Agreed .

[Mesterh]

He he, just been reading this thread, not sure if the original question had been answered so I checked it out. The OP should know the difference, "That's not a knife.....that's a file"

[mickdundee]

He he, just been reading this thread, not sure if the original question had been answered so I checked it out. The OP should know the difference, "That's not a knife.....that's a file"

 

 

 

Haha cracking.

 

Ref my question I think my saw blade is for the bin. I might have a go at a file as I have a couple lying about that are probably old enough not to be case hardened. I didn't realise I'd have to be annealing and re tempering though, I naively thought I could just grind it to shape and put a handle on haha, so it might be on the back burner for a while

[geoff]

Haha cracking.

 

Ref my question I think my saw blade is for the bin. I might have a go at a file as I have a couple lying about that are probably old enough not to be case hardened. I didn't realise I'd have to be annealing and re tempering though, I naively thought I could just grind it to shape and put a handle on haha, so it might be on the back burner for a while

 

You can buy knife blanks to work yourself, but depending on your expectations from the blade, a good old lawnmower blade is about the right thickness, if you can shape it by cutting and grinding/ filing cold then it would be an easy product, maybe use a hacksaw/jigsaw, and file to finish and rough sharpen, you could heat it and harden the metal once shaped, Google is your friend on the hardening process best suited to your needs.

 

Disclaimer so I don't get slapped by multidirectional handbags...I'm no expert on metallurgy, but I think you are one of the rare people on this thread who is not after shaving his/ her legs with the finished product, but just wants to create a reasonable knife.

[Woodworks]

Haha cracking.

 

Ref my question I think my saw blade is for the bin. I might have a go at a file as I have a couple lying about that are probably old enough not to be case hardened. I didn't realise I'd have to be annealing and re tempering though, I naively thought I could just grind it to shape and put a handle on haha, so it might be on the back burner for a while

 

At the risk of experiencing the wrath of others I can't see why you would need to heat treat the file as it should take a good edge untreated. The marking knife I made from a file takes a good edge with no apparent down sides. Sure it's probably not the best steel in the world but it's a long way from being the worst

[Stubby]

At the risk of experiencing the wrath of others I can't see why you would need to heat treat the file as it should take a good edge untreated. The marking knife I made from a file takes a good edge with no apparent down sides. Sure it's probably not the best steel in the world but it's a long way from being the worst

 

At the risk of repeating my self I think the file as it is , would be too brittle especially at the very sharp edge without some adjustment to the heat treatment . Just my opinion based on past experience . No wrath here

[treequip]

At the risk of experiencing the wrath of others I can't see why you would need to heat treat the file as it should take a good edge untreated. The marking knife I made from a file takes a good edge with no apparent down sides. Sure it's probably not the best steel in the world but it's a long way from being the worst

 

It will take a good edge and as long as you only use it as a marking implement it will be fine, retired files used to be used as scrapers.

 

Heat treating can be used to alter the properties of steel, it changes the structure giving it different characteristics within the limits of its composition.

[Joe Newton]

Worth a watch:

 

[treequip]

Worth a watch:

 

 

Well made vid, the part at 5:15 is particularly interesting, try that with your file:laugh1: