What steel for bushy knives?

[Fat Rog]

Hi guys, I'd like to have a go at making myself a couple of knives on a home made forge. I'd like to make a decent sized bowie (about an 8" or so blade) and a smaller skinning knife to go with it. Having never tried anything like this before I'm obviously going to stay away from stuff like damascus or 440C, but I'd like something that wont rust or stain too fast. So what kind of steel should I start off with, bearing in mind my complete lack of experience and proper equipment? Everyone has opinions on what the best steel for a knife is, but what is the best for a total novice?

I did try to join the British Blades forum, but they never sent me an activation email so I can't post questions on there

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

I would start by making a smaller blade to start with, something in the 3in range should do it no sense in running before you can walk so to speak.

I would also check your spam folder to see if the activation email has gone in there or emailing britishblades.com@domainprivacygroup.com the owner is using who is protection so I can't give you direct contact details but that will get to the owner's / admins in the same way. They should be able to resend the email if it didn't get sent in some way.

 

[spandit]

Old leaf spring is good to practice on as it's cheap (free, ideally) or you can buy O1 tool steel from Cromwell which is used in a lot of high end knives and has known properties for heat treating etc.

 

[sasquatch]

Get an old file from a car boot sale for practice, it's great steel.

 

[DaveBromley]

I used an old file for my first one and afterwards I used O1 tool steel simply because you never know what steel your getting with old files. And as i'm sure you are aware you really need to know which steel you are using to get the best out of heat treating and tempering.

As far as not rusting too quickly etc carbon steel will rust if it isnt looked after but the application of either an oil coat each time you put it away or allowing a nice patina to form helps to lessen the chances. The problem that you have is that to lower the risks by choosing steel you would probably be best to use stainless, the issue here is your equipment, as stainless is notoriously difficult to heat treat effectively without proper equipment as for the best results you need to "soak" the steel at a steady temp. it is also harder to work from what i have been told.

For a first timer i wold advise Tool steel as its pretty forgiving with regards to heat treat, gives a good usable tool and with a bit of care can last years! I still have the one i made for myself about 3 years ago (my 3rd knife) and its still going strong despite being put through the wringer lol

HTH

Dave

 

[HillBill]

I'd recommend getting some mild steel first so you can get used to swinging and controlling the hammer. I've been making knives for a few years now and have just bought an anvil. I'm practicing on other things first, until i develop the skills needed to be able to make blades as high carbon steels are tougher to forge than mild.. You are not going to get good results for a bit, thats just the way things work. Dont expect too much too quickly. Try some fire steels if you want to practice on high carbon.

As said, files are good for practicing on, or buy some 01

 

[Everything Mac]

Id echo what hillbill said. Start by using mild steel, or just generic steel scrap. High carbon steels are physically harder to forge so it is a good idea to have a basic understanding of what's going on.

As for blades I concur with what has been said, I use old files and spring steel. 01 is a good steel but it is relatively expensive for the beginner. So you might be better off waiting a while before you buy some.

What are you using as a forge?

Cheers
Andy

 

[Fat Rog]

Thanks guys, I'll probably be off to the car boot sale this weekend, try and pick some old files up for practice I had thought about 01, but agree that I'd be better off practicing on something cheaper first. The worst that can happen is I make a rubbish knife.

The forge will be an old barbeque with a plate in the bottom with some holes drilled in it to allow the air up through the coals, the air will probably be a hairdryer - just don't tell the missus . I''ve seen a few videos on youtube showing how to make them, looks simple enough (famous last words, lol), I'll be quenching in old engine oil.

Many thanks for the input, will give it a blast and let you know how I get on

 

[Joonsy]

years ago i used to make gutting/filletting knifes from old hacksaw blades which were not pretty but worked, i prefer carbon steel for my knifes purely because i find them easiest to sharpen myself, i know nothing of making knifes or working metal though other than those rough gutting knifes.

 

[abominable_scouse_monster]

years ago i used to make gutting/filletting knifes from old hacksaw blades which were not pretty but worked, i prefer carbon steel for my knifes purely because i find them easiest to sharpen myself, i know nothing of making knifes or working metal though other than those rough gutting knifes.

I have done that, Makes surprisingly useful knives. I would call it the cheapest option you could start with.

 

[Fat Rog]

haha, that takes me back a bit. Back when I was a welder/ fabricator we would often use broken mechanical hacksaw blades to make chipping blades. Sometimes when you're stick welding (that is manual metal arc welding), the "slag" wouldn't come off cleanly. A quick going over with a wire brush usually did the trick, but sometimes the damn stuff was just stubborn, especially on the edge where the weld bead meets the parent metal. Hitting it with a chipping hammer was a big no-no, as it was easy to cause pits on the workpiece. So we made chipping blades instead. Took the remnants off a treat. I'd totally forgotten that 'til now.

 

[Fat ferret]

Files are variable. I usually just harden the blade and then vary my tempering once I get a feel for the steel. After annealing your file should easy to file and drill but if it's really soft then it's probably a case hardened file you are using which wont harden at all.

As said o1 is nice and predictable.

 

[Craig88]

May be a quick reply and i don't know much but high carbon steel is supposed to be good as its easy to sharpen

Sent from my GT-I8160

 

[Fat Rog]

Didn't get to the car boot sale on Sunday so I've bought a couple of bits of mild steel from a local fabricator to practice on. I've probably got enough to make five or six knifes, and he only wanted a fiver for the steel, so it's hardly broke the bank I'll move on to 01 later.

 

[Everything Mac]

Just so you know, you can work harden the edge of a mild steel knife. Hammer the cutting edge.

Also you can case harden it by rubbing the still hot blade with antler

Andy

 

[Fat ferret]

How well does this work?

 

[HillBill]

It worked well enough for the greeks, Romans and egyptians They took over the world using work hardened blades

 

[Fat Rog]

Well for the first couple I'll be sticking to stock removal rather than actually forging the blades. I take it the hardening/ tempering process is the same though? And am I right in thinking that with mild steel you have to temper immediately after hardening to avoid cracking, or did I just dream that?

 

[HillBill]

You can't harden mild steel using heat.

 

[Everything Mac]

Well for the first couple I'll be sticking to stock removal rather than actually forging the blades. I take it the hardening/ tempering process is the same though? And am I right in thinking that with mild steel you have to temper immediately after hardening to avoid cracking, or did I just dream that?

You mean high carbon steel. Yes.

mild steel is a low carbon steel that won't really harden through heating.



Fat ferret: it works well enough for it to take an edge but you won't be in the same league as high carbon steel. Work harden it and rub antler on it will put a small amount if carbon on the very edge - enough to make it workable as a blade.


You have to have the blade hot to rub the antler on it or it won't work.

Cheers