garden clippers to a knife

[mark.177]

​had an old rusty pair of garden clippers hidden away in the shed, wasnt sure exactly what steel they were made from so had to experiment with some off cuts for heat treat.
the winning formula seemed to be 780-790c quenched in heated (50c) vegtable oil with a double two hour temper at 190c.
remnants of the old quench line can still be seen after an acid wash which surprised me. the blades hardened well and would guess are aprox 59hrc after temper

i did wonder about applying some clay for a hamon and had to craw under my work mate to get the tub as the forge allready fired up and was in the way... unfortunately it had set rock solid

any way turned out the steel has made a rather good knife

​

 

[SoldierPalmer]

Fantastic job I have a pair rusting away in the shed I was thinking of making 2 small choppers out of them.

 

[ValeTudoGuy]

Fantastic.. This place is giving me more ideas than I have the time [or tallent] to have a bash at.

 

[Muddypaws]

Superb! Nice to see some old tools being upcycled into something new and useful.

 

[mark.177]

thanks, have never been a steal snob but after using quite a few different steels was impressed with this simple (though unknown?) carbon steal. the top one is a keeper for sure

 

[warthog1981]

Excellent well done

 

[Fadcode]

Any chance of turning my old lawn mower into a Mercedes Mark?..................

 

[Ogri the trog]

And there was me thinking that I was the only person in the world to make a blade out of hedge clippers....

Mind you, my rough and rustic effort pales when compared to yours Mark.

ATB

Ogri the trog

 

[Sparky415]

Stunning work,
Do you have a 'before' picture? please Mark

 

[Tiley]

Wonderful stuff. It might seem bizarre, but I really like the colour and patina on the blades; it gives them a real sense of purpose somehow...

 

[redneck]

That top one is a beautiful looking knife.

 

[mark.177]

Stunning work,
Do you have a 'before' picture? please Mark

wish i had, wasnt thinking at the time and before i new it was already cut up. i have another pair of clippers i want to test the steel on so will try to take a few more pics.
the little necker went the other day but have been making a leather sheath for the larger one today.

 

[Jackroadkill]

Very nice, Mark - repurposing's always nice to see.

 

[Brandon-C]

Looks real nice, time to raid the shed!

 

[Dogoak]

Very nice, Mark - repurposing's always nice to see.

+ 1 from me ��

 

[mark.177]

Stunning work,
Do you have a 'before' picture? please Mark

this is the second pair i had next to the off cuts of the last pair. not quite so much room though for the profile as both blades beveled the last pair had a flat blade one side.
the off cuts should make for good practice forging.

 

[Sparky415]

Thanks for that!
Great looking sheath aswell

 

[Woodcutter2]

Nice work, another thing to keep an eye out for at the boot fair tomorrow!

 

[mark.177]

started profiling and beveling another blade from the second pair of garden clippers, not quite as much room to get a full handle in so having to use a filler. the second set were a little harder to work with as seem to be a higher hardness.
i gave the blade a light acid wash here before heat treat as the first clippers had a distinct straight hamon, i wanted to see what was going on. there is a faint hint of one along the original edge.

 

[Samon]

Very nice, mate.

Did the sheers have a brand? and what's the steel like compared to the other stuff you use?