Spanner knife finished.

[Fat ferret]

I asked a wee while ago about what steel some old spanners were likely made and weather it would harden or temper, anyway thanks to Dave Budd who said it might harden I gave it a go.

Cut and ground the spanner into a blade with the grinder. Have left the end on as a bolster, we have 'Billings U.S.A,' on one side and "3/4," on the other, I stamped the year too but the metal was a bit too hard to make a good impression.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8401879970/

Filed into shape and rivet holes drilled.

Hardening in wood burner, burning small split ash I can easily get metal non-magnetic.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8400797885/

Tried oil but still a bit too soft so used saltwater which hardened it but warped it a bit too, never mind. Then put an edge on the blade.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8400807597/

Now making scales from an off cut of oak.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8400815651/

At this Point Mrs Richard stole the camera so we will have to skip to the finished knife. I glued on one scale, drilled it, glued on the other and drilled it, then made rivets from 1/4 steel rod. Countersunk slightly and peined on. Then finished with rasp and sanded. Turned out well for me, I think my best yet and didn't have to buy anything.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8400823481/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8401922578/

Bit of a bend.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8401930218/

Underside.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8401937332/

And I saw someone, can't remember who post a photo of their dog in so here's my oldest who is 9. Shall we make dog photos mandatory where possible?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/80226784@N07/8401942434/

Can anyone tell me how to make the actual photos appear in my posts rather than lots of links? At the moment I am just copy and pasting links from flickr. Anyone help?

 

[sasquatch]

Nice one. Reminds me of an old bayonet I have somewhere.

 

[cowboy]

This is fantastic mate!!! A lovely design and final product! Very well done!!!

 

[Albus Culter]

Very nice. Heard of using old files, but never a spanner. First rate job :You_Rock_

 

[Rod Paradise]

Really nice!!! Great work keeping the Spanner markings as as bolster too - some knives need to look perfectly finished - yours looks like a real practical user made with personal care.

 

[Silverback 1]

That is superb indeed, made to be used and not stuck on a shelf gathering dust.

 

[The Edge]

Nice !,I'm glad it came together .

 

[Dreadhead]

nice! looks like a hefty beast indeed

 

[Barn Owl]

A fine piece Richard and what's the blondes name?

 

[JAG009]

Good job Richard keep the good work up .................................................. As for your pics do you mean like this

 

[JAG009]

Here you go

 

[Dave Budd]

turned out well

did it get properly file skating hard from the brine? A spanner will never make the same quality of knife as a file, but will likely be mcuh tougher, so all is good. The bend was likely due to uneven heating in the fire, uneven cooling i the water or more likely just because it wanted to! If you heat treat blades then you have to get used to warpage

 

[Fat ferret]

Yes very file resistant except the tip which is very slightly softer for some reason. After oil quench the tip was actually a bit harder than the rest of it but much better after water quench. No need to temper but the edge is (as you say) very tough, took a while to get sharp but seems to take a while to get blunt again. I have made file knives that I could make sharper but they bluntened a little if I hit a hard knot or a bone or a bit of metal by accident, (heaven forbid!) This seems tougher. My first knife was actually a case hardened file which didn't work at all. So I know what doesn't work steel wise but am confident this will. Certainly going to put to the test.

Just sliced some serious bacon but edge seems unchanged despite gnarly old beechwood board.

By the way as grinding and filing were easy enough I didn't bother annealing this one. I have learned to recognize a case hardened file because they always seem really soft and bendy, can bend with just hands, after annealing.

Yes she turned out very chunky, original spanner was oval in profile hence grinding flats for scales. The blade is probably 7-8mm at the thickest point. End bolster could be used as fish bopper too.

And yes it did turn out a bit rough and ready. Wasn't going to polish it too much because I didn't know how the heat treat was going to work out. Also scales have small voids in the oak which would stick out like a sore thumb on shiny polished wood.

Cheers Jason now how do I do that from flickr?

 

[Rod Paradise]

Yes very file resistant except the tip which is very slightly softer for some reason. After oil quench the tip was actually a bit harder than the rest of it but much better after water quench. No need to temper but the edge is (as you say) very tough, took a while to get sharp but seems to take a while to get blunt again. I have made file knives that I could make sharper but they bluntened a little if I hit a hard knot or a bone or a bit of metal by accident, (heaven forbid!) This seems tougher. My first knife was actually a case hardened file which didn't work at all. So I know what doesn't work steel wise but am confident this will. Certainly going to put to the test.

Just sliced some serious bacon but edge seems unchanged despite gnarly old beechwood board.

By the way as grinding and filing were easy enough I didn't bother annealing this one. I have learned to recognize a case hardened file because they always seem really soft and bendy, can bend with just hands, after annealing.

Yes she turned out very chunky, original spanner was oval in profile hence grinding flats for scales. The blade is probably 7-8mm at the thickest point. End bolster could be used as fish bopper too.

And yes it did turn out a bit rough and ready. Wasn't going to polish it too much because I didn't know how the heat treat was going to work out. Also scales have small voids in the oak which would stick out like a sore thumb on shiny polished wood.

Cheers Jason now how do I do that from flickr?

But that all adds to the effect of the knife. Polished ebony or mammoth tooth would just not look right, it's a reinvented tool & looks bang on as it is IMHO.

 

[Supertanker]

That's a really nice individual knife. I particularly like the fact that you left the size and makers name on the pommel. Nice work mate. I always find it amazing what you can make a knife from.