Wilkinson Sword Survival Knife/Dartmoor CSK

[SCOMAN]

Okay I'm ready to take the abuse on this so lets get it out of the way early............

I recently bought the component parts for the above knife of e-bay from a guy who bought the last stock and parts when Wilkinson closed the doors. I bought an unground blade due to cost and I remember others saying that they would have ground the knife differently to give it a better cutting edge. Two questions

1. What grind would you recommend for the knife blade? I would use it as a chopping knife but would also like it to have capabilities for finer work.

2. Does anyone know anyone/anywhere in the Plymouth/Dartmoor area where I could get this done?

I know that there may be cheaper or better options out there but I've always liked the knife and was given the money for Christmas. Hopefully amongst the abuse I'll get some advice. Thanks to all and hope your plans for the season go off well. In the words of Dave Allen "may your God go with you"

 

[seany boy]

Hi Scoman,
you could try here....

http://swc-handmade-knives.com

 

[SCOMAN]

Cheers chum

 

[spamel]

Doc Price is based on Union Street, I'm sure. I think he does a lot of forging but he's bound to have kit for grinding bevels, etc.

 

[SCOMAN]

Cheers Spamel does anyone have any other advice or guidance. Getting my money back is probably not constructive.

 

[Stew]

Is the blade hardened already? (I presume not)

I wouldn't limit myself to it being someone local for doing the grinding unless you really want to be part of the process as there are plenty of people who I could recommend that aren't local to you who would probably do it for a fee. If it needs hardening as well, that needs to be factored in as well.

 

[SCOMAN]

I believe it is hardened but just needs grinding. Any help is appreciated, thanks

 

[Stew]

I that case, I would send Stuart Mitchell a message and see what he can do for you.

 

[SCOMAN]

Cheers mate

 

[Martyn]

I believe it is hardened but just needs grinding. Any help is appreciated, thanks

It's unlikeley to be hardened if it's not ground. The grinding process generates a lot of heat and would generally ruin the temper unless you are very careful and work slowly. Normally, an unground blade blank would be in an annealed state, then the blade would be ground, then hardened, then tempered, then polished and then an edge put on it.

Grinding a hardened blade is hard work, takes a long time and uses up a lot of grinding belts. Usually the only time you would consider grinding a hardened blade, is if there was some aspect of the original blade yopu wanted to preserve or if you were just making a slight modification to the blade. If the knife is hardened and you pass it to a knife maker, they will probably anneal it first to make it soft and easy to work, then re-harden after grinding. Either way, you need to factor the cost of grinding, hardening, tempering, and polishing.

Have a look on britishblades, there are plenty of people there that can do this work for you.

What's your budget for the work?

Alternatively, if you think the cost of the work is just too much, you will probably find a hobbyist who will buy the components off you, so they can do the work themselves - in fact some time ago, one of tghe members was selling dartmoor blanks on there.

 

[rapidboy]

The one on egay does say it's hardened in the description but it's probably wrong, can't see why they would harden a blade blank.

 

[Martyn]

The one on egay does say it's hardened in the description but it's probably wrong, can't see why they would harden a blade blank.

Yeah, it's very unlikely to of left the WS factory in that state. I cant think of any reason why they would harden a blank before grinding, it doesnt make any sense. It could of been hardened after by a third party, but again, why?

I think the seller has probably got it wrong.

 

[Stew]

I know of at least one company that hardens their blades before grinding. I can't remember why just now though...

 

[Shinken]

usually its to avoid warping, mainly for thin blades

 

[rapidboy]

A quick rub with a file will tell all.

 

[Martyn]

I know of at least one company that hardens their blades before grinding. I can't remember why just now though...

Well if it's a company that uses big industrial grinders, where the work may be liquid cooled as it's being ground, then I could see it - again, I cant see why they would though. It's just making life harder for themselves.

But if these knives have been hardened before grinding, then I would think any custom maker would want to anneal the blank first.

440C is an air hardening steel as well, so heat treat aint gonna be a question of a quick warm 'n dunk.

 

[Martyn]

A quick rub with a file will tell all.

Indeed it will.

 

[Martyn]

usually its to avoid warping, mainly for thin blades

Yeah, I can see that on thin carbon steel blades, but I doubt it's a factor on thick 440c blades.

Just dug up the ht specs for 440c, it's not an absolute bear, but more awkward than carbon with some soaking and cycling involved.

Heat Treatment

PROCESS ANNEAL:
Heat at 1350-1450° F then cool very slowly in the furnace.

FULL ANNEAL:
Heat uniformly at 1550-1600° F soak and cool slowly in furnace to 1000-1250° F at a rate of 20-50° F per hour, then cool in air, oil, or water.

HARDENING:
Preheat slowly to 1450° F and soak, then raise temperature to 1850-1950° F, quench in warm oil or air. Products hardness of C55-58 Rockwell.

STRESS RELIEVE:
Heat to 300-800° F for 1 to 3 hours, air cool.