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Knife Making


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Hey guys, I know there are a few keen blade-smiths on here so I thought I would post some photos of my latest project.

To all those who haven't attempted making their own knife, it ain't as hard as it may seem to come up with a good looking utilitarian piece that you will be proud of. It is one of the most rewarding hobbies going around I reckon.

I was splitting firewood when I saw the timber first and that was the inspiration to make the knife. Cutting up a 200 year old She-Oak and burning it just doesn't seem right once you put a slab on the ole belt sander and see its beauty.

I have more of this timber and can whack some across the table saw and cut some blocks or scales for any who are interested. For those that will make a knife out of it, I will be happy to share some.

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Stage 2 will consist of shaping the blade further edging it and polishing, shaping handle, riveting handle to blank and finishing off with a nice brass end cap. Then finish off.

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I've never used a saw blade to make a knife before but I'd think you'd need to heat treat it. They would surely harden the teeth of the saw but I doubt they would harden the centre, it would make it too rigid. If you've got an oxy or mapp gas torch and a drum of old sump oil you'll be able to do it. At the proper temp a magnet will not be attrackted to the knife, then quench straight away in the oil. At that point if you run a file across the steel it should slide smooth like glass and not dig in. You'd need to temper after that to stop it cracking in half when put under stress. You can do that in your home oven, temperature depending on what type of steel it is. You might have to do a bit of research to find out whats commonly used. Keep us posted on how it all goes

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Altona and Jindy, I am all ears as to the best way to heat treat the steel and temper it. ?? Should I finish the blade, shoulder and edge then do it?

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Hate to burst your bubble stalker but I did a quick search of some knife forums and this is the basic answer from well informed knifemakers:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320828

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=689076

If you dont mind spending a little bit of money check this out:

http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/product_info.php?cPath=87_924_67&products_id=330

2.4 mm thick and enough steel to make a few knives out of it, it's ideal for starters. 440c has been used for years and is one of the best corosion resistant stainless steels and holds an excellent edge. The way I see it is your going to the effort you may aswell use a steel intended for the purpose.

Hills heat treatment in Melbourne know theyre stuff with knife steel and generally run $8-15 per knife for the harden and temper depending on the size. You have to tape up the knives in cardboard and post them in a post pack with another pack enclosed with postage paid back to you, along with a money order for the heat treat cost aswell. Best give them a call for a quote.

http://www.hillsheat.com.au/1.html

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Thanks for the info mate, you didn't burst my bubble.....You blew it to pieces and swept it into a pile, shat on it, then burned it!!! :lol:

I will attempt to heat treat it and see what happens.

I am not a fan of super hard knife steel. I sharpen my skinning knives regularly throughout the process with a quick touch up on the steel. I do not expect it to last a lifetime either and it won't by all accounts.

I will have a go at the heat treatment and put an edge on it and use it a bit to see if it will hold an edge and go from there. Good practice though eh??

How about that timber?? Ha Ha Ha .....At least the handle will be ####in solid!! :lol:

I do appreciate the info mate cheers.

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Finish all the work you need to do on the blank first. All the drilling and filing will be next to impossible once you heat treat it.

Then fire up your wood bbq and get a good blaze going. You need a fire that can melt beer cans and slump stubies without trouble.

Then you put your blade in the fire. Let it get well and truly red hot then pull it out and hang it up to cool in a place without a cool breeze. The easiest way to do this is to get some fence wire and poke it through the rear-most hole in the handle (about 8 inches poking out) then wind that short bit around the handle. bend the wire so you can get a good grip on it and you don't need tongs. You just pull it out of the fire and let it go back to red. This will relieve any stress from the grinding and drilling and help prevent cracks or warping when you heat treat it.

Then you put it back in the fire. Get the blade (it doesn't matter about the handle) so hot it is almost yellow. You need a strong magnet and you put the magnet on the end of some scrap steel (6 inches will do) and then pull your yellow piece of art out of the fire and see if it is magnetic by putting the magnet to it. If it is at all magnetic you have to put it back in and make it hotter.

When it is up to heat you need to quench it. I use a drum of old cooking oil. It is solid but soft and I grab the knife with some tongs and drive it in edge first. If you use liquid oil make sure it is warmed up some first. It is easy to do by quenching a scrap piece of steel first. Cooking oil keeps the blade relatively clean, if you use old sump oil you can look forward to plenty of work getting it off afterward. DO NOT swirl the knife around in the oil. Put it in nice and straight with the edge down. If you quench it unevenly it will warp.

Once the blade is quenched back down to cool enough to hold in your hand you are good to go on to the next step, tempering.

Fire up your oven to around 200c. Remember that piece of scrap you used to start the quench, clean it up (make it bright) and put it on a rack in the oven for 30 minutes or so. You will see the steel change color. You are looking for a color close to straw (a light yellow). When it is colored it is taken out and let cool on a rack (like cakes :) )

You then test this piece of steel to see how hard it is. You already have knives and you know how they feel on your sharpening steel or under a file, test the scrap and see how it feels. If it is still like glass you need to put it back in the oven and get it hotter this time. BEWARE, it can rush up on you and go blue very quickly if you let it, and then you have to start right back at the BBQ again.

The color of my knives to get 58RC

tempered.jpg

A bunch of knives getting the treatment

tempering.jpg

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You could cut out a bit of steel from the rest of the saw and do a test on how hard it will get, maybe the steel can be hardenable .. you never know. Make sure you drill your pin holes before heat treat, I f'd that up once :lol:

As far as the steel goes the only difference with quality knife steel is that they will hold theyre edge ALOT longer than the cheaper 420 grade steels found in kitchen knives. Harder to sharpen = sharpen less often...if sharpened properly ;) . Once the initial edge is put on a knife a quick swipe of a steel is all that is needed to get the microscopic teeth back in line and razor sharp. I'm always on the lookout for smooth steels at garage sales.

If it doesn't work out well you've gained valuble practice on shaping and surely come up with ideas for the next effort.

A couple ideas for the sheoak:

You could use danish oil for a matt finish or plastic coating for a glass like finish.

http://www.rustins.com.au/rustins/home.html

I know david broziac has used the plasic coating on handles before and look fantastic but is better suited to an art knife not a worker.

Good luck mate :D

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Cheers mate. The handle, I was just going to buff it right up and give it a good rubbing with a canvas bag and some cheap multigrade engine oil. All my shovels and axes etc have the same and it seems to do the trick.

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Hoy stalker the two smaller knives except the Green River skinner were made from old cross cut saw blades, they are high carbon steel which is grouse for knives imo and to me as an ex slaught better than SS. Anyway my mate Kelvin made them for me and i still use them to this day. The GR steel is as good as it gets and is renowned for its quality. GR blanks can be had for $10 USD

carbonsteelblades.png

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Cheers Gryph. I also always fancied the higher carbon content myself. Those are beauties mate. Love the GR skinner, she has seen some work!

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Remind me to pull `em out next time you lob mate,they are good tough knives,the middle one is in the tractor cab as I use it for gutting silage bags ,they will blunt a knife quickly and she works well.Ask me about steels too. (sharpening ones)

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Will do mate. I have had traps in the ground since we last caught up and cannot get away. Frickin foxes....I am over the b@stards!!! I wind up in the second half of this month and will be hitting the hills hard!! Hopefully tha spot is still there for me and hasn't been hammered.

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Hi i have been bashing steel for a wile now for fun and i have to agree with what has been said hear. When i temper in the oven i go to 150 deg c for 3 hours then let cool to room temp then in the freezer for a day . Had good results with most steels . the tools i have made were hammer forged then ground and fielded to shape treated then sharpened . Hardening was done in a mixture of hydraulic oil and animal fat . In my experience if you let the metal go to a straw colour the tempering is to fast . It is better to temper a a lower temp and allow the steel to relax over time to get a hard blade that holders a good edge that lasts but is still tough . Then in the freezer for a day further toughens the blade . If you can pack in dry ice after freezing and return to freezer for another day it workers better . The blades you have shown hear are works of art . You should try bashing a blade out or G8 bolts or 10.9 bolts good steel and easy to find for nothing. Heat treats well and gives a good strong blade . Great work Got to love it .

Edited by Alex.M
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