Advice for a beginner on plate steel?

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The plate steel might be useful for guards, bolsters and pommels, though. But i wouldn't go out of my to buy some for this purpose.
It's also useful for forging old style arrow heads.
 
Funny enough he may be making me some arrowheads with either scrap steel or just regular stuff, I am not planning to get into knife making because I'll be too busy with college and I do have a hobby(bowmaking and native arrowhead making) I asked him what hobby he would pursue if he wanted to, his response was knifemaking. I think he wants something unique and something I haven't done yet(good thing I haven't yet.) besides that he finds it practical. Also, he's super tallented! I think a few months and he will be turning out some good knives maybe even some very nice ones(just my prediction.)
 
sunshadow said:
Dude, please do some research before you post such utter fiction. Start with the Knives and Scabbards book

http://www.amazon.com/Knives-Scabbards-Medieval-Excavations-London/dp/1843833530

then do some serious reading on the evolution of steel and iron weapons, there has been a lot of great research by Anne Fuerbach (I may have butchered her name) on the history of steel, including the archaeology of the biblical city of Mirv in which almost half a million blade steel crucibles were found. I have participated in and performed several bloom smelts in which ancient iron was reproduced. I would suggest that you could find the subject quite informative and fascinating. For period sources one might consider starting with Urcker's treatise on mines and assaying, De Re Metallica, Gianbattista Della Porta's "book of practical magic" and of course "On Diverse Arts" by Theophilus. Oleg Sherby and Jeffry Wadsworth had some interesting articles in Scientific American back in the 1980s, and Mike Loades has some wonderful documentaries and books if you want some light but historically accurate entertainment.

Sorry to pounce on you like this, but I have spent a lot of time and effort researching and reproducing historically accurate blade construction and you hit one of my pet peeves

-Page
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Will do. Thanks for the book recommendations. Again, :foot: Which point got on your nerves, exactly? Are we talking about pattern welded blades that were case hardened or simple monolithic blades that were case hardened. I was referring to the latter; please correct me.
p.s. Can we continue this conversation via PM? I'm very interested, but I already feel like I've hijacked this thread enough responding to everyone's debate points. Thank you.
 
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Schleifstein said:
Will do. Thanks for the book recommendations. Again, :foot: Which point got on your nerves, exactly? Are we talking about pattern welded blades that were case hardened or simple monolithic blades that were case hardened. I was referring to the latter; please correct me.
p.s. Can we continue this conversation via PM? I'm very interested, but I already feel like I've hijacked this thread enough responding to everyone's debate points. Thank you.
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Neither one was case hardened. If you are mistaking the process of making "blister steel" ("steeling" iron) which involved placing wrought iron in a sealed container with powdered charcoal at high temperature for an extended period of time to raise the carbon content, for case hardening a blade, it was done to the raw stock before forging, and done until the carbon had diffused through the stock sufficiently that when quenched in water and struck against a hard surface the stock broke. After it passed that test it was either forged into a monolithic blade, forge welded to a spine of wrought iron, or forge welded into either a piled or pattern welded construction blade.

I would be willing to answer further questions in PM, but was not going to leave the basic misconceptions hanging unanswered

-Page
 
Schleifstein said:
Will do. Thanks for the book recommendations. Again, :foot: Which point got on your nerves, exactly? Are we talking about pattern welded blades that were case hardened or simple monolithic blades that were case hardened. I was referring to the latter; please correct me.
p.s. Can we continue this conversation via PM? I'm very interested, but I already feel like I've hijacked this thread enough responding to everyone's debate points. Thank you.
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This is interesting to me, also. Does it warrant a new thread?
 
nuckingfuts said:
Im just starting as well, and general high carbon steel is so cheap its not worth using some misc steel.
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Yep, If you make 10 blades 8 of them 10" and 2 8" you spend 5$ per blade(roughly) If you make 16 blades each 6" long you spend 3.20$ per blade(roughly) all in all thats basically pocket change per blade!
 
ionicmuffin said:
Hello, first time posting here. I'm working to help my friend get started in knife making. He's going to start by using plate steel you might find at the hardware store. Any advice or tips that he should be keeping in mind?
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Any free, bartered, or cheaply obtained steel is good beginner steel. Wouldn't want to mess up a bunch of cpm-s30v figuring out why you can't get a decent plunge line without a file guard.

I'm by no means a good knifemaker, i'm novice at best probably, But I started with 1/8" galvanized roofing steel, stupid I know, but I was figuring out my techniques, process, figuring out the power my grinders have and what different abrasives will do.

Put an add on craigslist to see if any local welders will help you out with some scraps big enough to build a knife, maybe work out a barter deal there.
 
I would imagine he has bought the steel already since this thread is 4 months old. I would also state that many times, good advice was given to use proper steel. Yes scrap and mystery steel can be ground, but unless you know what it is, it will rarely ever make any type of serviceable knife. The people telling the OP to use known steel as not beginners, they are pros, full time makers, and some of the best in the business. They typically know what the are talking about.
 
Thanks Grayzer. I'll close this thread as the good advice has been given, and many new threads with the same advice have been posted since.
 
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