Advice Needed (Steel Type + HT)

S

sre1

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Feb 7, 2013
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The son of a close friend is a VERY talented, young (18 yr-old) fixed-blade, knife-maker and he's agreed to grind one for me. The knife below is similar (w/a few mods) to what I'd like him to grind. OAL will be +/- 14" with a thickness of around. .20". I'm leaning towards D2 or CPM-3V - something semi-stainless. Can either of these be parkerized? If so, does this sound like a solid plan? He's seen the knife and is confident he can do the grinds, no problem.

Also, I will also need to send it off to be heat-treated, since the youngster only does basic HTs at this point. Peters is the only HT place I know of, so any advice would be much appreciated. Additionally, is there anything in particular that I (or he) should be aware of? (e.g. - I've read that the grinds shouldn't be 100% complete prior to HT to avoid warpage).

Thanks,
Scott
blanks-white-river.jpg
 
I'm guessing both can be parkerized but I am only guessing because I've never tried. I don't know when exactly chrome content prevents parkerizing. When I have 1 or 2 blades to send out for HT rather than a batch, I've sent them to Tru-grit. They have two 3V blades of mine right now. When I have a batch of 20 I go to Bos.

I'd be happy to try and parkerize one of those 3V blades when it gets back if you can wait a week or two.

As for grinds, I grind air hardening steels to nearly finished dimensions before heat treat. I mean really close. .005" edge thickness when I do my own HT. I leave them a little thicker when sending out.
 
sre1 said:
The son of a close friend is a VERY talented, young (18 yr-old) fixed-blade, knife-maker and he's agreed to grind one for me. The knife below is similar (w/a few mods) to what I'd like him to grind. OAL will be +/- 14" with a thickness of around. .20". I'm leaning towards D2 or CPM-3V - something semi-stainless. Can either of these be parkerized? If so, does this sound like a solid plan? He's seen the knife and is confident he can do the grinds, no problem.

Also, I will also need to send it off to be heat-treated, since the youngster only does basic HTs at this point. Peters is the only HT place I know of, so any advice would be much appreciated. Additionally, is there anything in particular that I (or he) should be aware of? (e.g. - I've read that the grinds shouldn't be 100% complete prior to HT to avoid warpage).

Thanks,
Scott
blanks-white-river.jpg
Click to expand...
Nice! I thought I recognized that blade profile, fellow Arkansan over at Mineral Mountain Hatchet Works.
 
What I find rather amusing is how HE is making a knife for you....but YOU are asking if there is anything paticular that YOU or he, should be aware of... What are YOU planning? To walk him through making the knife, because he is a "youngster", and you, in your aged wisdom have learned from reading a forum?:rolleyes:

I must say, you sound very disrespectful. What are YOU going to tell him? Are you the knifemaker, or is he? I'll say this, if some stuck up older man came to tell me "how I should make a blade", without doing it himself, I would drop the steel right there and tell him, "OK, Gramps! Why don't you make ME a knife...with your infinate wisdom!":D

I'm not saying you meant it like that. Just comes off a bit like that. Honestly, unless you ARE a knifemaker, we could tell you exactly what & how to do everything. And you wouldn't be any more likely to instruct someone on how to make a knife, than you would build an engine, or a firearm, or perform open heart surgery, by simply reading what others say!
 
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DavidHoback,
The knife-maker in question may, in fact, be the knife-maker, but he isn't even close to as knowledgeable as I am on many aspects of the craft. That's just a fact.

Frankly, I questioned whether I should even post my original post or not, due to potential slams by stuck-up knife-makers. I'm not saying you meant it like that, but that's how it comes across.

The kid, talented as his is, has only made a handful -like 4 or 5- knives. I've made plenty more than that, myself, but I don't plan on "walking him through" anything. Not even close. I simply asked a HT & steel question. Although I probably already knew the info I was seeking, I thought I'd just ask for some other opinions.

Damn, dude. I'm more than capable of grinding the knife, myself, and knowing where to send it for HT & black oxide. I just want him to grind one for me. I thought, by posting my questions here, there might be a chance that I'd learn something I might not already know and that he sure as heck doesn't know.
 
That escalated quickly. Just out of curiosity (seriously, not baiting you). Why are you having someone with 4-5 knives under their belt make you a knife, if you have a lot more experience? I know my personal experience was that I was not in a position at 4-5 knives in to make a knife with a swedged clip point, at least not one I'd let "go public".
 
That's a legitimate question. Firstly, if he stays with it, I'd like to have one of his early pieces. Secondly, he thinks he can do it, so I'd like him to go for it, for the experience if for nothing else.

For reference, here are his second and third knives:

IMG_4144.jpg

IMG_4143.jpg
 
David, I've read and reread the initial post to this thread several times and can't figure out where you're getting ANY of what you're talking about. Sounds like a guy doing a bit of research about steel and process for an upcoming project with a maker.

To the original poster, Peter's is more than capable of dealing with such a project. For this style of knife, I'd think you're more than safe to bring it to final dimensions, and even finish, as it will make cleanup a whole lot easier afterward. Bring the edge to .015" (confirm that number with Brad Stallsmith at Peter's - I'm pretty sure that's what he told me the last time I spoke with him, but best to make sure). Good luck with the project - the work you've shown certainly displays someone with the capability to do what you're looking for.


DavidHoback said:
What I find rather amusing is how HE is making a knife for you....but YOU are asking if there is anything paticular that YOU or he, should be aware of... What are YOU planning? To walk him through making the knife, because he is a "youngster", and you, in your aged wisdom have learned from reading a forum?:rolleyes:

I must say, you sound very disrespectful. What are YOU going to tell him? Are you the knifemaker, or is he? I'll say this, if some stuck up older man came to tell me "how I should make a blade", without doing it himself, I would drop the steel right there and tell him, "OK, Gramps! Why don't you make ME a knife...with your infinate wisdom!":D

I'm not saying you meant it like that. Just comes off a bit like that. Honestly, unless you ARE a knifemaker, we could tell you exactly what & how to do everything. And you wouldn't be any more likely to instruct someone on how to make a knife, than you would build an engine, or a firearm, or perform open heart surgery, by simply reading what others say!
Click to expand...
 
sre1 said:
That's a legitimate question. Firstly, if he stays with it, I'd like to have one of his early pieces. Secondly, he thinks he can do it, so I'd like him to go for it, for the experience if for nothing else.

For reference, here are his second and third knives:

IMG_4144.jpg

IMG_4143.jpg
Click to expand...
That is way nicer than my #4 and #5 for sure.
 
sre1 said:
DavidHoback,
The knife-maker in question may, in fact, be the knife-maker, but he isn't even close to as knowledgeable as I am on many aspects of the craft. That's just a fact.

Frankly, I questioned whether I should even post my original post or not, due to potential slams by stuck-up knife-makers. I'm not saying you meant it like that, but that's how it comes across.

The kid, talented as his is, has only made a handful -like 4 or 5- knives. I've made plenty more than that, myself, but I don't plan on "walking him through" anything. Not even close. I simply asked a HT & steel question. Although I probably already knew the info I was seeking, I thought I'd just ask for some other opinions.

Damn, dude. I'm more than capable of grinding the knife, myself, and knowing where to send it for HT & black oxide. I just want him to grind one for me. I thought, by posting my questions here, there might be a chance that I'd learn something I might not already know and that he sure as heck doesn't know.
Click to expand...

That's great, that you think "knowing about knives", is as good as making them. Are you trying to convince me or yourself? No, I don't believe you have ever made a single knife. You already gave it away by your posts. Your a knife buyer. And I guess you've "modified" a knife or two. That is not the same thing. My initial post was just for fun. Certainly wasn't trying to come down on ya. But your response here was very telling. Take care.
 
DavidHoback said:
What I find rather amusing is how HE is making a knife for you....but YOU are asking if there is anything paticular that YOU or he, should be aware of... What are YOU planning? To walk him through making the knife, because he is a "youngster", and you, in your aged wisdom have learned from reading a forum?:rolleyes:

I must say, you sound very disrespectful. What are YOU going to tell him? Are you the knifemaker, or is he? I'll say this, if some stuck up older man came to tell me "how I should make a blade", without doing it himself, I would drop the steel right there and tell him, "OK, Gramps! Why don't you make ME a knife...with your infinate wisdom!":D

I'm not saying you meant it like that. Just comes off a bit like that. Honestly, unless you ARE a knifemaker, we could tell you exactly what & how to do everything. And you wouldn't be any more likely to instruct someone on how to make a knife, than you would build an engine, or a firearm, or perform open heart surgery, by simply reading what others say!
Click to expand...

Oh the irony! I see this in every post you make.
 
S sre1

So, I know it's been a while but I wanted to update you. I tried parkerizing a 3V blade today and it did not take. It basically acted as if it were stainless.
 
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