Advice on first knife making idea.

noseoil said:
I started making blades with a 1x30 Horrid Freight sander. It was crude, but it beats all of the hand filing (arthritis). It works well enough, but takes a bit of patience. I sent for some good quality belts & jumped in.

I would start with some scrap steel to get the hang of things first, whatever you do. Mild steel can act as a teacher & be pretty forgiving, especially if you don't need heat treating for the first knife or two. The basic techniques are the same, no matter what steel you use prior to heat treat for a stock reduction blade. Practice will let you learn without having to make a "perfect" blade, something which is almost impossible until you've made 100 blades or more anyway....
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A 1x30 or 1x42 is still in the list of possibilities for me and I'm thinking still about the 4x36.
 
scott kozub said:
Depends if you want stainless or carbon.

If you go stainless AEBL is awesome in the kitchen. It's easy to sharpen,extremely tough so it performs well hard and takes on an edge similar to carbon steels. It's also cheap. There are a couple issues though. It warps like crazy in the heat treat and doesn't grind well when soft so many including myself do all grinding post heat treat. Non of those are issues for though if you sending it out except you'll have to leave the edge a bit thicker so it'll take longer to grind the final edge after heat treat.

S35vn is another great steel. It's about 3 times the cost of AEBL (still pretty cheap though) takes a great edge due to the small carbide and will hold an edge better than AEBL. it stays straighter in the heat treat so you can grind/file it thinner pre heat treat which will save you some time.

As suggested above, make sure you check with your heat treat to see how thin you can go.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I have an S35VN pocket knife and have been very impressed with it as far as taking and holding a nice fine edge.

I certainly don't mind going carbon and I don't mind spending a few bucks more for something that takes a really nice edge and holds it well and is fairly easy to resharpen.

Any suggestions for a really good carbon steel for something like this? I had looked at Z-wear I think and it looked pretty great.
 
There are many great steels available especially if you will send out for heat treat. You can read about them on knifesteelnerds.com.
I think A2 is a good choice to start with because it is cheap, and you likely won't do great work until you get some practice, but the nice thing is, if you do manage a decent job, you won't be disappointed in the performance either.
 
My first completed knife was a Nakiri AEB-L blank with a western style tang I had JTKnives cut and heat treat for me to HRC63, ground on a 1x30 Harbor Freight and handled with black G10 with a red G10 liner. JTKnives has a great service especially for those just starting out. Grinding heat treated AEB-L works very well, just make sure you dip it in water to cool it every pass. Just a thought.

He probably still has my pattern on file and anyone is welcome to use it, I gave him permission for that.
 
mooniesdl3 said:
My first completed knife was a Nakiri AEB-L blank with a western style tang I had JTKnives cut and heat treat for me to HRC63, ground on a 1x30 Harbor Freight and handled with black G10 with a red G10 liner. JTKnives has a great service especially for those just starting out. Grinding heat treated AEB-L works very well, just make sure you dip it in water to cool it every pass. Just a thought.

He probably still has my pattern on file and anyone is welcome to use it, I gave him permission for that.
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sounds like a great project. I have a nice Shun Nakiri so I’m going to stick with the Chinese vegetable cleaver style. I’m going to keep it quite thin, I’m thinking of buying stock in the .08 to .1 inch thickness range.
AEBL certainly looks like a contender.
 
I would stay away from z wear until you have the tools to deal with it. It’s a great steel, but hardened, it’s a bear to grind. I agree with aebl for a starting stainless. There are lots of choices in carbon steel 8670, 80crv2, 15n20 to name a few.
 
kdnolin said:
I would stay away from z wear until you have the tools to deal with it. It’s a great steel, but hardened, it’s a bear to grind. I agree with aebl for a starting stainless. There are lots of choices in carbon steel 8670, 80crv2, 15n20 to name a few.
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Thanks for the tips. it’s so hard for me to listen to wise advice to avoid more advances steels. I’m all eyes on S35VN or S45VN, Zwear, M4. What are the realistic pitfalls of using more advanced steel. Will standard abrasive belts not work to put the edge profile on after hardening?
I’ve settled on a grinder I think...



https://www.amazon.com/Palmgren-Bel...qid=1586444049&sprefix=2x42&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1
 
I ground some Z-Wear knives for Willie71 Willie71 and I was going through at least 1 72x2" 120 grit ceramic belt per side just to get a ok finish. You could do most of the work prehardening but it would leave a pretty thick edge. AEB-L is really nice to work with other than the warping issues. I like S35VN as well and would probably prefer it but I have the equipment to work it. You could probably take it to .001 and then use sandpaper to convex into a final edge. I like those high alloy steels but wouldn't recommend them for a first knife.
 
Loren Jones said:
Thanks for the tips. it’s so hard for me to listen to wise advice to avoid more advances steels. I’m all eyes on S35VN or S45VN, Zwear, M4. What are the realistic pitfalls of using more advanced steel. Will standard abrasive belts not work to put the edge profile on after hardening?
I’ve settled on a grinder I think...



https://www.amazon.com/Palmgren-Belt-bench-finishing-machine/dp/B0006577HI/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=2x42+belt+sander&qid=1586444049&sprefix=2x42&sr=8-3&th=1&psc=1
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Ceramic belts would EAT that Zwear like cake.............
 
kdnolin said:
I would stay away from z wear until you have the tools to deal with it. It’s a great steel, but hardened, it’s a bear to grind. I agree with aebl for a starting stainless. There are lots of choices in carbon steel 8670, 80crv2, 15n20 to name a few.
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Are you sure about that ? Do you use ceramic belts ?
 
So this is bear to grind ........hardened ?? Everyone who have problem grinding it should reverse his grinding technique....
  • Carbon: 1.15%
  • Tungsten: 1.00%
  • Chromium: 7.50%
  • Molybdenum: 1.60%
  • Vanadium: 2.40%
 
Natlek said:
So this is bear to grind ........hardened ?? Everyone who have problem grinding it should reverse his grinding technique....
  • Carbon: 1.15%
  • Tungsten: 1.00%
  • Chromium: 7.50%
  • Molybdenum: 1.60%
  • Vanadium: 2.40%
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If its easy to grind then there is something wrong with the heat treatment. It does not have the sulfur additions of some of the tool steels that you are used to for easy machining. I doubt reversing the grinder makes much difference.
 
Storm W said:
If its easy to grind then there is something wrong with the heat treatment. It does not have the sulfur additions of some of the tool steels that you are used to for easy machining. I doubt reversing the grinder makes much difference.
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Well , then I must do something wrong ?I have no problem at all grinding about ten knives with one belt .....steel like M2 , M35 , M42 , T-15...............
 
Storm W said:
I ground some Z-Wear knives for Willie71 Willie71 and I was going through at least 1 72x2" 120 grit ceramic belt per side just to get a ok finish. You could do most of the work prehardening but it would leave a pretty thick edge. AEB-L is really nice to work with other than the warping issues. I like S35VN as well and would probably prefer it but I have the equipment to work it. You could probably take it to .001 and then use sandpaper to convex into a final edge. I like those high alloy steels but wouldn't recommend them for a first knife.
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I know there is wisdom in Your words
 
I use blaze ceramic and Norax ceramic, they do cut z wear and M4, but my belts don’t last long either and the finish is never as nice as aebl. I started using M4 after only making a few knives and had limited equipment, it was difficult to say the least, but if it’s something you want to try, I suggest waiting until you have ground a few blades.
 
The vanadium carbides in z-wear are very hard on belts. No, it’s not like z-max or Rex 121, but you have to have good technique, VFD to get in the speed zone, and you will wear out four times as many belts as the simple steels.

z-wear is my favorite steel. I use it for just about every application. Not the easiest to work as a beginner though. Without a 2x72 with VFD, you are in for a world of hurt. For beginners, I like 8670, 15n20, and AEB-l. When run at Rc62+, they hold an edge well enough. Once you have made 30 knives or so, then try more expensive steels.
 
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Natlek said:
Well , then I must do something wrong ?I have no problem at all grinding about ten knives with one belt .....steel like M2 , M35 , M42 , T-15...............
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Grinding an edc is much different than a ffg kitchen knife. The large flat areas create a glazing issue quite easily.
 
Ok, so I took the plunge. I ordered a Palmgren 2x42 belt grinder and a12”x4”x.1” piece of CPM M4. I know I should’ve tried something easier but I’ve made my choice. I do plan to practice some grinding with some
Mild steel from the hardware store and I may do a full practice version of my knife from 1/8” mild steel. I went ahead with M4 because it seems like a great kitchen knife steel to me and I figured I’d just start learning to work with it on simple designs and then work up to more difficult designs as I develop skill and knowledge.

I plan to use a jig to assist me with the grinding. Are there any plans out there for blade grinding jigs, or is that a bad idea.

I was going to order standard abrasives from klingspor for pre heat treat grinding. Should I order something special for the final grinding of the edge and for finishing after heat treatment?

it will be awhile before I’m able to start but I’ll put up a thread here asking lots of advice.
Thanks for the info and encouragement so far.
 
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