Am I missing something?

Higher carbon= more harden-ability, which means better edge retention.
 
Steel for knives need to have at least .60% carbon, preferably .80% to 1.00%. It needs the carbon to combine with the iron and form cementite, which is iron carbide. this ferrite releases the carbon as it gets to 1350F and becomes austenite. When the austenite is cooled fast enough ( quenched) it becomes martensite...which is what we want a knife blade to be made of. If you start with a steel that does not have the right amount of carbon and iron....it won't get hard or stay sharp. It will probably rust a lot easier, too.

1084 is a steel with .84% carbon , a small amount of manganese ( to make it quench better), and a few other traces of things that make it tougher and good for knives. It is also the cheapest blade steel there is. It makes a superb knife. Heat Treatment is also the simplest.
 
No I didn't. I'm pretty sure it was already hardened... I tried cutting a piece off with a bandsaw and teeth started popping off or atleast it sounded that way and I drilled the rivet holes with a carbine bit..... And I'm going to have to use google on your reply bladsmth lol but I'm getting the picture... I apreciate the help and info from you all
 
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Read the stickies. I reread em all the time. A wealth of knowledge all gathered up in one place for you.
 
That's a valiant job on your first knife, that burl is beautiful, good job on the finish on the handle. Go ahead and let the blade build up a patina, you can force it with lemon juice, vinegar, or, my favorite, mustard or just let it develop over time. Any mild acid will do it. A good, well forced patina will go a long way to keeping rust away, washing and a little oil will handle the rest.

Use the knife like you stole it! You'll start to get a feel for what you might do differently and when you get the itch to make another, read the stickies here and get yourself some known steel and make sure you get a good heat treat. The guys here are a wealth of knowledge and are amazingly free with what they've learned. I've been lurking around for a few years, have made a few knives and this place is a gold mine!

Fill out your profile, especially your location and you might just find that one of us is just down the road...
 
Thanks I apriciate it:) I'm working on the patina as we speak. I started out with Tabasco sauce saturated paper towel ( not my best decission lol) I have mustard on it now in hopes of blending some of the paper towel texture out of it.
I'm not happy with the knife at all so I'm taking notes lol
I was just on the stickies very good info,
 
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Not entirely sure if I did it right or if this was what I was supposed to achieve... But this is what I got...... First round I soaked a paper towel in Tabasco wrapped blade for an hour, second round coated blade in mustard for an hour .... Third round was tabasco in saranwrap around blade for an hour...
 
Good lookin' knife. Use it, alter to suit yourself, apply what you learn on the next knife, and listen to these guys. I recently reconfigured some carbon steel blades (Old Hickory). Was having rust daily. Research here led me to forced patina (vinegar). Looks like gun-blue and I like it.
 
Thanks! The patina is growing on me, still not to wild about it but I'm coming around lol. The info that everyone provides is phenomenal, every word is much appreciated.
 
Yeah, that's a good start. Slice some tomatoes, apples, lemons, etc. and it will take on a life of it's own. Like Don said, it's a beautiful thing.
 
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