Any love for the FILE KNIFE Let's see yours!

Nothing on the level of those beautiful knives. The company I work for used to buy good Nicholson files. One of the styles of file we use is a "knife" file. I used to take dull knife files and grind the teeth off (mostly), sharpen them and make pretty rustic looking knives.

I would also grind the spine of the blade with a dull sanding belt till it turned blue, not letting the blue get to the cutting edge for kind of differential annealing.

I gave or traded most of them away at pow-wows and reenactor gatherings. Funny thing is that the few I have left I really like a lot. Rough as they are, the edge is prolly still about 60-62 Rockwell while they will flex.



 
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dannyp said:
Those turned out nice, Don! Sorry to hear you weren't feeling good, but I'm glad you're doing better now. I've always liked the look of file knives. There's just something about knives made from reused tool steel that appeals to me. I think that those made from old saw blades fall into a similar category.

This David Farmer knife was made from an old sawmill blade.


The only reason I don't own more fixed blade knives is that they are impractical for EDC around here. If I could get away with concealed (pocket) carry, I think a Morris PeeWee would fit the bill nicely.
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Those look great Dan! I like using repurposed old steel also.If it has some extra character,all the better.I've made a lot of knives out of saw blades.If you stick with the vintage stuff,and usa made,you are going to have a good tool steel imo.Are you going to discover a tiny crack once in a while that wrecks half a days work?Uhh yea,that's gonna happen.One of a few reasons they never recommend this type of knifemaking in the knifemakers sub forum.I also have a buddy here on the forum(richardj) that sends me some good 1070 John Deere plow blades once in awhile.They are used and work hardened.They make excellent knives. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/899867-One-more-richardj-Plow-Blade-special
 
Davek14,Those are sweet!Usually i anneal mine 2 or 3 times and start all over with the heat treat.I would think you would have to at least temper them.But if you get some flex,they should be fine.The grinding must put a bit of temper to them.
 
Seals said:
Davek14,Those are sweet!Usually i anneal mine 2 or 3 times and start all over with the heat treat.I would think you would have to at least temper them.But if you get some flex,they should be fine.The grinding must put a bit of temper to them.
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Wow, to hear that from a real knifemaker made my day.

The knife files already have the profile of a knife so they didn't need to have that shaped. I would grind the teeth off somewhat with the goal of *not* getting them hot. Then I would use a dull sanding belt and grind the spine unnecessarily, holding it on the belt to get it hot and turn it blue to anneal it. I would not let the blue get to the cutting edge. You could bend one I'd done well while the cutting edge would still throw bright sparks on a wheel and be harder than woodpecker lips.

Now they buy cheap case hardened files from India. :(
 
dannyp said:
Those turned out nice, Don! Sorry to hear you weren't feeling good, but I'm glad you're doing better now. I've always liked the look of file knives. There's just something about knives made from reused tool steel that appeals to me. I think that those made from old saw blades fall into a similar category.


The only reason I don't own more fixed blade knives is that they are impractical for EDC around here. If I could get away with concealed (pocket) carry, I think a Morris PeeWee would fit the bill nicely.
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I was just checking out the Morris knives on his site and I really like the PeeWee and even more so the PeeWee XL.
 
Seals said:
Thanks,It a hoss.Here's a pic of it in hand.Im finishing up another one tomorrow that's similar,but bigger.
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Very nice. I can only imagine how nice it would be to have that on a hunt.:thumbup:
 
Fantastic thread on fascinating subject. The knives are great each and every one of them, thank you for sharing.
Mike
 
Great looking knives, I'm fortunate to have Anza Knives a few miles away and we barter for knives for sheaths. File knives are great super sharp and hold an edge. Here are a few I've done.
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Here's one I made a couple years ago, cocobolo scales. my second knife, all hand tools.




 
thanks man. i've since thinned it out a bit to make it more knife and less axe haha. but its a 1000 miles away so i can't take a picture.
 
Im glad I found this old thread! I'd love to see some more file knives if anyone has them to share...

I recently grew a wild hair for file knives, and decided to make my own. This is my first knife and even though it does not compare to anything professional, I am pretty happy about how it came out.

I was going for a Fairbairn Sykes styled boot knife.

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G, it looks great, very "stabby." I'd be quite pleased with such a first effort. Big congrats!
 
dannyp post #20, love the shape of that D. Farmer knife. The handle looks unfinished, though.


Seals, (interesting name) post #1 very nice work, would enjoy being able to create work like that. Are those knives full tang and/or can they be?
 
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