Are these good steels to use?

R

Railrider1920

Joined
Dec 14, 2010
Messages
403
Hi Folks,
I was in a Fastenal store in my area. They have some flat bar stock there. I was just wondering if this stuff would make a decent knife. I know I can order it online, but I'd rather keep my money local if I can. Ordering it will be my second choice.

Some of the stuff they have there is:
304 S/S Flat ( I'm guessing that S/S is stainless, but I don't know for sure)
A36 Hot Roll Flat
1018

I am thinking about getting some to make a blade or two, pretty much to go through the process of cutting, grinding file work etc (folder or fixed). I'd rather do this on some steel that will make a decent knife though, instead of just having to toss it after making it. I'll probably stop a different fastenal on my way to work to see what they have on hand.
Edit: Another consideration would be that I would probably send it out for HT, so could these be HT by most anyone?
Thanks for your opinions
Rob
 
Last edited:
304 is sometimes used for things like bolsters and endcaps and such, 1018 is useless for us as a blade steel since it won't harden. A36 I'm not very familiar with but a quick google indicates it's probably like the 1018.

I thought Fastenal's had some other options too, but I've never been in one. I seem to recall folks mentioning O1 and W2 but I could be just remembering some other place. With any of these you need to consider how you're going to heat treat. Shipping and such for one blade sent to a heat treater makes it pretty costly. Your cost per blade is much better once you're sending a half dozen or so at once, particularly with the places that charge a base amount per blade and then after a certain number they do a flat rate up to a certain amount of steel. If you use 1075-1084 (or 15n20 if you find it thick enough) you can do a "primitive" heat treat fairly easily. I won't get into it, I'd just be repeating information I've gotten from the dozens of threads about it, but at the simplest you can use a propane torch and some cooking oil.
 
Fastenal does sell O-1. Get some of that. A-36 is the cheap version of 1018 but not as pure. It is the garbage can of the steel mill, anything and everything is dumped in and made into mild steel. I have found outlines of nuts, bolts and nails in bars of A-36.
 
A C Richards said:
Fastenal does sell O-1. Get some of that.
Click to expand...

Heck yes, if you can get O-1 locally go for it. It's a well-respected high-carbon tool steel that grinds like a dream and makes a very good blade. I wouldn't try to HT it with backyard methods though.
 
I got some A2 from my local Fastenal. They have O1 and maybe D2 as well, but maybe not.

Careful about disparaging A36. It's holding up most of the steel buildings in the country. It's been replaced by A992 and A572 for most uses, and new A36 is usually dual certifiable as A36 and A992.
 
You can probably get A2, O1 and D2 precision ground flatstock, at Fastenall

the other stuff is good for guards, whatever you want, but not blades...




Have you seen this ?

The Standard Reply to Newbies v10

The answer to a 13 year old student is different than to a 40 year old engineer.
We may recommend a local supplier, or you may have a helpful neighbour; but that depends on where you are.
Fill out your profile with your location (Country and State at least), age, education, employment.

Look at the threads stickied at the top; many are expired, but not all.

The basic process in the simplest terms

Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Printable PDF
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Website


Web Tutorials
Detailed instructions by Stacy E.Apelt

The Things I Advise New Knife Makers Against-Printable PDF

Handle Tutorial - Nick Wheeler-Website



Books

A list of books and videos on the KnifeDogs Forum
http://www.knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=5285

BladeForums - E-books or Google books
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203

I like:
David Boye-Step by Step Knifemaking
Tim McCreight-Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman
These are clear, well organized, widely available and inexpensive too.

Knife Design:
On the Google books thread, you can find
Lloyd Harding drawings
and
the Loveless book with large variety of proven classic styles.
Google books thread


Forging Books:
Lorelei Sims-The Backyard Blacksmith
An excellent modern book with colour photos for forging in general - no knifemaking.

Jim Hrisoulas- has 3 books on forging knives. Check for the cheaper paperback editions.
The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection
The Pattern-Welded Blade: Artistry in Iron
The Master Bladesmith: Advanced Studies in Steel

Machine Shop Basics -Books:
Elementary Machine Shop Practice-Printable PDF

Machine Shop Tools-Printable PDF

The Complete Practical Machinist-Printable PDF


The $50 knife Shop
It confused me for a long time.
Forging is NOT necessary; you can just file and grind to create a knife (stock removal)

The goop quench is total Bull, commercial quench oils are available, even grocery store canola oil works much better.

Junkyard steels require skill and experience to identify the steel and heat treat it properly.
You can buy proper steel like 1084FG from Aldo very cheaply.

I like cable damascus, but that is an advanced project that has no place in a beginners book.

The home built grinders are the best thing about this book, but there is now a huge amount of info for 2x72” belt grinders on the web, including free plans.


Videos

Heat Treating Basics Video-downloadable
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4

Many specific how to knifemaking videos are available, some are better than others.

The best overall Knifemaking video I have seen is
“Steve Johnson-Making a Sub-Hilt Fighter”

The best video on leather sheath making I have seen is
“Custom Knife Sheaths -Chuck Burrows - Wild Rose”
-(Paul Long has 2 new videos, his sheath work is fantastic. I hope the videos are too)

You can see a list of videos and reviews at this rental company; some are worth buying, some renting…
They are slow to get new titles and wait times are measured in months,
http://smartflix.com/store/category/9/Knifemaking

Green Pete's Free Video
Making a Mora bushcraft knife, stock removal, hand tools, neo tribal / unplugged heat treat.
"Green Pete" posted it free using torrent files.

Greenpete Knifemaking Basics-on TPB
You can also find it on YouTube broken into 4 parts.

Draw Filing Demonstration
YouTube video -Draw Filing-for a flat finish

Steel
The “welding steel” at Home Depot / Lowes… is useless for knives.
If you send out for heat treating, you can use A2, CM154, ATS34, s30v, 440C, plus many others.

If you heat treat yourself, find some 1070, 1080, 1084,
1084 FG sold by Aldo Bruno is formulated just for knifemaking.

You can find a list of suppliers here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736

Aldo is highly rated.
http://njsteelbaron.com/


Heat Treating
You can send blades out for heat treating at $10 or $15 per blade for perfect results, and avoid buying the equipment.

This PDF brochure gives a good overview
http://www.buckknives.com/resources/pdf/Paul_Bos_Brochure.pdf

http://www.petersheattreat.com/
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/about_us.php
http://www.knifemaker.ca/ (Canadian)


Grinder / Tools

Hand Tools
You can do it all by hand with files and abrasive cloth like the Green Pete video.

Photo of a nice bevel filing jig .
http://www.flemingknives.com/imagesPrime/FileStation/KPicB007.jpg

Entry Level Grinders
Many makers start with the Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921513000P?prdNo=3

Commercial Production 2 x 72” Belt Grinders
http://www.prometheanknives.com/shop-techniques-3/grinders

Mapp arm – Grinder Toolrest
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466024


DIY 2 x 72” Belt Grinders

KMG Clone
Free Plans
http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf

NWG No Weld Grinder
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/plans-for-the-no-weld-grinder-sander-nearly-50-pages-p-723.html

EERF Grinder (EERF =“Free” backwards)
Free plans
http://wilmontgrinders.com/EERFGrinder.aspx
http://blindhogg.com/blueprints.html

Buy the kit
http://polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html
 
When you go into your Fastenal store, check to see if they have a stand-up rack next to the steel/alum/brass stock that they have. My local store has one of these racks filled with various diameters of W1 and O1 drill rod....fairly inexpensive, too.
-Mark
 
Thanks for all the replies and suggestions guys. The ones I listed are a couple that they had on hand. They told me that anything that they have on their site they can order. I was just trying to find it locally so I could walk in, get it and start cutting. Looks like I'll have to order it.

Thanks for the links. I have seen Aldos name mentioned a few times. Is Kelly Couples a member here too?

12345678910, Thanks for that. I've seen it a bunch today while looking at search results, just haven't gotten to all the links there.

I have been saving links to pages that are "What types of steel" type posts. I'll probably start searching for bolsters next. Good to know that 402 can be used for other parts.

Thanks guys
 
Thanks Mark, I didn't see a rack like that, but will look around next time.


polish avenger said:
When you go into your Fastenal store, check to see if they have a stand-up rack next to the steel/alum/brass stock that they have. My local store has one of these racks filled with various diameters of W1 and O1 drill rod....fairly inexpensive, too.
-Mark
Click to expand...
 
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