best cheapest knife steel under 20$

H

haypro

Joined
Dec 21, 2008
Messages
18
im new to knife making and need ideas for stuff like knife steel and forges if you have any suggestions i would be glad to consider them:D
 
Welcome!
Any of the simpler carbon spring steels like 10xx or 5160 are quite inexpensive. Check out Wayne Goddard's $50 knife shop. There are some scrap metals like certain files, springs and tools like cultivator bits that are a known steel and are very cheap
 
haypro,

At the top of the Shop Talk forums, there is a thread called "Newbies...Good Info Here" or something to that effect. There is a ton of great information in there on the basics of blade craft.

As for steels, if you're looking to learn forging, then a 1080's series steel is a great steel to start with and is available from a number of suppliers at very reasonable costs. You can also get 52100 round to forge down. I saw it on Admiral Steel's site for around $9 for a 3 foot length of 3/4" round. Flats of 52100 are a bit more pricey. I saw Admiral's 1075/1080 for $14 for a 5 foot length of 1/4" by 1".

--nathan
 
Steel is rarely going to be your largest investment. Other than damascus, you should be able to find nearly all steels in that budget.
 
i saw some one on youtube make a knife out of railroad spike what do you think+ what are some supplyers for steel need some to start knife makeing
 
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Google is your friend.

I looked into spikes as well but stopped when I read THIS

I started with a set of leaf springs from a 1962 Ford Galaxie and it is great knife steel.

that anvilfire site has good info on gas burner design and build as well.
 
There are several type of railroad spikes out there. The general consensus is that there isn't enough carbon content to make a really good knife. However, they are great to practice forging if you can find them cheaply, and they will harden up a bit. Try to get the ones marked with "HC" on the head as they will harden up a bit more. If they are going to cost you much, you will likely be better served saving up and getting a real blade steel.

--nathan
 
Admiralsteel (.com) is a good place to go for steel. Other than that, there are knife supply companies like TexasKnife (.com) and alphaknifesupply (.com).

--nathan
 
thanks im so glad i signed up for blade forums ive already learned so much i love this web site+waht could i use as a anvil or were could i get one+what is a good thickness for a peice of steel.(what are good measurments for a knife steel.
 
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I think you should spend a few days reading the forums and searching it with google like this:

site:bladeforums.com search string
 
I really really really really recommend reading the sticky at the top of the page. Really really really really really really really recommend it.

To repeat what's been said.

Most knife steel is under $20 for a good bit of it.

An anvil can be as simple as a 8 pound sledge in a 5 gallon bucket of concrete (I've seen some very good knives forged on these.)

Measurements on steel? well what size knife do you plan on forging?

RR spikes aren't much fun to forge if you don't have decent tongs.

If you want to learn to forge on the cheap look up "neo tribal bladesmiths" or "primal fires". Some of these guys use forges as simple as a hole in the ground with a pipe and blower attached.

Have I mentioned I really really really really really really really recommend reading the sticky at the top of the page and probably go back at least 20 pages on the forum.
 
Will Leavitt said:
I really really really really recommend reading the sticky at the top of the page. Really really really really really really really recommend it.

To repeat what's been said.

Most knife steel is under $20 for a good bit of it.

An anvil can be as simple as a 8 pound sledge in a 5 gallon bucket of concrete (I've seen some very good knives forged on these.)

Measurements on steel? well what size knife do you plan on forging?

RR spikes aren't much fun to forge if you don't have decent tongs.

If you want to learn to forge on the cheap look up "neo tribal bladesmiths" or "primal fires". Some of these guys use forges as simple as a hole in the ground with a pipe and blower attached.

Have I mentioned I really really really really really really really recommend reading the sticky at the top of the page and probably go back at least 20 pages on the forum.
Click to expand...

Welcome,
now . . . READ THE STICKIES
they are not like the stickies in a lot of forums, they are actually a collection of some of the best advice and info that has been posted. you will earn a lot from some excellent sources including some folks who are very well known knifemakers.
My advice, figure out what your tooling is going to be capable of working with well, thn when you know what you plan to use as a forge etc. get steel that is suitable for your setup and the kind of knife you will be making. It will do you no good to get a seriously good buy on ATS 34 for instance if you aren't set up to heat treat it

-Page
 
Great Enthusiasm !

There is a lot of information in the stickies at the top.
It will help you avoid a lot of mistakes.

Forging has a lot of possibilities, but also a lot of skills to learn to get there.

See this web tutorial.
It is about the simplest way to start that i know.
http://www.hossom.com/tutorial/jonesy/

Edit your contact information and setup email or PMs and contact me.
I can direct you to a lot of information.
 
I really think we should expand on the sticky, There should be an itemized list of common questions and many more links. There should be text on the thread, too.
 
I was at a ace hardware and they had good sized alumnim sheets for only $9 is that a good idea to start off with?
 
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