Choosing steel for my first knife

H

hanzosbm

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Aug 30, 2022
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The title sounds like a pretty straight forward question, but the devil is in the details.

I would like to try my hand at making a simple knife (Bavarian Nicker) and I need to buy some steel. Not looking for pattern welded or anything fancy, just a mono-steel that can cut up snacks and such. The tricky thing is, I don't have any power tools. That's right, this will all be done via hacksaw, hand files, and sand paper. I also, sadly, no longer have a forge; only a MAP gas torch. So, I'm looking for a steel that can be worked without too much difficulty, and which can also be heat treated fairly easily. My initial thought was something that would air harden to avoid a quench, but I'm guessing it'd be too tough to want to work with hand tools.
Any thoughts?
 
Go to Home Depot and buy a decent-sized file.
There's no reason to get any fancier than that for a first attempt.

I should add that Bladeforums has a special section for knife makers. You'll probably get better info there.
 
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can files made these days be turned I to knives? I was under the impression that they were now softer steel ''clad'' with harder different steel?

please if I'm wrong tell me so.

thanks
 
You can find old files in any garage sale...
I don't know about the new ones.
 
Many new files are surface hardened via carburization and have a softer core. Beware of that.
I suggest you stay away from Amazon steel unless it is sold by a reputable dealer like Starrett, admiral, or the like. There are some shady sellers...
 
tinfoil hat timmy said:
can files made these days be turned I to knives? I was under the impression that they were now softer steel ''clad'' with harder different steel?

please if I'm wrong tell me so.

thanks
Click to expand...
That's a good question.
Click to expand...
I really don't know. I guess instead of Home Depot you could just hit some yard sales.
I see the OP found some carbon steel on Amazon.
We'll all be waiting for the finished product.

I have my 50-year-old file-knife around somewhere. I run across it every now and then.
 
Keith Nix said:
Many new files are surface hardened via carburization and have a softer core. Beware of that.
I suggest you stay away from Amazon steel unless it is sold by a reputable dealer like Starrett, admiral, or the like. There are some shady sellers...
Click to expand...
It's from Texas Knifemakers Supply, Inc. Not sure if they're reputable or not. 94% rating with 142 reviews. At the end of the day, I'm going to use it to cut up the occasional sausage or an apple, so barring any cracking in the quench, it should be fine.
 
A2 is an air hardening steel that's really super easy to work with, affordable and easy to source so I'd recommend trying that out.
 
For your equipment and abilities use a eutectoid simple steel - 1080/1084/80CrV
Read my tutorial on making a knife. It is designed for a person with nothing but a file, sandpaper, and lots of time.

How to instructions for making a knife

These are the instructions I use to get someone started with a profiled stainless steel knife blank. I thought there might be those who could use the tutorial and pointers. Some details are specific to a particular knife project, but the info is universal. You can start with a bar of any type of...
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com

You can use a MAPP torch for HT if the knife is not too large.
 
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