corn knife ?

J.Marsillo

J.Marsillo

Joined
Nov 8, 2000
Messages
1,255
A friend of mine wants me to make a knife he was calling a corn knife???The way he described it it sounded like a machete with a square end.the blade would taper from front to back, 3/16" thick and the blade around 18 inches long.the primary use will be abuse :eek: any one have any suggestions for type of steel/blade grind ?
 
On our farm, the term "corn knife" or "fodder knife" was basically interchangeable with the word "machete". It's just that most traditional corn knives had the squared off tip rather than the rounded type tip you see on common machetes nowadays. They looked more like this:

5_10859.jpg


Actually, you can still buy 'em on estate sales by the bucket full, though they usually don't look quite like the picture above. They usually have rusted blades, big dips in the edge from sharpening on grinders, duct tape wrapped around the handles, mushroomed spines from hammering them through stuff, and all manner of home made handles after the origional broke... :D :D

Most I've encountered were actually made from rather thin stock like a machete, but I think your plan of starting with thicker stock and making distal taper will help them balance much better.

Use a steel known for toughness, like L6, CPM 3V, or maybe even 5160 on the cheaper end. Grinds and geometries will be determined by whatever it is he considers "abuse". A convex grind would be strongest, but on a blade that big may end up being heavier and slower than what he wants. A flat primary grind with a wide convex edge works for me.
 
old hand saws make good corn knives. USe the older thicker blades.
3/16" sounds too heavy to me
 
thanks for the input guys i'm thinking 5160 too :thumbup: this things gonna be a mega chopper :D
 
I use 1095 for my machetes
gray137.JPG

make one like it and chop the end :D
edited to add this one has a 18" blade 5/32" and at it's widist point it's 2 1/2"
I got 4 going right now.:rolleyes: .I think I need to charge more for them:)
havn't had one brake or toast yet:)
 
Terry_Dodson said:
Dan i like that pointy one. :D What is the handle material on it?
Click to expand...
Black linen Micarta it's got a good grip.
I first had a land surveyor contact me wanting a machete that wouldn't keep braking on him, he was buying some e-cheapo's , for these at least I've stuck
with 1095, he still has the first one I made him and he's bought two others
at deferent lengths since.

I don't want to seem like I'm beeping my horn here.
if you guys are interested I'll post what he had to say about it. you couldn't find a better tester than he though:thumbup:
 
thats a sweet machete dan :thumbup: the guy who wants this blade is a crane operator,from what he said he's using it for hunting,setting up tree stands,chopping down trees,3/8" steel cable (WTFO?)
my only concern with 1095 is the HT :foot: isnt' 5160 a little more forgiving
How did you HT /temper? I have a 4 day weekend coming up i might actually get to do some blades:D
 
OK you twisted my arm..:)

Terry mostly 18" for length

valimas, it's a spring steel to start with and with differential tempering
the spine to a graduated spring temper it's a great match for a beater IMO.
(Not Differential quenching as in edge quenching)

being so long I use the oven to heat to quench it, yes it's a bit touchy,speed is the key to get into the quench,
I then temper the whole blade, once that's done I water tube the edge and draw down the spine with O/A
back to a silver leaving the center a graduated temper to a spring hardness
to the water tube
the tang I also draw back to a spring hardness. I hope this helps
you..:)


-----Original Message-----
From: Tommy and Debbie Horton
To: D.G. Gray & Sons
Date: Monday, September 04, 2000 11:56 AM
Subject: Re: Machete Received!
Dear Dan,
We have just returned from Texas after a three week sort of a working
vacation. I used the machete on some oak and mesquite. The machete
passed the test with flying colors! I have one word for that
machete...AWESOME! It is undoubtedly the best blade I have ever used. You are
an excellent knife maker. I have showed the machete to several surveyors. These
surveyors expressed a desire to own one. I gave them your name and address and,
hopefully, some will be getting in touch with you. The county surveyor here in
Missouri that I know expressed a desire to possibly order 5 of them.
I will say however, as I've said before, the handle needs to be thicker. The size of
the metal part of the handle that you cut out is good. Just the thickness of the
handle material needs to be thicker. When you get to swinging a machete, it can
slip out of your hand quite easily if the handle is not thick enough. I think I can fix
this one by possibly wrapping it in leather. I am going to order another one from
you very soon, so keep the handle dimensions in mind. You do great work Dan.
Concerning your question as of your last e-mail - you can use my name anyway
you wish as a satisfied customer. I enjoyed your e-mails and communication with
you over the past few months and hope you will stay in touch with me. I will stay in
touch with you as I will order another machete soon.
Best of everything to you and keep up the good work. You could make a fortune
making these machetes for surveyors if you ever get to the right ones. I'll put in the
good word every chance I get.
Good luck - from a satisfied customer!
Tommy
******************
edited to add

BTW Tommy is a relative of the late Jimmy Horton
sings just like him too.
 
Why is 5160 on the cheaper side????:confused:

L6 has always been my choice for corn knives and machetes,takes shock well and holds a great edge against wood (Saws cut allot of wood in a day:D )

Great feed back from a satisfied customer Dan.

Bruce
 
Bruce Evans said:
Why is 5160 on the cheaper side????:confused:

L6 has always been my choice for corn knives and machetes,takes shock well and holds a great edge against wood (Saws cut allot of wood in a day:D )

Great feed back from a satisfied customer Dan.

Bruce
Click to expand...
HI Bruce
5160 should work Ok also, it's a spring steel too as we know.
L6 sure should be good as well. though for a thin whacking tool if I were to switch
I'd go with 15N20 at least with my thoughts as of right now, if I could get it in saw blade form, like I get now in the used band-saw blade.

I've found that any blade over 6" wide is probably 15n20 because of the thickness,, it has to have more nickel added so it won't brake, hence 15N20
I have a lot of this stuff at times, but it's only up to just over .074
the band-saw blades in commercial use goes through, as you say, a heap of wood a day,
these used blades I get, start out new at about $700.00 each and meant to work well..

I've used the 1095 for my Machetes right along and have had real good luck with it so far,as so the saying goes, if it an't broke don't fix it.:)

I should say, if it don't brake I don't need to fix it:)

I don't get a lot of $'s for these in comparison to other knives I sell , 1095 is priced well, comes in the right readable sizes for me easy to work and fast to make.
I have to take it all into account.
in-turn I rarely use 1095 in small knife form, for other reasons..
 
thanks for the help on this dan :) i thought i'd get back with it sooner.mete was kind enough to send a sawmill blade my way thanks again mete.here's a pic of the rough cut out. i put a convex edge on it and tested the balance/feel of it....this thing is sick, anything 1" or less green wood doesnt stand a chance i chopped through alot of sticks and branches and it just keeps cutting.
Now for the newbie ignorant question i was careful cutting it out and grinding not to get it hot could i just get away with a draw temper on the spine/tang.
cornknife.jpg
 
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