dirt cheap to free source of knife steal for poor beginner?

Josh Muller

Josh Muller

Joined
Jun 22, 2003
Messages
3,049
just wondering if anyone had any suggestions for the ABSOLUTE cheapest steel available to hand grind knives from... heres the scenario

your scrambling to keep your electricity bill paid, and your living off of a cup of ramen soup, and a slice of bread a day. youve already canabalized the cheap shovels you have around the house, and your only tools are a hand american 1/2 glass smooth 1/2 ridged steel, a dull and worn out bastard file, and a hacksaw. but darnit, you want to make knives, regardless of how dificult it is.

where can you find usable steel?

any suggestions? (this is for my brother, who is getting into it)
 
If he has use of a grinder, I would suggest discarded power hacksaw blades. They make great blades for many uses. There are lots of places that use the power hacksaws and will give the blades to him. He will probably even get some orders for knives while he is picking up the blades. That is how I got started making selling knives. He could approach some local junkyards, too. Some of the private owned yards will still allow folks to scratch and poke around, and what he finds he can buy for scrap price, if they even charge him.
 
POST YOUR ADDRESS ON THE FORUM. tHE GOOD FOLKS HERE ARE BOUND TO SEND STEEL TO A STARVING ARTIST :D :D :D
 
getting material that you are not ABSOLUTELY sure of its make up will lead to more problems than you can imagine.........


In other words, being cheap can often times be the most expensive option!! :(
 
thanks for the info guys :D

that steel list is AWESOME! seriously good information to know. i may end up using that for myself one of these days :)

(edit:forgot the s on that one...)
 
look in the yellow pages for a place that makes automotive springs. Not places that just sell em (they are already hardened) but ones that actually manufacture them. Call them up and ask if they have annealed flat barstock, it'll most likely be 5160. It shouldn't cost more than $2-4 a foot... just ask if they'll sell a piece of scrap, heck, they might even give it to you. That way you don't have to buy a huge long piece.

The benefits here are a) you don't have to pay shipping, b) you know what kind of steel you are working with and c) the steel will be annealed. If you go hunting for scrap and find a good piece of steel cheap but it's already heat treated, that will be a lesson in frustration to be sure.

Being on a budget like that makes it sound like you don't have a way to anneal it, thus the suggestion.

cheers
 
tom mayo said:
getting material that you are not ABSOLUTELY sure of its make up will lead to more problems than you can imagine.........


In other words, being cheap can often times be the most expensive option!! :(
Click to expand...

its kind of like being unable to buy food, scrounging in the trash will lead to 2 out of 10 experiences being food poisoning - a point where you may be losing more nutrition then your gaining. but the other option is to completely go without.

he really cant pay for anything, but really loves making knives, and wants to get into it more. so he's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, looking for whatever he can get. if it turns out to be nothing but a major hassle and frustration, he'll at least be learning what not to do, rather then just wasting time, and still being broke at the end of it.


but it is very good advice for those who are learning... this is just a kind of severe case of budget woes..
 
SethMurdoc said:
he really cant pay for anything, but really loves making knives, and wants to get into it more. so he's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, looking for whatever he can get. if it turns out to be nothing but a major hassle and frustration, he'll at least be learning what not to do, rather then just wasting time, and still being broke at the end of it.
QUOTE]

Maybe he should consider getting a job in a steel yard or recycling yard? Kill a couple birds with one stone that way.
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jhiggins said:
SethMurdoc said:
he really cant pay for anything, but really loves making knives, and wants to get into it more. so he's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place, looking for whatever he can get. if it turns out to be nothing but a major hassle and frustration, he'll at least be learning what not to do, rather then just wasting time, and still being broke at the end of it.
Click to expand...


Maybe he should consider getting a job in a steel yard or recycling yard? Kill a couple birds with one stone that way.

Here's a little story for you: Back in the day, when I was in The Service, I was stationed at MacDill AFB, Tampa, FL. This was oh... '81-82 or thereabouts. I had this little Honda Civic and I was dying for a new stereo to replace the factory stereo. I bought this sweet little Pioneer cassette deck at the base exchange and after a few days of puttering around getting it right, and making some custom speaker installations, I stood back to admire my work. Then the idea struck me that it might be possible to make some cash doing this for other folks. I was always short of cash those years when my kids were young, and always looking for some more ways of making money.

After some consideration, I thought that since I really knew so little about car audio that maybe I should try to get some experience in the field. All I had was talent, but no background. But where to get it?

So there was this place up on Dale Mabry Highway about a mile south of the stadium called Sound Investments that did car audio installations. I figured I'd go ask them if I could work for free in their shop and maybe help the installers so I could learn the trade. Since I worked night shift out on the base, it would be easy to spend a few hours there each day until I learned some skills. When I went there and spoke with the owner he said heck, why not take $5 and hour and work part time? That was darn good money for a p/t job back then!

So I worked there for about a year and enjoyed every minute of it. I learned a skill and made some money at the same time, and I guess this is what I'll say is the moral to the story. Maybe your bro should consider getting into a job working with metals? The rest will come naturally.
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Old rusty tools are a favorite scrounging source for me. If it's rusty you know it's probably not stainless, you'd just need to do some tests to see if it's better for blades or fittings. You can often get a box of old broken tools for dirt cheap at garage sales and the like.

The person who suggested getting a job in the field is dead on, that's what I'd planning on right now. I'm between jobs right now, and I'm using the time to take a few classes on welding so I can hopefully get a job in a metal shop. Once I'm working in one, I'm guessing lots of free scrap (or at least a company discount on ordering new), plus a pile of new skills that should be somehow relatable to bladesmithing.
 
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