Dumb steel question

PIndelicato

PIndelicato

Joined
Sep 16, 2002
Messages
1,577
They say there's no such thing as a dumb question, but they haven't heard this one yet!

I want to try making a knife using the stock removal method to see if it's something that could develop into a hobby for me. I went to Lowes, and bought a piece of 'Cold-rolled steel' that does not indicate any information about the alloy it is made from.

Would it be worthwhile using this steel? If it is just not optimal, I think I'll give it a try. If it would be a wasted of time, then I will take it back and try something else.

Is there anything readily available that would be a better choice? I don't have a lot of time at the moment to drive around to junk yards, yard sales, etc. trying to find something like a leaf spring or similar item that I've read will work.

Thanks for the help!
 
Order some 1075/1080 from Admiral Steel. Very cheap and will make a nice blade.
 
That will not work as a knife because the alloy is low carbon and can not be hardened. It may look like a knife, but it will be soft. Go to the sticky at the top and find steel suppliers such as pop's knife supply or Admiral Steel or whatever. You don't even need to set up an account (you do at MSC, ENCO etc), they take credit cards and can ship you a piece of carbon steel for probably just as cheap as the steel from Lowes.

Then you shape it into a knife and send it to a heat treater to have it hardened. Or beg here and someone will harden it for you.

You're on the right track. Enjoy yourself.
 
Thanks for the responses so far!

I'll do that as a backup plan, but when I want to do something I usually hate to wait. Any other ideas or suggestions for things that I could readily find in a store without having to wait for steel to be shipped to me? I realize this might not make the most sense price wise, but I don't mind paying a few bucks extra if it's something I can go get today (Sunday) as opposed to likely waiting until next weekend.
 
Well, I am a little impatient but I'm also off work for a couple of days and would like to be able to play with this idea before I have to go back!
 
I would suggest purchasing your steel from a reliable source. There are many suppliers out there that can supply you with the proper steel for knife making. :)

On my website I have links to many knife suppliers out there all in one place for your convenience. The 1095 cold rolled is a great choice in knife making steel and the 52100. The steel that you posted about is referred as farmers steel at least in this part of the country. :thumbdn:

Steel for knife making needs to be something that can be heat treated and tempered. As I read more of your post I can see you already purchased that piece of steel, please do not waste your time in making a knife from it. :)

Hope this was of help to you and welcome to Bladeforums. Its good to see you come aboard. You will fine great people here with lots of knowledge. :thumbup:
 
Perhaps I'm giving the wrong impression here. I've had a few days off work to comtemplate my life, and during that time I've been trying to try some new things including hopefully playing around with a piece of steel towards making a knife. My career keeps my extremely busy and requires a great deal of travel, so I just don't have the time to visit garage sales/junkyards/etc. to recover something old at the moment, and like I said I'd like to give this some sort of try before I have to return to work on Wednesday.

I've read about using old files. How about a new file from the hardware store, or is this only for forging projects? Like I said, the solution does not have to be ideal, but I don't want to totally waste my time with steel that can't be heat treated at all.

Thanks for any additional advice.
 
Old or new files both have be be annealed(softened) first as would almost any steel except what you would get from a steel supplier.
 
BTW, I would start by using what you have to practice on. It is doubtful that you will be successful with the first piece of steel.
Just use what you have to practice your grinding.
 
OK, I think this is a reasonable thought and I will do this along with ordering a real piece of steel from a suitable supplier. Thanks for your help!


randydance062449 said:
BTW, I would start by using what you have to practice on. It is doubtful that you will be successful with the first piece of steel.
Just use what you have to practice your grinding.
Click to expand...
 
Chuck Bybee usuallly has small bars of steel for a few bucks that work great for one or two knives.
www.titaniumman.com
Home depot steel is completely worthless.
Get yourself some 1080 or 5160 if you want to do your own heat treating or grab some ats34, 154cm, cpm154 or 440c and send it to Paul Bos to heat treat.
I would never use recycled steel for any knife and can't recomend that route to anyone. It really sucks to put hours of hard work into a knife only to have the heat treat suck because you don't really know what you have.
Along the same lines I always recomend that you make your first couple of knives out of an air hardeing steel and get it profesionally heat treated. That way your first efforts are guaranteed to at least get hard enough to make a good knife. Nothing sucks more than to spend all that time making your first knife only to find it doesn't cut.
 
Ouch, your first reply was so friendly and helpful, and then you followed up with this? I'm sorry if I've given you the wrong impression...I can assure you I am not a troll or impulsive, immature spaz as your post leads me to believe you think...

Barkes Knife Shop said:
Good Luck and have a fun day----------:jerkit:
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This is excellent advice, thank you for the input. I think I'll play around with filing, profiling, etc. with my cheap junk while I wait for the real stuff to arrive.

Like was mentioned earlier, it's doubtful that my first attempt will be grand, but it would also suck to put a lot of time and effort into something that was just headed for the trash can.

Thanks!

Jason Magruder said:
Chuck Bybee usuallly has small bars of steel for a few bucks that work great for one or two knives.
www.titaniumman.com
Home depot steel is completely worthless.
Get yourself some 1080 or 5160 if you want to do your own heat treating or grab some ats34, 154cm, cpm154 or 440c and send it to Paul Bos to heat treat.
I would never use recycled steel for any knife and can't recomend that route to anyone. It really sucks to put hours of hard work into a knife only to have the heat treat suck because you don't really know what you have.
Along the same lines I always recomend that you make your first couple of knives out of an air hardeing steel and get it profesionally heat treated. That way your first efforts are guaranteed to at least get hard enough to make a good knife. Nothing sucks more than to spend all that time making your first knife only to find it doesn't cut.
Click to expand...
 
Having a plan is still one of my weak points and learning to use the tools is an ongoing process!:) My trash can runneth over!:)
(former accountant/computer techie with no prior workshop experience!)
 
P J 234 said:
Ouch, your first reply was so friendly and helpful, and then you followed up with this? I'm sorry if I've given you the wrong impression...I can assure you I am not a troll or impulsive, immature spaz as your post leads me to believe you think...
Click to expand...


I was just wishing you the best of luck with your first attempt in making a knife. I believe you misunderstood my last post. :)
 
Forgive me if the 'jerk it with rolling eyes' smiley at the end of your post threw me off of your benevolent intent. Did I manage to misinterpret that somehow?

Assuming you were sincere, thanks for your encouragement.

Barkes Knife Shop said:
I was just wishing you the best of luck with your first attempt in making a knife. I believe you misunderstood my last post. :)
Click to expand...
 
Go ahead and make a few knives from the Lowes steel. For me, handle finishing is the hardest part, and that has very little to do with the type of steel. In any case, you'll end up with a knife to compare to your later models for a bottom of the barrel standard for edge holding, and a very high standard for ductility and toughness. FWIW, I've read some claims that a piece of mild steel can be made to pass the ABS jouneyman tests.
 
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