F.N.G.- and what the..?

R

Richtee

Joined
Jul 31, 2021
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So I recently got into knife making. Started with a scrap of stainless and made a decent slicer. Next project I wanted steak knives. And wanted to try carbon. So (and maybe this was my ignorance) I went to HD and bought some 1X0.125 bar stock. Shaped a blade and then heat treated it for hardness. Now..it was fairly smooth...EG 220 grit shine..going into the coals. What the hell isthis? Happened? Hep a noob out :D

PS: Avid BBQ maven, shooter and other manly type things :D

And OK how do I attach a pict? I don’t have a host site listed.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums.

When you say "HD" I assume you mean Home Depot. My understanding is that the steel flats sold at Home Depot have a very low carbon content and are not at all suitable for knife blades. It's a very cheap steel.

If a piece of steel isn't identified by type (1095, D2, 440c, VG10, M390, etc) by the people selling it, then it is likely a very cheap, low-grade type of steel not suitable for knife blades. If you're going to put a lot of work into a blade, you might as well use a decent steel and end up with an actual knife blade that you can use and be proud of. There are various places on the internet to purchase actual knife blade steel.

In order to post pics you need to use a photo hosting site like Imgur.

Also, in case you didn't know, there is a knife makers sub-forum here at Bladeforums, you can find it here- https://www.bladeforums.com/forums/shop-talk-bladesmith-questions-and-answers.741/
 
OK. I suspected as much. No need for a pict. But it IS kinda a cool “puddling” effect. I might just finish it and hang it on the wall. :D

Thank you for the reply. Guess I’ll order some high carbon stock. I DO have a hunk of the stainless left, but what a B-tch THAT is to work with...dang.

Thanks again.
 
My local Fastenal store sold a selection of O1 finish ground bar stock. A little pricy, but for a small quantity not unreasonble.
 
Richtee said:
What the hell is this? Happened?
Click to expand...
Maybe this thread will help:

Help Please! I have bubbles after normalizing?

Hi all! This is my first real knife I've tried to make and today I was trying to normalize in my homemade TS8000t firebrick forge and when I pulled the blade out a minute or so after it was non-magnetic I have these "bubbles" on the blade? I sanded it with 220 on a spot to see how deep it went...
bladeforums.com bladeforums.com

But without having any idea what you're describing based on the little information you've provided so far, I'm only guessing that this is what you are talking about.

Welcome to the forum, btw.
 
How did you heat treat the knife made from stainless?
 
Any idea what type of stainless? 304? 316" 400 series? OR, is it an actual knife blade stainless? BIG difference.

Here's about the best place to purchase blade material, either SS or high carbon and he's got heat treating info for each.
www.alphaknifesupply.com

Alpha Knife Supply - AKS™ - Knifemaking Supplies and Materials.

Knifemaking supplies and materials. AKS provides: Blade Steel, G10, Titanium, Hardware, Timascus, Carbon Fiber, & Damascus. Fast Shipping, excellent prices!
www.alphaknifesupply.com
 
Ken H> said:
Any idea what type of stainless? 304? 316" 400 series? OR, is it an actual knife blade stainless? BIG difference.

Here's about the best place to purchase blade material, either SS or high carbon and he's got heat treating info for each.
www.alphaknifesupply.com

Alpha Knife Supply - AKS™ - Knifemaking Supplies and Materials.

Knifemaking supplies and materials. AKS provides: Blade Steel, G10, Titanium, Hardware, Timascus, Carbon Fiber, & Damascus. Fast Shipping, excellent prices!
www.alphaknifesupply.com
Click to expand...
No clue. It was a couple drops off a 18” square .125 thick piece with .25” holes drilled thru it in a 16” square. Some kinda baffle or something? Used it as the floor for a custom fire grate/box for my 60D Lang cooker :)

Thanks for the info sir!

And I went and got an Imgur account.
kscUvbJ.jpg


And the steel...

yUlgaPN.jpg
 
With regards to the bumpy or "puddling" effect on your mild steel blade, check out this thread . The same thing happened to my early blades when I began trying to heat treat my first knives using a primitive charcoal forge(??). There was consensus that my heat treat method was probably the cause and that is what I believe also. This was pre Forged-In-Fire, but I was working under the mistaken notion that virtually any steel could be suitably and easily hardened by heating it to red-hot and sticking it quickly into a quenchant.

I now believe that to properly heat-treat steel you must be ten times smarter than I thought I was and have a sort of cosmic telepathic connection with the metallic crystal lattice of the steel alloy you're working with, along with an electric furnace. But it sure is fun to do it yourself, and I use charcoal only for 1080/85 steel. I've sent blades out for heat treatment and it is sooooooo nice to have them come back clean, smooth, and secure in the knowledge that they don't have grain the size of road gravel.

Have fun.

- Paul Meske
 
R Richtee

That Lang is awesome, get ready to spend several times that if you get into knifemaking :)
 
Tanks Paul. Seems a comedy of errors on my part. Crap steel, charcoal heat, and bears, Oh My!

I’m getting edjumacated. Prolly never dupe the Wilkinson calvary sword I have, but slicing a steak with a home brew blade IS appealing.
 
Richtee said:
Ah crap. I was afraid of that. :D Well, for now anyway, I’m trying simple stuff on the cheap I guess. But it DOES fascinate me.
Click to expand...
It is like starting off with a charcoal grill and end up with reverse flow smoker that weighs 900 lbs LOL.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a video on what you are interested in making. Check out Chris Crawford site, the vids there are worth far more then the listed price.

streaming.chriscrawfordknives.com

Chris Crawford Knives

streaming.chriscrawfordknives.com streaming.chriscrawfordknives.com
 
AVigil said:
It is like starting off with a charcoal grill and end up with reverse flow smoker that weighs 900 lbs LOL.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a video on what you are interested in making. Check out Chris Crawford site, the vids there are worth far more then the listed price.

streaming.chriscrawfordknives.com

Chris Crawford Knives

streaming.chriscrawfordknives.com streaming.chriscrawfordknives.com
Click to expand...
Ain’t nothin’ free I see. Well, ain’t nothin’ free that’s worth more than ya paid I recon :D Thank ya sir.
 

Good beginners book

Hey guys, I'm a chef and I would like to try to make a kitchen knife, using my father in law many working tools. Does anyone have a good beginners knifemaking book to suggest? Thank you
www.bladeforums.com www.bladeforums.com
 
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