file grinding blades

M

meteogeek

Joined
Jan 18, 1999
Messages
57
I've been in the game of finishing knife kits for about three years now and I'm looking to produce my own blades. I thought I would give file grinding a try, but I have a few questions. I've been monitoring the forum here and have found some useful tips. I do have some powertools which include a Delta and Craftsman belt sander, bench drill press, bench band saw and a small buffer. I do plan to give flat grinding a try with the power tools I have, but I would also like to give file grinding a try for the pure satisfaction of a truly hand(bench)made knife.

first, what type of steel should I start with? O1 or other? I have a piece of steel that I actually got from my lawn edger after replacing it with a new one. Any ideas what type of steel it might be?

I understand the basics of file grinding would be to cut the blade to shape (I would do a full tang variety; I have actually drawn a wharncliffe blade that I would like to try to make) with a hack saw or use one of my belt sander/grinders or file, of course. Next, the blade needs to be held in such a way as to allow for unobstructed filing such as securing to a narrow piece of wood which is then held in a vice. How does one apply the plunge grind and with which type of file to get started?

I have also read that draw filing (pulling toward the body) is best as opposed to push filing. Makes sense. Once the steel has been worked down with successively finer cutting files then work begins with hand sanding using successively finer grits beginning with say 220 (wrapped around a flat piece of wood say a clothes pin, popsicle stick, etc.) and working to at least 600 grit making sure all scratches are removed from previous grit before moving on to the next finer grit.

Finally, heat treat the blade (I will probably have someone do this for me) and hand finish to the desired texture/look/feel.

Anyway, I'm sure I've not listed all the fine details which would fill volumes on the forum. I'll elect to save the bandwidth and look forward to replies/answers to my questions.

Thanks all!! >> DeWayne <<
 
Hello meteogeek,

I clamp a narrow board into my vise and then c-clamp my blade to the board. Make sure that the board sticks out from the vise jaws so that you can get your hands in and around the blade for filing.
I would start out using a bastard cut file for roughing the blade then move to finer or smoother cut files for finishing and then to sand paper. Make sure you keep the file clean of metal chips as they can gouge the blade if left jammed into the file teeth.
You can either push or pull the file to make the cuts. I would use a push stroke to file the tip of the blade. This will keep you from rounding the tip over. The handle should be on the right side when doing the push stroke and the left side for the pull stroke. The push stroke is best for me because I can put more power into the cut. i can get more leverage.
Use a small chainsaw or rat tail file for making the plunge cuts.
I can't answer you about the lawn edger. It would be better to order the steel and know for sure what you are getting involved with.

Filing is hard work but it is very rewarding and not as easy to screw up as grinding on a machine. You can remove the metal but you can't put it back.

hope this helps.

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If a man can keep alert and imaginative, an error is a possibility, a chance at something new; to him, wandering and wondering are a part of the same process. He is most mistaken, most in error, whenever he quits exploring.

William Least Heat Moon
 
Philip, I don't quite understand the plunge cut, at least not enough to act on it.
Also the right, left, push, pull thing.
Finally, why clamp the steel to wood?
Rigidity?
Thanks for your encouragement.
I ordered the steel about ten minutes ago.
Can't turn back.

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Luke 22:36, John 18:6-11, Freedom

 
Ken,

I will try to explain the plunge cut. It is the point closest to the guard where the grind starts.
To do this with a chainsaw file, I scribe my center lines (where I want my edge to be) and point the file tip towards the back or spine of the blade and make an angle cut from the edge up to the spine. You do this on both sides of the blade for a flat ground knife. You can do this with a flat file but the radious from a round file is much stronger and easier to clean up.

Why clamp the blade to wood?
You are going to be putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the blade when you file it. Filing takes a lot of elbow grease. You have to have something behind the blade to give some resistance or the file will not cut as good.

The push/pull thing is simple. Look at a file, the cuts put into most files to produce the teeth are done on a diagonal angle. This is done so that when pushed from tip to handle the teeth are skewed to help peel away material. When you push or pull the file sideways the teeth will not cut if facing the wrong direction. Try to think of it as a sawblade. A saw that cuts on the pull stroke does not cut on the push stroke, and vice versa.

It would be much easier to show you than explain it. I hope that I have shed at least a little more light on this subject.



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If a man can keep alert and imaginative, an error is a possibility, a chance at something new; to him, wandering and wondering are a part of the same process. He is most mistaken, most in error, whenever he quits exploring.

William Least Heat Moon
 
Hello meteogeek! I don't think you need to sand until 600 grit before heat treating. 220 is fine, since after heat treating you have to sand with 220 again anyways! This depends of course on the heat treat- there are some methods that leave your blade looking the same as it was before heat treating, in which case you would finish as high as you would like to go. Heat treating services around me make the blades all black and so I have to sand back on 220 again so this is as high as I go.

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"Come What May..."
 
I understand from previous posts how one can scribe the edge line using a drill bit with a diameter equal to the thickness of the steel.
I have read also that some makers scribe a center line (double edged blades) in the steel on the flat, and that others use surface markers, inks and the such.
What kinds of reference lines should one put on the steel and by what methods?

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Luke 22:36, John 18:6-11, Freedom

 
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