File knife showcase

[sunshadow]

This is the first knife I ever made, started when I was 14 made from an old Nicholson file.



I got tired of dealing with files quickly and went to barstock

-Page

 

[Hengelo_77]

In progress:

 

[b_rogers]

Work in progress, file knife number 7. Probably the only one so far I'm proud enough to show. Its almost finished.

WIP

 

[dfarm]

Here is my file knife. It is my second knife, I use it in the shop all of the time on leather work.

It was a Nicholson file that got broken, annealed in a bonfire, and heated to non magnetic in a charcoal fire in a hole in the ground with my shop vacuum as a blower, then edge quenched in some random mix of 10-30, ATF, and gear oil if I recall correctly. I didn't temper the blade, because I knew I wasn't going to be hard on it. It holds its edge pretty well. The scales are hickory that I made out of a broken old axe handle and some red liners and brass pins.

 

[tryppyr]

Gosh, I feel left out... I haven't made a file knife yet... probably because I have yet to run across a damascus file.

 

[GTH11]

Heres one i bit off more than i could chew....been beggin for attention, and then all these file posts!!! I have a few hours to decide whether to place resolution status on it!

 

[hickman1]

Do it, you know you want to finish it.

Heres one i bit off more than i could chew....been beggin for attention, and then all these file posts!!! I have a few hours to decide whether to place resolution status on it!

 

[Hengelo_77]

Gosh, I feel left out... I haven't made a file knife yet... probably because I have yet to run across a damascus file.

You could make your own damascus file.
The best files are hand made
(and if you go hard core, make a knife out of that file ater you're done)

 

[warren bond5323]

Hi my name is warren and id like to show you a couple of file knives iv made,

Iv all so made a few bushy type blades but thought you might like these better.

 

[Phil Dwyer]

Cool looking knives Warren! The striations on the blade displayed on the right side of the stump is an effective look.

 

[fast14riot]

I have made a few from files...

This one decided to show a crack I had previously overlooked after quench...

The crack can be seen in this photo. Yes that is my finger and thumb holding the tang...

I ended up reshaping and refinishing the handle on this one...

and for scale...

This one is from an old broken Keen Kutter parting tool for wood turning...

A couple more file knives on the bench right now...

I like to forge to thickness and then switch to stock removal on the minis...

Great thread!

-Xander

 

[tommybo]

well i am just starting my fist knife and it is a file and have it annealed and shaped but havin a hard time figuring out final heat treat . i have looked alot on here and other forums but get really confused .. would some one help me figure this out that is use to workin with these nicholson files . all i have right now is a oxy act torch so dont know if i can accomplish it or not . sorry for a stupid question but everybody seems more helpful than other sites . Thanks Tommy

 

[oldwolf]

The Stickies at the top of the page are your friends. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/907667-How-to-Make-a-Knife-From-a-File. Yes your Oxy/act torch will work if your blade is not too long.

 

[tommybo]

Well iI finsihed my first knife and it is made from an old nicholson file . i did learn a lot of do's and dont's on this one for sure . let me know what ya think

 

[elementfe]

Don't ask why I used a file for this blade- it's just that I was low on good blade steel at the time, and thought, "Oh. W2. Perfect".
I keep learning the same thing over and over: that making a decent knife is enough trouble that it's always worth doing it right. That said, it's a pretty decent piece, got lucky with the maple- can't even remember who gave it to me or when. Very smooth and straight, nice snap open and closed. (lockback)

Andy G.

 

[kevin -the professor]

here are 3 from me. I like to make small full-tangs with hamons. these are easy and fun, and a great way to use old files. This is the kind of blade I make to relax between big projects.

these are all from right when I started. I haven't been taking pics of the file knives in the last couple of years. I guess I should take more pics. oh yeah, and make more knives!

 

[mykulmorris]

I guess I need to chime in here! These are my #1 most popular sellers at the local shows... 8 1/4" long, 3 7/8" edge...

-Michael

 

[odd]

wow. I have seen some vids on making file knives on the interwebs but this is just...wow.
always finding new cool stuff on here this just became one of my favorite threads.

Great work!

 

[leafspring]

Here are few knives i made from files, all are Nicholson.
Made only with handtools

 

[Danbo]

Here's one I made from an old file.