First Knife Attempt

[paranoidsentry]

Though I have always wanted to make a knife, I have never gotten off my lazy bum to try. Now I'm on a mission to make a knife for my girlfriend by Christmas (No worries though, she'll love it no matter how it turns out. Even if I fail utterly she will appreciate the effort.)

I have three railroad spikes I got from a construction site. Which gives me three attempts. I want it it be obvious that the knife was made from a railroad spike and look very old world and rustic.

I'm more than a little out of my depth so any advice would be appreciated.

Should I try forging or just file it down?

What tools do I need, can I do it with just a good set of files and a hammer (I don't want to use power tools if I can help it)?

Does anyone have any good links that will help?

Is "cold forging" really as stupid as it sounds?

Should I try to to forge the spike out to create a longer blade, go with a short wide blade or file off a lot of the metal? What would be easiest?

Thanks in advance for any help. I plan to post photos of the project if I get a good response.

 

[panch0]

If you don't have a grinder then using files to shape the steel would be best. You will probably need to send out fot heat treat. Read the sickies here in this forum. They have alot of good info. Be sure to post pics.

 

[tattooedfreak]

If they are new railroad spikes, chances are they wont take HT as they may not have enough carbon. However, don't let that stop you. If you have the facility, heat and hammer them into blade shape and then grind to completion. You can try cold forging the last of the edge as this may help work harden the edge and help keep it sharp. What will she be using the knife for? That will help decide whether or not you need to worry about proper blade hardness or not. No matter what, have fun with it.

 

[paranoidsentry]

Was already planning on it, noway I'm going to try to heat treat it myself, I already understand the need for good heat treating. I want to get good at shaping knives before I try heat treating, though I want to do that in the future as well.

So are you recommending I keep it simple and just file the railroad spike down and not try to widen or lengthen the blade with forging?

Thanks and I will post pics.

 

[paranoidsentry]

If they are new railroad spikes, chances are they wont take HT as they may not have enough carbon. However, don't let that stop you. If you have the facility, heat and hammer them into blade shape and then grind to completion. You can try cold forging the last of the edge as this may help work harden the edge and help keep it sharp. What will she be using the knife for? That will help decide whether or not you need to worry about proper blade hardness or not. No matter what, have fun with it.

I don't now how old they are, I got them from tracks that were being pulled up here on Ft. Richardson, so I'm guessing that they are from the 50s or 60s. She will probably not use it that much, she has production knives for that, it will be more of accessory for her steampunk outfits, though I'm sure she will use it.

 

[Wolfjohn]

Practice your grinding on some wood paint sticks until you get it figured out and don't waste good steel...alot cheaper way of learning to grind!