First Knife (seeking advice)

Slowing down and doing one skill at a time is good advice. They don't teach welding and sheetmetal forming in the same class for the same reason you should learn to shape a knife before you learn to build a forge and do HT. This come as a process, and are best learned that way.

If you had followed The Count's Standard Reply he gave you....and read the stickies....you would have found lots of forge info.
 
YAY! My steel arrived, my steel arrived it finally arrived. Now all I got to do is go to my job interview then stop at a store and get me some papers and new files.
 
MOcaba if you really want to build a forge a simple charcoal forge is really easy to make and will cost you almost nothing. And you could cook your squirrel ;) But concentrating on one skill at a time is probably a good idea.
 
Good. Do the days work and let us know how it went. No need to post evey step, we know them.
 
Yay my wood is here, =( but It's going to be awhile till I am using it haha. Oh I got a question. Tool steel, like stuff that is already made if I turn it into a knife does it still need HT or was it already done when it was made? asking because I would like to make a few EDC knives just for general purpose stuff like opening boxes and stuff like that. I saw on the sticky for a file knife you temper it to make it softer, does that go for other things like chisels and such.
 
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Trying to turn a tool into a knife is just not a good idea. That said, it is a popular pastime in prison.

Take a piece of the steel you just got and make a real knife. It will take time and effort, but it will be something you will be proud of.
 
I don't see the attraction of turning files into knives.
Aldo sells 1084 in 48" lengths, use a piece for one knife, say, 12 inches, would cost you 5-6 Dollars.
Annealing files is tricky in itself, especially for beginners, then you'd have to worry about identifying which steel it is to get a somewhat proper heat treat.
Your also restricted on the dimensions of the knife since a file is quite narrow.
In the end, 5-6 dollars for steel would probably cost you less than what that file cost you.
 
Got so much respect for you guys now omg its so painfully slow filing. espcially because I suck at it lol.
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I have to ask :D ( colon,D)

Are you clamping/bolting that to a work board as described in the instructions you read?
Are you clamping something across the blank to define the plunge line?
Are you filing in full strokes and then lifting the file on the return ?......or sawing the file back and forth ( Don't do that!).
It might be a good idea to knock the sharp corners off the butt to keep from scratching yourself.
What file are you using? (You should be using a bastard cut mill file)

Final comment - Don't try and make a knife in your bedroom :( ( colon,open paren)
 
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