Alright. Ive heard about scrap metal, lawn mower blades, and even a piece of rebar, but for some reason ive never heard about a crowbar (flat, like the "wonder bar" but with a nice, straight, flat span about 12 inches long. $10 at TrueValue) being made into a knife. Is there some hidden reason for this? I just got the bar and file and im about half way through it (takes HOURS!!!) and im wondering if its worth it...
- I hope for the day <18 can buy a knife (provided they are so dumb as to slice off a finger) -
Yes, there's a reason! The reason is this; it's SO EASY and SO CHEAP to get real knifemaking steel, yes, even if you're a minor, that's there's no excuse not to.
In fact, for twice as much money ($20), you can get twenty times as much good steel (20') shipped to you. Twice as much money, twenty times as much steel.
The only problem with that is that it requires a credit card. Maybe you don't have one, maybe your folks would give you a hard time and you don't want to ask them to use theirs. Fair enough.
In THAT case, your next step is to go over to the forum
Shop Talk: Bladesmith Questions and Answers, explain the situation, and ask to buy some steel.
"Hi guys, I'd like to learn to make knives, and I know I need some proper steel, but I don't have access to a credit card to order some. Can I buy some from you guys? I can send cash or a money order.
Thanks,
King Gimpicus"
Pleeeeenty of fellas would sell you some. Cheap, like $1 per foot plus shipping. Heck,
I'll sell you some.
So you'll save money by buying real steel, and then even more importantly, you can look up what to do with it. You can't ask anybody for instructions or advice on what to do with a crowbar. Who knows what kind of steel it is?
But if you want instructions on what to do with 1075, you can get them. Does this make sense?
"Hi guys, how do I heat treat some steel that I don't know what it is?" Wouldn't work!
Drop me a line if you need some steel
Mike Cantrell
mscantrell at gmail.com
