Hoffman Harpoon for Wilderness Survival Kit?

[Rescue Mike]

on another note, i just scored a chunk of railroad to try and get a little forge going.... 2dogs are you in.... i could use a little help brainstorming the forge...

Hpw and Where did you score that chunk of RR??

I would love to add that to the litle shop I'm building up.

Anyone?

 

[kr1]

Hadn't thought of it as a neck knife.. Good idea!

Hey Mike, as a neck knife. I had someone suggest the Becker Necker and I bought one. WooHoo! :thumbup: That is what I carry instead of the Harpoon.
That is a Great knife.
KR

 

[Don Rearic]

FLIX,

A similar type of barb assembly was tried with the Marto-Brewer Survival Knife. I have the knife and the accessory barb as well.

You would fall into the water face=first trying to shove that thing in a fish! The thought of a utility-pole up a gnat's ass comes immediately to mind.

 

[Fiddleback]

This could be an interesting project.. Where would I find a spare piece of railroad track to make an anvil?? (Other than the obvious.)

Mike, you can do this Po-Boy style. With nothing more than a bench grinder and your oven.

Po-Boy process:

Get yourself a Nicholson file that is big enough to allow for this design. I get mine at pawn shops for ~1-2 bucks. Good files are good carbon steel.

****Here is the trick. A file is already very hard. Harder than a knife needs to be. This hardness is your friend. It means you don't have to harden the knife at all. Merely temper down the hardness to knife temper in your oven, and you're done with HT.

****Here is the catch. When grinding you CANNOT get the piece hot enough to burn off the temper. If it gets too hot to hold with a bare hand you've got to put it in water. If it turns black, you've ruined the temper.

I grind off all the file teeth on a bench grinder to start. That way you've got plain steel to work on.

Then put it into the oven at 400 for an hour. It'll turn the color of bass ale. Don't take it out of the oven. Let it cool in there. After it has cooled, do it again. (Take the oven up to 400, then time it for an hour, then let it cool.) This softens the file down to knife temper.

Now you can trace your shape onto the blank and grind away waste parts with your bench grinder, and/or dremmel tool. Remember, you can't get it too hot, so dip it in a bucket of water often.

Once you've got the outline, grind in the edge. Again, if you get it too hot, you're screwed.

Once I'm all done grinding I do the oven step again. Then I sand and polish as needed.

Thats the Po-Boy process as tought to me by Sylvrfalcn (Sarge), and he's been making knives with this process for years. For a beginning knifemaker, its a great way to get started.

Thanks Sarge!

 

[foxyrick]

Here's something that came with a cheapish 'survival' knife I bought when I was too young and stupid to know any better.

It was the best thing in the pack. The knife was an Aitor (sp?) Jungle King. Blade is actually not bad, shame about the single pin holding it onto the otherwise heavy-duty aluminium hollow handle. It's taken a *lot* of abuse over the years though, and hasn't broke yet.

The Hoffman harpoon sure looks nice, but for a survival-type harpoon I'd make several for a fraction of the price, as suggested by others.

That said, they sure do look nice...

Edit:

My grandfather used to make knives and assorted sharp tools out of old powered hacksaw blades - seems just about right size for this type of thing too.

Rick.

 

[Rescue Mike]

Any special grinder? Speed? Grit/Grinder wheel?

 

[mtnfolk mike]

mike-- i scored it from my boss.... she just had it lying aroun her yard...

andy-- thanks for the info.... i'm going to have to try that....

i'm off to work now.. talk to you all later...

mike

 

[Fiddleback]

Any special grinder? Speed? Grit/Grinder wheel?

I did my first few with a standard 6" bench grinder. Of course, the better your grinders, the easier it is to get beautiful results. But even on a bench grinder you can make a SWEET knife.

Here is a pic of my first.

 

[SkunkWerX]

Ummmmmm, my understanding is that files are Hard, but not tempered, they are brittle. If you heat hardened carbon steel in an oven you have then tempered it. This makes it a bit more forgiving by relieving some stress.
To work the steel, you really need to anneal it. Torch to high temp, then cool it very very slowly.

RescueMike, sned me an Email: johnlingan (at) verizon.net
My idea is to get the metal, maybe 1/8" thick , and cut "blanks". Then let anyone who is interested, chip in a fair share and grind their own pre-cut blank.

I'll check metal costs.

Also, agreeing with RB, you can go to Home Depot or Lowe's, grab a small peice of flatstock, 1/8" thick, (mild steel) and grind away.
Torch and dip in oil to harden it.
The blade won't hold much of an edge, being mild steel, but, you can make lots of gigs and pig stickers out of it.

I still have 5160 steel but it's 1/4" thick, that would take a lot of grinding.
How thick are those harpoons? do they list specs?

just my 2 cents.

EDIT: (Just found specs: it's 3/16" thick 1095 steel)

more:
Railroad Tie is wooden, it's actually a peice of RR track you are looking for if it's for an anvil. I have a piece about 20" long. Also, I use a big piece of I-beam. Go to your local railyard, where they do construction work. Beg. Also, they have some very cool large bandsaws to cut track.
Ask if they have thrown out any old busted blades, they make great knife steel.

Forge, well, that is a project I'll get to at some point. My neighbor at my last house was a member of the blacksmiths guild, had the forge and bellows. Cool stuff.

Grinder: Piece of Cake. Everyone should have one (or three) anyway.

 

[T-BAG]

By the time you ship or find a railroad tie, a kiln, a grinder, grit and all you will have spent more in parts and labor than $70.00 bucks.

If your wife is sharp on survival try another tact.

Gee Honey, if you let me get this cool harpoon knife you can get a new dress and we will both be happy....AND, it comes with a sharpener and fire starter.....the knife, not the dress.

 

[GibsonFan]

I agree "welding" or mild steel from the hardware store is the way to go for these.
It's toughness is the main thing here, not to mention it's really inexpensive and easy to work. As SkunkWerx said, it may harden some but not to the level you'd expect for a knife edge. But that's fine for something that's going to bang against rocks

I may have some scrap at work, if so I'll bring home a piece and see what I can come up with.

 

[Fiddleback]

Ummmmmm, my understanding is that files are Hard, but not tempered, they are brittle. If you heat hardened carbon steel in an oven you have then tempered it. This makes it a bit more forgiving by relieving some stress.
To work the steel, you really need to anneal it. Torch to high temp, then cool it very very slowly.

To work the steel with a hammer you need to anneal it. To grind it you do not.

 

[CitizenQ]

I've seen that Harpoon before and must admit it's nifty looking. But it sounds like it doesn't have enough general utility to justify the cost and carry. You could make your own. Maybe start with a cheap blank?

http://www.worldknives.com/product.asp?produid=1370&typeuid=8

 

[SkunkWerX]

I may have some scrap at work, if so I'll bring home a piece and see what I can come up with.

I might have some too in my "welding" scrap out back. I'll check.

Now, of course..... nothing says you have to heat treat carbon steel to high "brittle" factor either.

Maybe an "un" treated peice of carbon steel is "springier" than a treated peice of mild steel??

Bottom line, as RB pointed out, you want something that won't be so hard it will break on a rock.

But then, the knife edge might not be so great.
Ahhh, it's a trade off.

How bout just wittle a wooden barb?

 

[SkunkWerX]

To work the steel with a hammer you need to anneal it. To grind it you do not.

That will wear down a grinding wheel or belt faster, and create a hell of a lot of heat, which can affect the heat treat of the metal.

Annealing makes it much easier to work, whether it's hammering, grinding, bending.

But, in this case, the heat treat isn't a big issue , anyway.

 

[runningboar]

We had this almost this same thread a few weeks ago, I made this up in about 15 minutes, it ain't pretty but it is functional.

and I still have about 67.50 in my pocket to buy beer.

 

[barrabas74]

I like it runningboar, did you make it out of plain ole square stock? and if so how thick? it looks very do-able.

 

[RescueRiley]

you guys are so handy its inspiring me i'm already drawing designs....can any carbon steel be tempered in the oven??? if so thats pretty handy, where might i find a carbon styell supplier??

 

[SkunkWerX]

you guys are so handy its inspiring me i'm already drawing designs....can any carbon steel be tempered in the oven??? if so thats pretty handy, where might i find a carbon styell supplier??

RR,

If you buy carbon steel it's annealed, softer, more easily worked and formed.
You work it, grind it, then it needs to be hardened (as in a knife) to bring it to full hardness.
After it's hardened, then it gets temepered, which maintains a good deal of it's strength, but, makes it a little more flexible, less brittle.

To harden it, it has to be heated in the neighborhood of 1500° to 2000° depending on the type steel, then quenched.

If you make something out of 1095 steel, let's say, you can then send it out to be heat treated and tempered.

 

[runningboar]

I like it runningboar, did you make it out of plain ole square stock? and if so how thick? it looks very do-able.

What you see is what is left of an old hickory paring knife after the liberal application of belt sander and dremel tool. As soon as spring springs I fully intend on stabbing some amphibians with it and tweaking as neccessary. Chris