Homemade throwers, what steel, heat treating etc...

E

EightTrack

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Mar 28, 2004
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I've got all the necessary tools and shop space to make my own knives, so I wanna give a thrower a try.

I've got a source for 440c... will this be a decent steel for a thrower? What are the steels of choice for throwers?

As for heat treating..... what's required? I guess I should dig up those knifemaking books I bought years ago and actually read them, haha.

Any help appreciated guys!
 
I would use a thick piece of high carbon steel-- It is generally tougher than stainless (although I do have some stainless throwers.) I'm not sure about the process of heat treating 440 stainless, but this link is great for someone starting making knives.

I made my favorite thrower out of some pretty thick steel-- about 1/4 inch. It also has a very steep axe grind/bevel as it is not made for slicing, but taking massive abuse.

I wouldn't really worry about heat treating a thrower-- softer metal can take more abuse without breaking, and you could fix up any nicks or dings with a file or a grinder.

Throwers are fun to make because you can basicly make a profile and slap on a quick thick edge grind and then you're done.
 
So heat treating's not a big deal then? That's pretty much the only thing stopping me at this point.
 
without heat treatment the knife will bend, as did some of my heat treated ones, but hey, you can bend them back.
as long as the stock is thick enough and you don't want to cut anything with it you should be fine.

Ookami
 
My first homemade thrower was 3/16 thick 1018 or 1020 low carbon steel, no heat treat. The edge was thick, as was the point, but it stuck fine. I dont remember it taking any acute bend, but it did have a little curve to it over the whole length after a bad miss once.
 
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