I Have A Few Questions

S

steve_T

Joined
Mar 22, 2009
Messages
14
Hi new here. i have a few questions. were do u guys get your steel. i kinda wanted to make a knife out of a saw blade because i am on a tight budget and i have seen some rusty saw blades turn into insanely beautiful knifes. can you reccomend a place to get some cheap steel and what kind of material would be good to use for a beginner. this will be my first knife. I think i am ready to make one after lots of reading. i have already made my handle material it is a laminate of maple and cherry. what do u guys think of that combo? i have used the scales off my kershaw echo to lay out the scales on my handle material. I also used the blade to make a thick paper stencel for laying out my blade outline on the steel. when polishing the blade i was planing on starting with like 180 grit sand paper and then200, 300,500,600, and then up to like 2000 what do you guys do? does this sound right? i wanna have a mirror finish. maybe do some file work on the "spine" of the blade. i want my blade to be like 1/8 inch thick. any input or tips would be greatly appreciated. if my plans sound totaly stupis to you pro's please take it easy on a noob. :D Thanks
 
Welcome! Start by filling out your profile. You may be a nextdoor neighbour to a knife maker. You could start with a saw blade, but you would have to find out the type of steel or guess, and you would also have to work with a hard metal that needs annealing. For the price, I would just get some 1084. Aldo Bruno sells it here, among other places. I get my steel personally from Rob at knifemaker.ca. That wood combo should look nice I think, but it may shrink. Your sanding sounds good, remember to take out all scratches from the last step before advancing grits. You could take it to a mirror finish after 2000 by hand, maybe some body else can chime in about doing this. Remember to read the stickies and have fun. Good luck!
 
also another question. can i use a torch to harden the blade? then quench it in like motor oil?
 
thanks man... i think he just wanted to see where i was at because he prolly knows of people and suppliers all around the country. ya never know a kick ass supply store could be right around the corner from my house and i would never know it. but those prices are cheap man how is he on shipping? i think i would get a 5 foot length of the 1080 in 1 1/2" x 3/16"
 
steve be very careful you dont make spelling misstakes. If you do youll be sorry you ever came here. Some people here think we are school kids here and they like to bully. As far as steel goes look up ALDO . I was gonna use scrap at first but took the peoples advice and i use knothing but top grade stainless so far. Once i get to know how it works then ill try something different. It may not be better but at least you know what you got and how to heat treat.I pray my spelling is correct , and welcome to the forum.
 
steve_T said:
thanks man... i think he just wanted to see where i was at because he prolly knows of people and suppliers all around the country. ya never know a kick ass supply store could be right around the corner from my house and i would never know it. but those prices are cheap man how is he on shipping? i think i would get a 5 foot length of the 1080 in 1 1/2" x 3/16"
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I usually order enough to get the free shipping, so I'm not sure about one bar, but Kelly is truly good people.
 
hellgap said:
steve be very careful you dont make spelling misstakes. If you do youll be sorry you ever came here. Some people here think we are school kids here and they like to bully. As far as steel goes look up ALDO . I was gonna use scrap at first but took the peoples advice and i use knothing but top grade stainless so far. Once i get to know how it works then ill try something different. It may not be better but at least you know what you got and how to heat treat.I pray my spelling is correct , and welcome to the forum.
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alright?
 
hellgap said:
steve be very careful you dont make spelling misstakes. If you do youll be sorry you ever came here. Some people here think we are school kids here and they like to bully knothing. I pray my spelling is correct , and welcome to the forum.
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You missed one .:D
 
hellgap said:
steve be very careful you dont make spelling misstakes. If you do youll be sorry you ever came here. Some people here think we are school kids here and they like to bully. As far as steel goes look up ALDO . I was gonna use scrap at first but took the peoples advice and i use knothing but top grade stainless so far. Once i get to know how it works then ill try something different. It may not be better but at least you know what you got and how to heat treat.I pray my spelling is correct , and welcome to the forum.
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You know I was just going to get a chuckle from this and move on, but instead I have to say that this is out of line. I wholeheartedly agree that a person who can't find anything better to comment on than a persons spelling in posts has some issues, this is mostly because I am possibly one of the worst spellers and grammar offenders here and if it becomes a prerequisite I would be in trouble. However to dump this on a new member and have his first impression of this forum be some snotty little conflict from past thread does a grave injustice to all involved. This forum is one of the best information sources on the net with some of the best people you would find. Instead of tarnishing the entire forum over hurt feelings, it would really be better for you to take this directly up with the particular spelling Nazi you have the issue with hellgap.

Steve_T, this forum will be good to you even if you can't spell or type to save your life, as I said I wouldn't have lasted a week if that wasn't the case. You may get some folks who will tell you things that you may not have wanted to hear regarding methods supplies or materials but that is because they sincerely want to see you succeed. Anybody can tell you to do whatever you want to do, but only a person who cares will try to talk you out of something that may not work as well. Aldo's, or Mr. Cupples 1084 will give you about the best results possible with the tools you are starting out with. Ditch the motor oil, it lacks the colling curve necessary for what you are doing, if you are looking at an automotive product Automatic Transmission Fluid will work better. It is no secret that I don't do alternatives to properly formulated quenchants, but I would definitely take ATF over the 10W30:thumbup:.
 
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Welcome to the forums Steve.

There are many suppliers that sell steels of various types. Jantz supply in Oklahoma is one I deal with a lot since I get the stuff so fast living in Oklahoma myself. 1-800-351-8900 http://www.jantzsupply.com/

You can also check out Texas KnifeMaker Supply, and Knife and Gun Finishing Supply and Sheffield Supply all of which are very good. I recommend you get all of them on the phone and get a catalog. These help a whole lot and they offer some very good reading materials on knives also.

Good luck with your project.

STR
 
Kevin, with all due respect, you missed a couple commas in there :D

hellgap, you've got tons of "stick-with-it-ness" and I applaud the progress you've made in a short time. Also, over the last few days I've seen your posts get a LOT easier to read. That shows me you can type and spell just fine when you want to. Keep at it, bud!

SteveT, do your research... look through the newbies thread, bookmark links, take notes... I promise you, if you make an effort to do so, and ask specific questions, these fellas will bend over backwards to help you. That's from personal experience. Honestly, spend a WEEK going through any thread that looks interesting to you, you won't regret it. Be sure to check the threads that address newb questions and unsolicited advice and giveaways from established guys who have sacrificed a lot to kick someone in the butt to get them started, at their own cost; you'll learn a lot about knifemaking and even more about the kind of people these guys are, as I have. If you're not willing to do that, then well... nice knowin' ya.

There have been some "snotty little conflicts" lately, but seriously, most of these guys are extremely helpful. Don't be discouraged, just respect their time. If you read a bit, you'll soon realize that some of these regulars are among the best in the world... these are fellas who are regularly published in the big magazines and annual books on who's-who of knifemaking. Not to kiss a$$, but in the current Knives Annual 2009, there's a BladeForums member on nearly every third page, and almost all of them have bent over backwards to help new guys like us. Think about that :)

By the way, if you get serious, pony up and buy a membership. It's less than a magazine subscription and you'll have more research material than you can shake a file at.
 
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KEVIN I do appoligize . I should not be snotty in front of a new member about some p rickle that has issues about my spelling.This is the best forum on the internet as far as im concerned and i dont even want to know about any other places. I have in the past 2 and a half months learned what im sure what has taken most of these masters have taken them years to over come. I m not saying im smarted but they guided me into a world that leaves trial and error out. Kevin dont get me wrong i was crushed to think when i was making a post in a positive way that some @ss hole could only comment in such a rude self centred way about my spelling sucks and stay away from routers. If he said that to my face he woulda had sore nuts to say the least. I am a much bigger person than to be the school yard bully. Steve dont let this affect your opinion this is a great place to learn . please forgive my rant. kellyw
 
ahh man no feelings hurt lol. takes a little more than that to hurt my feelings :) thanks a lot for the tips and stuff guys.
 
hellgap said:
KEVIN I do appoligize . I should not be snotty in front of a new member about some p rickle that has issues about my spelling.This is the best forum on the internet as far as im concerned and i dont even want to know about any other places. I have in the past 2 and a half months learned what im sure what has taken most of these masters have taken them years to over come. I m not saying im smarted but they guided me into a world that leaves trial and error out. Kevin dont get me wrong i was crushed to think when i was making a post in a positive way that some @ss hole could only comment in such a rude self centred way about my spelling sucks and stay away from routers. If he said that to my face he woulda had sore nuts to say the least. I am a much bigger person than to be the school yard bully. Steve dont let this affect your opinion this is a great place to learn . please forgive my rant. kellyw
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And that was really the only thing that rubbed me wrong, if you have a clash with one of the other regulars far be it from me to get in the way of you slugging it out for the entertainment of the veterans here;) (the mods may feel differently), but we owe it to ourselves, the forum and the newcomers to let them join in the fray by their own choosing after they have seen all this place has to offer (the good and the bad). Judging from some of the conversations here lately it shouldn't take long for anybody to either grab some popcorn, jump in the in the ring or have a different conversation on the sidelines:D.

Besides it is not too bad here, I have been on other forums where whenever some folks were losing an argument because they couldn't find a weak spot in an opponents facts they started picking on spelling and grammar. Pointing out bad writing for the sake of communication is one thing, but taking shots at typos because that it the best you got in an argument is really pathetic, in that regard this forum is still pretty cool. :thumbup:
 
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