Knife From A Railroad Spike (Pic Heavy)

[Warmason]

Here is my first knife made from a railroad spike. Most of the forging was done at Chicago Fire Arts Center.

Unlike most railroad spike knives, I didn't want it to resemble what it was, so I cut off the head of the spike.

Sanding off all of the scale.

Creating a bevel for the blade, using permanent marker as a visual indicator.

Doing the same for the false upper edge.

The knife after a quench.

Cleaning it off after the quench.

Heat treating the knife in an oven.

Polishing the blade on a whetstone.

Creating the handle slabs out of G10.

Steel rivets for the handle slabs.

Smoothing everything down.

The finished knife.

Overall, I am not entirely satisfied with the knife, as I accidentally beveled a portion of the blade that was not supposed to be beveled (at the base of the blade) but it was a good learning experience. Now it's on to the next one!

 

[NJBillK]

I happen to have a few old spikes laying around, from 10-25 years in age. I may start tinkering with them.
Do you mind letting me know what your quenchant medium was and your temper cycle temps were?

I like how it turned out and I like how well the whetstone worked for polishing.

Have you done much in regards to knife making before? I noticed the homemade venturi forge, but no temper oven.

 

[Warmason]

Sure thing, it was plain old vegetable oil for the quench and then 325 in the oven for 2 hours, a 24 hour wait, then 225 in the oven for 2 more hours.

As far as forging blades go, this is my first, however I have been customizing swords, knives, and even guns for some time now.

 

[coldsteelburns]

A little tip: Soaking the blade in distilled white vinegar (doesn't have to be distilled or white, but that's what myself and plenty other makers use) overnight will eat off (dissolve) most of the scale, making it a lot faster and easier (on you and your tools & abrasives) to clean up a forged blade. I like to heat up the vinegar in a plastic tupperware container in the microwave until it just barely begins to boil, which helps it work a lot faster, although it can certanly stink up the place, just a little warning lol.

You did a very nice job btw, especisally for it being your first time making/forging your own knife! I suggest also buying some 1084 steel from Aldo at the "New Jersey Steel Baron" website and using warm canola oil (130*F) for your quench medium (It's the best out of all the different veggie oils for quenching). You'll be a lot happier when all of your efforts will have produced a knife much more funtional in being able to take a sharper edge and being able to hold it for a longer period of time, compared to a low carbon RR spike. But I do understand that they can be fun to forge and mess around with.

Also, check out the "Shop talk- Bladesmith questions & answers" subforum under the "general knifemakers discussion" area. It's the best place here to learn more about how to improve your knifemaking skills. :thumbup:

Thanks for sharing and welcome to Bladeforums!

~Paul

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My YT Channel Lsubslimed
... (It's been quite a while since I've posted any new vids)

 

[islandblacksmith]

whenever you are using steel that is new to you it is a good idea to do a spark test, looking for carbon steel style sparks...
and then a break test, heating to critical and quenching in water, then without tempering put in a vise and snap it off to look at the grain and nature of the break...
if it bends instead of breaking, best use it for guards and other items, if it snaps off it has enough carbon to harden and hold an edge...
then, if it passes the break test, you can experiment with different tempers to find the best for the steel and the type of edge you are using it for...

keep at it, those lines are clean and have good potential!

 

[NJBillK]

I have about 6'×2"×1/8" Aldos 1084 and I have made 2 knives so far with a 3rd in the works.
I also have about 30 spent files from a machinist friend, about 10 railroad spikes from another friends father who used to work for the railway system and one cross cut saw from the early 1900s.

As it is, I have been using the 1084 to get my "sea legs" and I am mostly using the spikes, saw and files for each a bit of the following:
-a break from the norm
-practice with swinging my hammer for forging, while trying to make something knife shaped
-some experimentation in regards to how I can use different steels to "read" how my HT and Tempering progress over my steps from beginner to not as much of a beginner.

As well as having the potential for making some users for the Misses and I along the way.
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Thanks for the help and info folks. Next week I should be able to post up a photo of the kitchen utility I recently made.

 

[RockFireForge]

I read guys we're getting good results with spikes by quenching in ice water results somewhere i the Rockwell of low 50s


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[Zemapeli]

That is f***ing cool. So if you don't mind me asking, what kind of forge did you use? I was thinking about using charcoal for a forge and hammering one out on an anvil.