Knife steels

T

Thatguy426

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May 10, 2020
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I'm new to blade smithing. What are some good steels to start with. I have had some people donate some leaf spring old files and rasps. Are they any good for knives? I have a forge and been blacksmithing for about a year. Self taught.. never really made knives; mainly random stuff to make $
 
Welcome! I think they can be a great thing to learn with the challenge is it is very difficult to know exactly what kind of steel your leaf springs are made of. Some are 5160 but most are not, my understanding is a lot of the newer ones are a mystery metal of some kind. Same thing with files and rasps, it is difficult to know exactly what they are made of and the kinds of steel can vary a great deal. With out knowing the steel type it is difficult to correctly heat treat them. I would recommend spending 30 dollars on some 1095 or 1080 steel and using that instead. It will only cost you a little bit and you will know exactly what needs to be done to heat treat it. Good Luck! Also definitely check out the maker section and read through the sticky threads, there is some fantastic information in there.
 
I would start with 1/8" X 1.5" X the length you need for 2 blades. Make 2 as the first one will be a lot of trial & error, then take what you have learned & see how the second one turns out. It's fun, but there's a rather steep learning curve at first & you will never stop learning & refining design, technique & finish...
 
1095 is often recommended as a beginner steel but requires some temperature control. If you don't have a knife oven that can hold accurate temps I would suggest a steel a little closer to the eutectoid point. 1075, 1080, 1084, etc. Something that will be in a proper condition to quench once it hits temp.
 
8670 and 15n20 are two more that can be added to the list of good beginners steels. I have worked with files and leaf springs myself. As someone else already mentioned, they are mystery steel, so you can waste a ton of time grinding away only to discover that your blade won’t harden. I strongly suggest ordering some known blade steel that has been annealed. It may cost a few dollars up front but it is well worth it.
 
People will learn quickly that recycled steel is not cheaper by any stretch. Considering you can get a new bar of 8670 from $10-$25 depending on thickness, using one to two $13.00 belts to clean the recycled steel up, or the propane and effort to straighten out a leaf spring, then to cut it up and clean it up, you are much farther ahead with new steel.

I am not opposed to using recycled steel, and use it myself for sentimental projects. Hunters love knives made from a reclaimed grader blade at our cabin, and call them “Mercoal steel knives“ after the name of the ghost town where our cabin is or the carving knife made from an old file from my Dad’s farm. They are cherished by their owners, but they are more expensive to make, and heat treat requires hours of experimenting to dial in.

8670 has the widest heat treat range if any simple, forge heat treatable steel I have tested so far. It is also the toughest steel we have tested in Larrin’s massive knife steel study. I’m sure it will be beat by something like 1V, but that can’t be heat treated by backyard methods.

1075/1080/1084 and 15n20 are all good choices for minimal equipment. I do however recommend a pyrometer from Auberins (About a $100 investment) for the forge to have at least a shot at getting close to the right temps. I did that for the first year, and those knives, except one have all held up. The one failure prompted me to invest in a kiln and Rockwell tester.
 
All of you who advocating use of new and known steel.....................did you wake up one day and decide to become bladesmith and to forge knife ..... ? So you buy forge , anvil ...etc .And you make that knife from KNOWN steel and you sell it , right ? Bravo !
What s wrong if he practice on leaf springs and old files ?
 
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Willie71 said:
People will learn quickly that recycled steel is not cheaper by any stretch. Considering you can get a new bar of 8670 from $10-$25 depending on thickness, using one to two $13.00 belts to clean the recycled steel up, or the propane and effort to straighten out a leaf spring, then to cut it up and clean it up, you are much farther ahead with new steel.
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Angle grinder....angle grinder will do that job for 2 cents .............BTW he want to forge knife from leaf springs ...that make all that steps not necessary .
 
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Practicing on inexpensive known steels will reduce variables and allow you to practice knife-making vs. metallurgy deduction. Both are interesting, but I'd get some knife-making success under your belt before experimenting with found stuff. And I say that having done a bit of both. I've been forging recycled steel recently, but with so much more understanding of my target because of years of stock removal on known steel. I can't deny the appeal of turning a piece of junk into a brand spakin' new knife, but I recommend giving yourself the advantage of new steel at the beginning. Ultimately forging is frequently unnecessary if you're starting from new steel anyway, but knowing how to make a knife first will help you forge better knives from other things later.
 
daizee said:
Practicing on inexpensive known steels will reduce variables and allow you to practice knife-making vs. metallurgy deduction. Both are interesting, but I'd get some knife-making success under your belt before experimenting with found stuff. And I say that having done a bit of both. I've been forging recycled steel recently, but with so much more understanding of my target because of years of stock removal on known steel. I can't deny the appeal of turning a piece of junk into a brand spakin' new knife, but I recommend giving yourself the advantage of new steel at the beginning. Ultimately forging is frequently unnecessary if you're starting from new steel anyway, but knowing how to make a knife first will help you forge better knives from other things later.
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Reclaimed steel can make a fine knife if you know the basics and can experiment to find a heat treat regime that works. That unfortunately takes some experience to figure out.
 
Natlek said:
All of you who advocating use of new and known steel.....................did you wake up one day and decide to become bladesmith and to forge knife ..... ? So you buy forge , anvil ...etc .And you make that knife from KNOWN steel and you sell it , right ? Bravo !
What s wrong if he practice on leaf springs and old files ?
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There is nothing wrong with it. However, he did in fact ask the question “What are some good steels to start with?”. I also replied that I have used leaf springs and files myself. I’m just trying to save the guy some pain and aggravation that I had to go through myself not so long ago.
 
Best bet is to get some 1in x .25in 1084 and practice making some small hunters. Neels can den Berg has a phenomenal tutorial on YouTube
 
Justin Schmidt said:
Best bet is to get some 1in x .25in 1084 and practice making some small hunters. Neels can den Berg has a phenomenal tutorial on YouTube
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Yes , he have phenomenal tutorial , nice tool to .But Justin in all tutorial you can watch on tube GAME IS OVER ..........in the moment when knifemaker get that piece of steel and start freehand grinding .That skill you can not learn on tube ..........It is like watching this video with Usain Bolt ....you can watch it million times ...BUT 9.68 :D Again , nothing is wrong with old leaf spring and old file ...........they are free and easy available ...practice , practice ..............or give up and use jig as I do ;)
 
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