Making a scrap machete

W

Whitehand

Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
3
Hey all.

I wanna start making knives, so I picked up a scarp metal piece that's about 2.5cm x 51cm x 0.5cm big. I have no idea what kind of steel it is made of. It's a bit rusty and bent, but I bet a hammer and sandpaper can fix it. I'm planning to file a tip similar to this one(drop point, right?) -
Antique_Butcher_Knife_Machete.jpg

Finish it up with some black spray paint over the blade and make a handle out of whatever wood I can dig up. I plan to make it full-tang, but I might make it rat-tail or hidden tang.
I know it won't be exactly a Cold Steel Panga Machete, but I just need it to be able to chop some wood.

Now, before I start making it I have a few questions -
What angle should I sharpen it at? As I mentioned before it will be used for chopping wood for a campfire.
Do I need to finish the handle somehow?
And finally, how do I make a sheath for it? I don't have access to leather. Is there another(common) material that you can use?

Thanks in advance for any help. If you need any more info just ask.
PS. This forum is amazing. I'm glad I finally joined.
 
I have made a few knives before. I have also reprofiled the gring o. Machetes I'm gonna say speaking from experience that you will need a very steep grind for the cutting edge. Also make sure you make it full tang so you can see the metal between the handle scales I would use plastic or wood for the scales. I'm not sure if you ever thought of this but if you buy a cutting board from walmart that plastic is great and easy to work with. Or you could make micarta Just watch how to's on YouTube that's About all I can think of hope it helped
 
I just started making knives, today in fact. I finished a mini kiradashi thing and i'm working on a Tanto machete. For my handle i'm thinking either cord wrap or making handles out of a downed Paper Birch tree in my yard then sealing it with superglue. I Gun Blued my blade and it looks good so far. I'm going to put 30degree edges on mine. For a sheath you could get some canvas and sew up a canvas one.
Good luck in all of your endeavors.
~Tyrone
 
Last edited:
My first machete was a leafspring from a 59 ford sedan rear spring pack , 2nd from the bottom of the pack , I used the full length .

Id personally say , grab something you know is good , and put the effort into that . Seems a waste to go to that amount of work in shaping , fitting up a handle etc , for something that may well be kinda bad steel for the job .

Just a thought .
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Tyronethepro said:
Rusty and bent, it could be an old piece of truck Leaf Spring?
Click to expand...
I doubt it.

ac1d0v3r1d3 said:
How are you going to heat treat the blade if you dont know what type of steel it is?
Click to expand...
I'm not going to heat treat it. I don't have access to a forge.

Myal said:
My first machete was a leafspring from a 59 ford sedan rear spring pack , 2nd from the bottom of the pack , I used the full length .

Id personally say , grab something you know is good , and put the effort into that . Seems a waste to go to that amount of work in shaping , fitting up a handle etc , for something that may well be kinda bad steel for the job .

Just a thought .
Click to expand...
I see your point. I've tried to get some good steel but I couldn't find any nearby scrap yard. I also wasn't able to find a place where I can work other than my apartment. I wish I could make something better, but right now all I can archive is a sharpened piece of metal.
 
Odds are, if the steel is soft enough to work by hand, it will be too soft to be of much use as a knife...especially for wood chopping.
 
I started filing this morning and it's very hard to work with. My file is dull now.
It's pretty rough and fairly thick, so I think it will be fine for chopping.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top