Materials for blade making

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
Messages
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For some time now, I have been curious as to where knifemakers get their materials for their knives.

Are there a lot of companies selling steel blanks (is that how they call it?) to knifemakers?

I understand a number of knifemakers don't make their own steel. They just buy them off the shelves, so to speak.

Anyway, what are the breakdown of the prices for damascus, ATS-34, VG-10, CPM440, etc?

I understand that these are charged by the metre.

How much does a maker normally obtains at a time?
 
Try Admiral Steels site at www.admiralsteel.com That will give you an idea of the prices. You can also find prices in any of the knifemaker supply catalogs. E-mail me if you need some addresses.
 
To me, 'blanks' would infer kit knives, or knives that have already been profiled and rough ground. These can be purchased at most of the knifemaker supply companies. 'Knifemakers' buy their steel in bar or sheet for and do the profiling, grinding, and finishing themselves. I don't know of any makers who smelt there own ore into steel.
In the US, steel is usually priced by the foot or by the pound.
The amount purchased at a time varies depending on how many knives the maker makes in a given time along with a number of other variables. Of course, the more often one purchases steel, the more expensive shipping costs are.

Brett
 
Brett i hate to burst your bubble but there is a knife and sword maker that does smelt his own steel here in the U.S.A his name is Micheal Bell he is a custom sword maker who does 100% traditional japanese swords he is only one of two men in the U.S.A who trained in japan to make swords so hence the smelting of his own steel you should check out his work www.dragonflyforge.com it is some of the best i have ever seen

Lee Brooks
Knifemaker
BROOKSKNIVES.canada


brooksknives@hotmail.com
 
Lee,

Thanks for the information and link. I did state that I didn't know of any, insinuating that it is rare for makers to smelt their own steel. I assumed, with the amount of talent in the field, that some did.

Brett
 
Hello brett it is very rare for knifemakers to smelt there own steels nowadays to bad . I think that it is a art form in itself and someday it will become a lost art.Its sad how this happens in todays world we have lost some much of are old arts and skills.

Lee Brooks
Knifemaker
BROOKSKNIVES.canada


brooksknives@hotmail.com
 
actually quite a few people make steel in small batches AL Pendray, & Rik Fuller make wootz. There is an Ironmasters conference held every year in Ohio they make batches of iron anyway.
check out Louis Mills at www.dfoggknives.com

somebody else I can't remember, and of course the tribe in Africa that still makes it. Some smiths in France and even a couple of archeologists set up a smelter on evidence from a dig.

DO a search lot of info out there. Of course personally I don't have the time too, some people must have more hours in their day:)
 
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