need some help

S

sasha

Joined
Feb 28, 2006
Messages
2,435
Hi there. Its my first time on this forum as i mostly hang out on the survival part. So here it goes, i got my hands on a corvette rear spring. Its a 9 leaf and each one is about 1\8" thick. I have never made my own knifes and got no idea what im doing. I have seen this site that shows one way to make a knife.

http://www.hossom.com/tutorial/jonesy/

Other places use a hammer and a forge to make a knife. Which one is better and why??? For me it looks that it would be easier to just take away the metal untill i get the shape i want. I also have access to a much thicker leaf springs too. But i want to make something smaller.
Any advice anyone can give me???? I want to have something that i made i guess its more of a pride thing. will it work for larger blades??? the size of 9"-11". What about the bend in the spring??? how do i take care of that??


Sasha
 
Hi BigJim from reading the article it should be about same to remove metal or forge the knife. As long as you heat treat the metal properly. Am i correct about that?? The spring it self is bend of course. How do i get it stright so can start work on the shape of the knife??? Thanks again

Sasha
 
I have not visited the attached links I am still on dialup and it is running slow.

What tools do you have will be a consideration. What heat sourse do you have.

There are plenty of ways to make an " I made it and am proud as hell knife" which is less than show grade but works just the same. It could be the most frustrating and yet rewarding knife you make.

I made a couple of real ugly bruts to start with but I am aslso pleased I can make something a lot better now.

If you have limited resorses you can make a charcoal fire in a dip in the ground with a bit of air blown through a pipe from a hair dryer, reverse vacum cleaner or belows. Cauthion if you use your wifes, girlfriends hair dryer be carefull some are not rated for prolonged operation and they melt the plastic at the front.

Anyway short answer is get the metal red hot use a magnet on a stick to touch the metal when hot. when the metal stops attracting the magnet it is hot enough to anneal. That means the metal softens. So that you can cut it and file it.

Heat will destroy the magnet so dont put it on the metal and wait until it falls off , just touch it when you think it is hot enough. Also you are better to leave the metal back in the fire at the same heat for a couple of minutes to let it soak the heat all the way through. The the trick is to let the metal cool slowly. Many ways to do it. The easy way if you don't want to prepare annealing powders is to just cover your fire with some metal lid. may be the bottom of a 5 galon drum so that it smothers the flame and puts the fire out but lets the heat die down slowly. once the metal is back to cold it should be soft enough to file drill etc. It may take an hour or more for the heat to cool down.

You should even be able to hammer the metal flat at this point. However it is easier to hammer it flat while hot before you start to aneal it.

To get the knife hard again when finished you need to get it up to the non magnetic again and dip it in old car oil or similar. The top makers will call this rough as guts but it is a cheap way if you want genuine corvet spring knife with little cash out lay and you don't want it too flash when it comes to the cutting edge. Also after you have hardened the blade you will need to cook it in you oven to take some of the brittleness out of it, called tempering.

Yes you can buy spring steel cheap already annealed and it will be a lot easier may not be as much fun but a whole lot less effort.

I had a chance meeting with a country maker on his first knife it was a huge thing almost a machette he just used a 4 inch angle grinder to make the whole thing.

Well good luck
Reg ELLERY rough as guts on occasion.
 
Hi Reg ELLERY. Thats explains alot for me. I have an idea on how to make a forge so i guess im going to get the spring hot enough and then get it stright. Im going to use the stock removal. I dont have an anvil or any access to something that large to hammer on. But i do have a belt grinder. The only reason i use a corvette leaf spring is cause i got it. I also have one from a chevy truck which is much thicker. It would be too hard to work on for the first timer. I guess i better get some supply up and ready and just dive in. Im fairly good with my hands.


Sasha
 
Sasha, in refference to the stock removal/forging question. Tons of top quality blades are turned out via stock removal and there is nothing at all wrong with it. Modern steel that is of good quality comes from the manufacturer in working order to make knives. So grinding away at it to make the shape works just fine. I use stock removal at the moment and am having a blast.

I want to start forging as soon as possible. For me it is more about the process. I really want to forge and I think it may have as much to do with my image of a blacksmith and hammering steel as it does with any quality issue. Beyond that I really want to make my own dammascus and that requires forging. Also working with a power hammer opens up new steels that may only come in large ball bearings or another form that is hard to grind into a knife.

IMO get started with stock removal if you have to, start forging away if you have acess to the equipment. Either way geta knife maker to help you if at all possible. Go to there shop (after calling and asking of course) or take a class. I cant imagine if I had tried to make my first knife with no help. I know many people did but an hour with a knife maker can teach you so much and save you so much wasted effort. If you can try both methods of making knives you can decide for yourself what side of it intrests you more, that will lead to the only correct answer of wich is better.
 
Thanks BigJimSlade. I guess i better ask and find if anyone is in the So Cali area.


Sasha
 
The corvette spring is probably 5160 spring steel and this is used by natives in southamerica(not corvette) to make machetties. The edge holding power of 5160 is limited though because it is only a moderate carbon steel. good for high impact/choping aplications but not razor edge.You will need to use a forge aswell to flatten the bow out of the steel.
 
sasha, i myself am new to knife making and have also picked up a leaf spring. i decided after reading alot of books and talking to a few bladesmiths in person and asking questions here i have decided to set that leaf spring aside and order some steel. before i am going to do any work on a piece of metal im going to read more. bladsmth lent me some books to help me. one book that i read and i suggest you get and read cover to cover before starting to work on the knife is $50 Knife Shop by Wayne Goddard. many told me that the best advice for me right now is to set all metal aside and concentrate on learning more about the process before attempting to make a blade. read thru my post that i made before you do anything with the metal. http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=450794 i hope that this helps you out alot. also some of the other books im reading are step-by-step knife making by david boye, how to make knives by richard w. barney and robert w. loveless, and custom knife making by tim mccreight. those books give you alot of good information. you dont really need too many tools to make a knife. a few files, grinder, sandpaper, oven, and a homemade forge. you can get all of that for under $25. read thru $50 knife shop first and it will tell you howto achieve your goal for cheap. good luck and have fun.

Jacob
 
I agree compleetly with Pimpin Squee. The $50 knife shop is really good as is the monder of knifemaking. Both of these books are by Wane Goodard who has quit alot of experiance in the feild . He is a real genious.
 
yes he is. after i finish the books i have i plan to find Wonder of Knifemaking. unless one of the fellow bladesmiths in my area has it for me to borrow.
 
Give me a break! Sasha you have a lot of learning to do. BUT, take whatever you have available and do your best. You will make mistakes and you will learn. Read everything you can, spend time on this site and others trying to understand the process. If we all waited until we had the perfect shop, most of us would have given up.
 
$50 Knife Shop shows you howto build your own power tools and stuff for next to nothing. its perfect for her since shes just starting out. im making me a forge out of a propane bottle. if you look thru his book it will give you alot of ideas on making your own belt grinder and buffer and disk sander. i myself was going to jump in head first into making knives and not know what to do. i used the advise of everyone here and have yet to make one. im still doing alot of research and learning. once i finish my forge im going to be flattening out some leaf springs. sasha, heed the advise given by these bladesmiths and study first. if you dont study you could end up hurting yourself badly due to lack of knowledge on how to use the equipment properly and safely.
 
I was just pointing ou that instruction from a knife maker can shave years of teh learning curve. Not that one should wait to get hands on instruciton before starting. Obviously you need to know the safe use of machinery, for the love of god dont buff on a full speed buffer. :D safe knife making
 
BigJimSlade said:
I was just pointing ou that instruction from a knife maker can shave years of teh learning curve. Not that one should wait to get hands on instruciton before starting. Obviously you need to know the safe use of machinery, for the love of god dont buff on a full speed buffer. :D safe knife making
Click to expand...

Boy you are right on that BigJim. Buffers can eat you up, and send a knife right back at you. Safe Knife Making is always better for all.

Barkes
http://my.hsonline.net/wizard
:yawn:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top