New Knifemaker Steel Choices

I can toss it in my oven with my other 1084 blades when you're ready for that. Let me know and good luck grinding
 
+1 for 1084 and G10.

As suggested earlier, 3/32" or 1/8" stock will be easier to work with.
 
A lot of good advice has already been listed here - especially starting out small, whether that's blade thickness, length, or both. I've been seeing a lot of suggestions for 1084 (which you can order from NJSteelBaron / Aldo), and though I have no experience with that particular steel, I trust that they know what they're talking about. I'm actually thinking of working with some of it soon, just to see if I end up becoming a 1084 fanboy (currently a W2 and O1 fanboy). Pretty much all the other steels mentioned will work too, but if you're just starting out you'll want something that's forgiving during heat treatment, so you'll want something that either isn't nitpicky about how it's quenched or that doesn't decarb too easily. I think that's all I can really add here.
 
Thanks All - Lots of good info here on a lot of levels.

Having bunged up my first kit earlier today I can appreciate the comments like, "When I say for the 3rd time, it would be nice to have..." The mention of 3/32" vs 1/8" - good belts for the 1x30 (which gets little love) and so on. Honestly some of the steel #'s and heat treating talk goes above my head at this point but I'm listening, picking out inspirational designs, techniques and trying to learn from the advice given on any given specific topic. This is a great general start kind of thread.

Again, Thanks
 
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