New member with a material question

jwesthurl

jwesthurl

Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Messages
430
Hello everybody,
I am new here but I've been reading through the stickies and enjoying everybody's work.
I'm just starting out and I have begun cutting the profile of my first knife, BUT after reading through many posts, I'm second guessing my choices.
My steel is a never-used trimmer blade that I had lying around but after reading about heat treating, I'm worried that I shouldn't be using this steel.
My questions are:
Should I continue with this unknown steel and at least get some practice, knowing that I probably wont be able to heat treat it?
If I do continue on and it happens to turn out decent, will it be serviceable as a knife if it's not heat treated?

Thanks for your time and I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions in the future.
Josh
 
I would stop and get some 1084 before sinking any further time into unknown steel. Without knowing the steel type exactly heat treating will be a shot in the dark mostly. As far as not heat treating, you wouldn't really have a knife, just a steel object in the shape of a knife. If you sharpened it it may cut something, but not much and not for long. The best steel with a poor heat treat will still not be as good as average steel with a good heat treat.
 
I was under the impression that if you were to keep it cool during grinding, you could keep the heat treat that is already on it. Saw blades and files and the like, are already heat treated correct?

I have never made a knife out of anything except bar stock 1095, so I don't know, it's just what I was told.
 
egally08 said:
I was under the impression that if you were to keep it cool during grinding, you could keep the heat treat that is already on it. Saw blades and files and the like, are already heat treated correct?

I have never made a knife out of anything except bar stock 1095, so I don't know, it's just what I was told.
Click to expand...

Carbide and diamond tipped saw blades have non hardened cheap stainless - the tips are hard the blade is not.


Lawnmore blades are soft so they can handle sticks and rocks no need to be hardened.

files, maybe depends on their make and origin.



for the hours of work it takes to make one by hand, why not use good steel and know it's worth it.?
 
jwesthurl said:
Hello everybody,
I am new here but I've been reading through the stickies and enjoying everybody's work.
I'm just starting out and I have begun cutting the profile of my first knife, BUT after reading through many posts, I'm second guessing my choices.
My steel is a never-used trimmer blade that I had lying around but after reading about heat treating, I'm worried that I shouldn't be using this steel.
My questions are:
Should I continue with this unknown steel and at least get some practice, knowing that I probably wont be able to heat treat it?
If I do continue on and it happens to turn out decent, will it be serviceable as a knife if it's not heat treated?

Thanks for your time and I'm sure I'll have a lot more questions in the future.
Josh
Click to expand...

I am nobody and still very much a beginner so take this with a grain a salt. The first 4 or 5 "knives" I made ended up in the junk bin befire I even got the heat treat stage. It was some carbon steel (probably 10 series) my old man had lying around his shop at work. I spent hours screwing up my grinds on that steel. It cost me nothing but time and a grinder belt.

IMHO even if you shatter the blade during heat treating you will have valuble experience. Like I said I am still new to this myself but that is my opinion.
 
Grayzer86 said:
I would stop and get some 1084 before sinking any further time into unknown steel. Without knowing the steel type exactly heat treating will be a shot in the dark mostly. As far as not heat treating, you wouldn't really have a knife, just a steel object in the shape of a knife. If you sharpened it it may cut something, but not much and not for long. The best steel with a poor heat treat will still not be as good as average steel with a good heat treat.
Click to expand...

I figured this would be the answer, although not the one I wanted!
Actually, I want to make the best knife possible and I do want it to be worth my time and effort, especially since I will have to send them out to be heat treated. I'm just disappointed that I have to wait to get started and try to scrounge up some extra cash for materials and heat treating. thanks for the replies.
 
Grayzer86 said:
I would stop and get some 1084 before sinking any further time into unknown steel. Without knowing the steel type exactly heat treating will be a shot in the dark mostly.
Click to expand...

Definitely. Quality carbon steel is cheap. And you can't do much better than 1084 or even 5160 for the price, so unless you were given a ton of this steel for free and want to have it tested and really get to know it, just toss it. Please.
-M
 
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