Hey guys, new to the forum and to knife making in general. A little background: I run a small welding, machining, and general fabrication shop. I've always been interested in knife and sword making, but have always been to busy to try it. Well I'm finally starting to catch up with my work, so I'd like to try my hand at making some knives. I know they would make great gifts for my brothers (and even my sister), and I'm just fascinated with it in general. So here's where I'm at: I've got a small heat treating furnace (6x6x11), belt sander, a Timesaver wide belt sander, mill, lathe, etc. The only thing I don't have is a forge, which at this point I don't think I need one, as I'll be making the knives from flat stock.
I've got a couple feet of CPM S90V coming in. I think I got .144" thick x 2.1" wide. Any pointers? From my understanding, (and bear with me, I don't have the blade terminology down yet) you cut the raw shape of the blade out, grind down the actual blade part, grind/machine in any decorative parts, heat treat, quench, temper, then polish and sharpen, then make the handle. So here's my specific questions: Does anyone have a detailed heat treating guide for this material? And what should I quench it in? What is this material like in it's raw form? I've done a lot with D2 tool steel, and D2 is very machinable and easy to work with pre-heat treat, is the S90V the same way? And any concerns with O/A or plasma cutting the raw shape? And maybe I'm getting too far ahead on this one, but what's the best way to put words, pictures, or shapes on the blades? Maybe a stencil and black oxide? Not sure what's standard here.
Like I said, I've never made a blade before, so I'm not sure if I should be starting with an easier material? Relatively speaking, I didn't think the S90V was that expensive... But I think I have some 1080 or maybe even some D2 lying around I could practice with. Thanks in advance for any and all help.
I've got a couple feet of CPM S90V coming in. I think I got .144" thick x 2.1" wide. Any pointers? From my understanding, (and bear with me, I don't have the blade terminology down yet) you cut the raw shape of the blade out, grind down the actual blade part, grind/machine in any decorative parts, heat treat, quench, temper, then polish and sharpen, then make the handle. So here's my specific questions: Does anyone have a detailed heat treating guide for this material? And what should I quench it in? What is this material like in it's raw form? I've done a lot with D2 tool steel, and D2 is very machinable and easy to work with pre-heat treat, is the S90V the same way? And any concerns with O/A or plasma cutting the raw shape? And maybe I'm getting too far ahead on this one, but what's the best way to put words, pictures, or shapes on the blades? Maybe a stencil and black oxide? Not sure what's standard here.
Like I said, I've never made a blade before, so I'm not sure if I should be starting with an easier material? Relatively speaking, I didn't think the S90V was that expensive... But I think I have some 1080 or maybe even some D2 lying around I could practice with. Thanks in advance for any and all help.
