New to the Forum.. Saying HI and had a question.

S

siker

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Feb 8, 2017
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Hi guys. Just wanted to pop in and say hi. Very, Very new to this whole knife making thing...

So ive had an itch to make knives... not sure where it came from but thought it would be a fun hobby to try. (i need hobbies... im so boring...)

So ive been looking on youtube and just started to read stuff on here...

I plan on doing my first knife by getting a piece of steel, cutting out the pattern, shaping it the way i want etc... my thing that im concerned about is the forge to harden the blade side, soften the other side. I dont exactly have a ton of space for a large forge, and seeing as i dont plan on making swords, (yet... maybe) i was thinking of just making a little one...

can i get away with just using charcoal or should i have the air blowing system too? Not 100% sure how to get it hot enough either...

I want to get as much information as i can, so i dont mess it up..

The other question is the oil, which i can get a steel container no problem, and i know that my buddy has a car shop... so i could get the used motor oil for that part.. if thats okay? is there pros and cons to different oils?

Sorry if these are really dumb questions or if this is in the wrong spot...
thanks for you help

samantha
 
Welcome to shop talk! Fill out your profile to let everyone know where you're from. There might be knifemakers in your area able to help. Stay away from the used motor oil, while it may look like the right stuff to use on YouTube, it isn't and can be very dangerous.

You could build a two brick forge or what I would recommend is an atlas mini forge. It gets hot, it's plenty small, but big where it counts and runs off of propane. It was designed by a forum member here.
1084 is a really good, enexpensive steel to start with. Pre-heated canola oil will work ok to quench it in.

There's a ton of stuff to learn so take it slow, read the stickies, and soak up as much knowledge as you can.
There's a wealth of knowledge on this forum so anytime you have questions, ask away!

Good luck and have fun!:)
 
I use charcoal in my coffee can "forge", along with a fan from an old water heater to force air into the burning coals. I understand that 1080/1084 steel is the best to use when using such a primitive type of apparatus, so that's the steel I use if I don't plan to send it out for heat treatment.

Without forcing air into the burning charcoal you will never reach the temperature you need to reach.



Doing a search on the forum for heat treating 1080 steel I found the following information; "A basic HT for 1080 is heating it to just a bit above non-magnetic and quenching in a gallon of canola oil... A magnet will stop sticking to the blade just a bit before this temperature ( around 1435°F)."

- Paul Meske, Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
 
Thanks guys... What do all the numbers mean you keep saying? 1080? is it a type of steel, hardness?

I just got a random piece of scrap from work, its nice and thick and a decent size... i had planned on using that for my first try.... O_o
 
1084 is a good beginner steel. If you buy it from New Jersey steel baron, it comes ready to shape and heat treat relatively simple. There are other places that have 1080 steels as well. Check out Alpha knife supply, Jantz, USA knife maker. Unless you know what the piece of steel you got from work is composed of, it may or not make a good blade.
 
Yeah and soak up as much info as you can from the Count's link above ^^^^^^
 
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