Newbie Question about steel

tazzknife

tazzknife

Joined
Dec 14, 2007
Messages
49
Hello all, I am a newbie to knife making and have a question about steel...

I worked on a Ranch in Oklahoma for most of my life and then moved to the Great Northwest. I brought with me a bunch of scrap steel from the farm and have several pieces of flat bar stock about 1/8" thick by 1 1/2" wide by 3 feet long. I don't know what grade steel it is. Is there a good way to tell if it is good enough to harden to make knives out of? I was told by a friend to do a spark test on it, but he didn't know what kind of spark to look for. Any ideas?

Thanks!
 
The first thing I want to do is welcome you to Bladeforums.

Test a pick of the steel by heat treating and temping it and see if it will work or not. That's the best thing to do. Most of the steels I have saw around farms are 01 tool steel and 1095. Its something you will need to play with. Good luck and let us know how it goes. :thumbup:
 
there's a link to a guide to sparktesting on one of these threads in the last 3 months, otherwise google it.

Welcome to the asylum :D

-Page
 
If you have access to an A/O torch, heat up the end of one of the bars until a magnet no longer sticks to it and plunge into a bucket of water.
Lay it on your bench vise and give it whack with a hammer - while wearing safety glasses.
If it breaks off easily - very brittle - you have apiece of steel that at least has knife-making potential.
If it does not break VERY easily, it probably has far too little carbon to be of much use.
You'll need to check each bar as you go.
This will only give you an idea, and will in no way show what KIND of steel you have.
 
kewl. thanks guys! I don't have an A/O torch, but my next door welder neighbor has one. That sound like the easiest way. I will let you know what I find. I have about 150 bars of this dimension, so I have plenty to work with. :)
 
I live in Vancouver, WA down by Portland,OR., or I guess it would be UP for you. :) Any help would be greatly appreciated. I have always collected knives and I thought I would try my hand at actually making one. Who knows, I may end up liking it enought to get a forge! LOL Just kidding. Really, I would like to try this craft and see what I can do, so any help will be welcome and appreciated.
 
What was the steel from...or what was it going to be used for?
Mace
 
Not really sure. It was my dad's when I was a kid and was going to throw it out. For whatever reason, I decided to keep it since it wasn't bulky and thought it could come in handy. If it turns out not being knife material, I can still use it to expand my bench I made for working on motorcycle engines. :)
 
It could be mild steel, we have tons of mild on our farm because its easy to weld unlike high carbon steels. The spark test is the fastest way but unless you have experience with grinding different steels its so-so on accuracy. Tilling equipment is a spring type steel while most parts of a machine are mild.

Try http://shopswarf.orcon.net.nz/spark.html for the spark test.
 
Tazz,
If you feel like coming down to Salem Sometime drop me a line and we can get together. We can do a couple of tests on your steel to see what you have.

Chuck
 
kewl. Thanks Chuck! I might take you up on that. :) Also, if I DO have mild steel, would it be worth it to practice grinding on for shaping and such? Or are the steels different enough that I would be wasting my time? I only have a 6 inch bench grinder at the moment and some air grinders, but if it is something that I DO find interesting, I would be willing to fork over the money for a real grinder, at which point I would need some advice again. ;)
 
It would give you good practice. Your bench grinder would be good for shaping. After you get the profile I would advise going to files. It will take you a while but it will teach you a lot about shaping. I have to warn you though, most who take up this obsession get hooked rather helplessly. Drop me a line if you need help. You can find my info on my website or my personal info under my log name.

chuck
 
Sound like I would fit right in. Thanks for the offer of help and for your advice. It is much appreciated and I might just call on you from time to time. :)
 
Tazz, both Scott Ickes and I live in the booming 'Couv. Scott is a lot more prolific and gregarious than I, and he's a great guy to go visit. I'd also like to extend a welcome if you're interested. We can fire up the forge, heat up a sample, quench, temper and test.
-Mark
 
Tazz,
I think you have just had a sample of most knifemakers willingness to help. Scottie is a great guy and it sounds like Mark is too. When you need help give one of us a call or email and we will be happy to do what we can..

Chuck
 
polish avenger said:
Tazz, both Scott Ickes and I live in the booming 'Couv. Scott is a lot more prolific and gregarious than I, and he's a great guy to go visit. I'd also like to extend a welcome if you're interested. We can fire up the forge, heat up a sample, quench, temper and test.
-Mark
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Give me a call at (330) 284-3103 and we'll put a piece of it in my forge this weekend. I'm in Wyoming on business this week and don't get home until Friday evening. Saturday works great for me. Just give me a shout. Unfortunately, since I'm traveling the cell phone number I gave you here is a long distance call to Ohio, but it's the best I can do when on the road.

I'd be glad to help you out!
 
polish avenger said:
Tazz, both Scott Ickes and I live in the booming 'Couv. Scott is a lot more prolific and gregarious than I, and he's a great guy to go visit. I'd also like to extend a welcome if you're interested. We can fire up the forge, heat up a sample, quench, temper and test.
-Mark
Click to expand...

Mark,
Have you made anything out of the steel I gave you? I'm gettin' curious.
 
Hey, Scott! I've got one made out of the W-2 you gave me. It started out a bit larger, but after a failed brine quench experiment, I ordered up some proper quench and salvaged the blade at about half its original size. Just need to get the scales on it. We'll have to get together and have a beer soon.
-Mark
 
Thanks everyone for all the help offered, I greatly appreciate it. It sounds like the knife community is where I would like to be. Everyone seems friendly and willing to help.

Scott, I will give you a call on Friday. My wife is usually gone all day on Saturday and I usually have the kiddos, but I think I might be able to talk the mother-in-law into baby sitting the kids for an hour or two. What part of the 'Couve do you live? I am over in the Orchards area off 164th Ave.

How 'bout you Mark? What part of the 'Couve are you in?
 
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