Newbie Question about steel

Tazz, I'm in the Hazel Dell area, west of I-5, just off of 99th St.. Ickie is just off of 164th down a little south of you.
-Mark
 
kewl. Maybe we three can get together for a beer sometime. I am sure I can come up with about 150 questions or so about knife making. LOL
 
tazzknife said:
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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I live in the same area. I'm about a mile east of 164th Avenue off of NE 39th Street. NE 39th Street turns into Edmunds Road at 172nd Avenune.

Address is:

18111 NE 33rd Street
Vancouver, WA 98682

On Friday, I'm on planes from 1:20 p.m. Vancouver Time to about 7:30 p.m. Call me before or after those times.
 
tazzknife said:
kewl. Maybe we three can get together for a beer sometime. I am sure I can come up with about 150 questions or so about knife making. LOL
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I have a "Beer Refrigerator"! It never runs out. It's like Santa's Toy bag. Just reach in and you'll always find one waiting for you!!
 
Scott, let me know if/when you guys get together...if I have time and opportunity, I'd like to be involved, if you're okay with that.
-Mark
 
Sounds good guys! Thanks for the warm welcome! Also, I have my next door neighbor who says he is going to give me 10 bars of 1/4" X 2" X 10" of 1032 for working on his car. Is that fairly ok knife steel?
 
tazzknife said:
Sounds good guys! Thanks for the warm welcome! Also, I have my next door neighbor who says he is going to give me 10 bars of 1/4" X 2" X 10" of 1032 for working on his car. Is that fairly ok knife steel?
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Nope. Not enough carbon in it. I'd still accept his offer though. You can use it for making jigs, or welding up little creations. You could use it for mild steel guards and butts on knives. But, as far as blade steel, it needs to have more carbon.

It is a simple 10xx steel. The xx stands for the approximate carbon content of the steel. It usually takes about .6% carbon to make a knife. 1032 has about .32% carbon in it. I use mostly 52100 (1% carbon), 5160 (.6% carbon), 1080 (.8% carbon), 1084 (.84% carbon), and some W2 (about 1% to 1.2% carbon). I also use some 15N20 in my damascus, which I think has about .75% carbon.

I've got a ton of books that you can borrow. If someone mentions a book on here that they think would be beneficial for you to read, I HAVE IT! They are all yours to borrow. I also have every issue of Blade magazine and every issue of Knives Illustrated for the past 15 years or so. All available to you for your reading pleasure. I have many other books also, from metallurgy to wood care to whatever. My library is quite helpful, and is open to you anytime you need something.

Trust me, when you come over, you will not leave empty handed. Some of it you'll be able to keep and make knives out of. The rest you'll be able to take and bring back after you're done reading it.
 
WOW! Thanks Scott! I wasn't expecting all of that. I was just hoping for some good information and maybe some lessons now and again. I would even be willing to pay for the lessons if this is something I truely become interested in. And with folks like you, Chuck and Mark, I am starting to become truely interested and I haven't even made one knife yet! LOL

I spoke to the Mother-in-law last night and she is willing to watch the kiddos for a bit on Saturday, so I will give you a ring Friday and we can set something up.

Thanks for the information on the steel too. I now know a bit more than I had. I asked my neighbor if he gets a hold of any O-1 or W-2 steel and he gave me a blank look and told me that he never heard of it. I'm thinking that there must be another designation for that kind of steel, kinda like the 10XX numbers.

Anyway, I digress. Thanks again for the information and the invite!

Mike
 
Within a week after reading through some of my books, you'll know a lot about different steels. You'll know just enough to talk circles around most people, but not enough to be proficient. It takes a lot of time and effort to get to the upper crust of the metallurgy gurus. I'm not even close to most of the folks on here when it comes to heat treatment of steels. I've played with all kinds of different steels over the years, but after joining this forum and reading, reading and reading some more (both on this site and in books that I've purchased) I've decided to settle down to 52100, 5160 and Damascus (1084/15N20) as my steels of choice for my knives. I'm going to just make a lot of knives out of those three steels until I know them inside and out! I've got 1080, W2, D2, and some mystery steels in my shop that are going to sit for quite a long time, while I'm learning my three chosen steels inside and out.
 
That sounds like exactly what I want to do, but i may just settle for one type for a long while. While I may be A.D.D. and could learn more than one at a time, I would just feel more comfortable knowing one at a time, unless something demands otherwise.
 
Tazz,
I agree with the one type of steel. It is much better to be comfortable with that one steel than it is to try to do too many. Scotties choices are very similar in treatment, minor differences. Like I have heard and agree, I would rather see you use 1050 and be proficient at it than try an exotic and suck at it. The HT is THE MOST CRITICAL part of the finished product. Sure forging temp, edge geometry etc. play an important part HT can make or break a blade (pun intended).

Chuck
 
Thanks Chuck. I tend to be a person that when I get my head into something, I try to be the best I can be at it before moving off to another variation. I have come to recognize my limits once I am into something, and if those limits are reached to early, I step down to the next lower level and try my hand at that and raise or lower myself based on those limits. So I think it is best for ME to start with a known steel that is good for knives and work with that steel until I either realize that that steel is not for me, or until I think I am proficiant enough for that steel to move on to a BETTER grade of steel.

I guess what I am trying to say is that I want to work with a knife steel of the barest minimum carbon content that can be made into a decent knife until I know that steel like I know my own children before moving up to the next grade steel. I just learn better that way and in the long run I tend to save more money by not messing up higher grades of steel. :)

This sounds like a fun and rewarding trade, and even though I may not make a profession out of it, it IS something I would like to be able to pass on to my son who may just be learning with me. ;)
 
Mark, I spoke to Scott today and we will be meeting at his house between 2:00pm and 2:30 pm on Saturday. See ya there!
 
Yup, I'm home and the forge will be open! Looking forward to seeing you. Anyone else in the area that lives close enough to make it is welcome to come by.
 
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