How To Newbie Questions About Making a File Knife

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kboyd62

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Jun 29, 2020
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Thank you in advance for helpful information. I look at what some of you guys are turning out and you will probably cringe at this question. I have searched here and "file knife" brings up nearly every thread there is. I have watched YouTube videos and every one seems to have different info. I am certainly open to helpful links.

About me: I have never made a knife before. Ever. I'm not a total clutz around the shop though. My hobbies are restoring axes and other tools, as well as working on guitars. I have a decent set of tools for bench, belt, angle grinders, polishers, etc. I do need a new drill press, but that will be another topic. I do not yet have an actual forge, but I do have a pit that works great when we heat up cattle brands, and should hopefully suffice for a first effort.

Question: So.... I have several very old bastard files that were worn out and came from my grandfather and great-grandfather. They are useless as is, but sentimental. I would really like to turn them into knives and many suggest it as a first project. From what I can tell, these are way too old to be case hardened. The newest one is probably from 1940. I am told they are probably 1095 or W1.

Here is my confusion: Some guys anneal the file prior to working on it, then later do the heat treating. Some say you don't need to do anything but start grinding until it is what you want. Hmmmm, this is confusing to me. How can you drill pin holes through the tang if it is old hardened steel? I assume you do the final heat treat just before you do the final sharpening. Would this be correct?

Come someone help and explain the best way to do this? I've been told that a file knife is a simple project, but the more I read the more confusing it gets.

Thank you so much!
 
My first knife was made from a file. I annealed it first. Then cut it to shape, drilled the tang holes, then filed the bevels in. It was all done by hand. Once I had all that done, I heat treated it and then tempered it. I wrapped it in paracord and then put the edge on it.
 
Some guys will try to preserve the original heat treat and shape the file into a knife while the steel is hardened. This requires a grinder, other files will not be able to shape the hard steel.
Other guys will anneal the file first to make the shaping easier, then harden and temper the piece again after shaping.
Which you choose depends on personal preference as well as the tools/equipment/resources you have available. Note that the first method should include re-tempering of the file, because files are left near full hardness and need to be drawn back somewhat for use as a knife, otherwise the edge will tend to chip.
 
I made this out of an old Nicholson handi-file from the 1970's, most likely it's 1095 steel with a good heat treat from the factory. I was very careful on the grind (2x72 belt) not to overheat the steel. Once it was shaped, I did an oven temper at 400 degrees, twice, then added mesquite grips with epoxy (no pins, just slow-set epoxy). I'm happy with the way it turned out.

Old files are great, but they're pretty hard to shape if not softened a bit first, much better than a lot of the new stuff that's available in the market place now.

8Osuaxk.jpg
 
Thanks everyone!

1234567890, There may be one or two I would consider getting sharpened. So thanks for the idea. The rest are project or trash.

Stacy, thanks for the info about the sticky. I will keep looking for it. Like I said, do a search here for "file knife" and a zillion things come up. Nice to know it is there. I WILL find it.

Justin, that is kind of what I was wondering about. I do have angle grinders, a couple of bench grinders, a belt sander/grinder, an assortment of drills with various kinds of grinding tools, and a dremel with lots of bits. Most of this stuff is what I use for guitar work and restoring tools. I have whetstones and sharpeners for blades, axes, chainsaws, etc. I do not have a drill press, but this might be a good excuse to get one... :) Just for fun, though, I punched one of them and was able to drill through it. Not an easy task but I finally did it.

Noseoil, that is nice work, and very much what I was looking for. I was thinking of making the first one larger, so that if it turned out that I could not get it sharpen I could go back and just anneal it and do the whole process. Just an idea.

Again, much appreciated, everyone! I know my questions are probably laughable, but thanks for taking time to answer.
 
What type of "belt sander/grinder" do you have? Basically if you want to make a knife without annealing you will want a 1" or 2" wide belt grinder. Guys make knifes with all sorts of belt sanders, but generally if you are going to do stock removal with a belt sander you will want a 1 or 2 inch wide belt sander. I'm pretty new to knife making, and am developing in my ability to grind blades. I grind my AEB-L after it has been heat treated and just dip my blade in water after each pass to keep it from getting too hot.
 
Hi Randy. Unfortunately, my belt sander is 4x36. Works great for what I have been doing with it, but I have noticed that few people here use one wider than 2". So I guess one more thing to put on the list...
 
If you decide to anneal the file first check out Gouge’s video on making a knife with a file jig. I made my first knife out of my grandfather’s old files as well using this jig.
 
I know it has been a long time since I asked for advice. And I have been on quite a journey. I finished 2 file knives in time to give them for Christmas. Both of them were for family members and heirloom knives of a sort. They were both made from files belonging to my great grandfather. The wood was hickory from the handle of an old sledge hammer used by my grandfather. I don't think I like the beads on the end of the lanyard on the first one, but they represent the colors in my family's coat of arms, and he wants to keep them on. So it was a very special gift to my dad.
The first was purely stock removal. No heat treating of any kind. I vowed not to do that again as it too forever to grind. This is the first, and my first attempt ever:
uzzLc50.jpg

The second was for my brother, who wanted a carry knife to go with his leathers when he rides his Harley. This one I annealed, then heat treated and finally tempered. Honestly, I could have done better on that one if I wasn't rushing to get it to him by Christmas. I told him I would make it better but he said he liked it rather rough looking. So for now it is how it is.
Some pics of my first 2... I cringe when I see the mistakes. Please don't laugh.

..... well Imgur has blocked me from uploading the rest of the photos for now... when it gets fixed I will post them.
 
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