Newbie steel question for first hand filed knife project

C

critrgitr

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Nov 16, 2009
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I am wanting to get into making my own knives, and have a couple questions about which steel I should start off with. I will only be making skinning and caping knives, as I haven't found the perfect knife for me yet. I will be hand filing the blades until I get a little experience. The blades will be sent out for proper heat treating when ready. I want a blade that can skin and cape more than one elk before totally loosing its edge, as we generally take 30 elk of off the ranch I work on every year.

I would like to use CPM S30V for its blade properties, but I am a little concerned about it being a little hard to hand file. Is this concern valid, or should I just go for it?

The Barney and Loveless "How to Make Knives" recommends using 0-1 oil hardening for ease of hand filing. How will this steel compare to the S30V when properly heat treated?

The CPM S30V is 3x the price of 0-1 at Jantz for precision ground 3/16x1 1/2x18" barstock. Will I end up with 3x the blade quality (edge retention and sharpenability) with the S30V.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and recommendations!!!

Brian
 
Hand-filing S30V bar stock? Phew... Let us know when you've got your blade roughed out (talk to you in a year). That steel will be waaaaay too hard to file into a blade by hand.
Think about getting a belt sander.
 
First, I'm assuming you're going to have your blade heat-treated by someone else. High alloy steels require precise temperature control.

If you are willing to work, hand-filing super steel isn't the end of the world. I filed a 10" blade in CPM 3V. Sure, it took a while, but the end result is great.

I will recommend CPM154 over S30V. It's easy to work with and finish and it takes a great edge.
 
Yes, I definitely am sending to someone who knows how to heat treat properly. Any suggestions in that department would be more than welcome as well.

I was wondering about the CPM154 as an alternative. Sounds like it will be a good steel to learn on, and still produce a great knife.

Thanks for the advise. I will try to post up some pictures when I get it started.

Brian
 
If you get a steel that is annealed and soft I don't think it should matter too much the alloy. Are you wanting to stick with stainless?

If you don't mind a steel that isn't stainless then how about M4? Should get super sharp and hold a great edge. You just have to worry about rust but if you take care of it, not a big deal. O1 really likes to rust just so you know.

I don't know if they offer the steel in a form that is not precision ground but since you are going to be grinding away at it, you might be able to save a little money just getting a mill finish.

You might also be able to save yourself some time by using a belt sander to rough out the shape and bevels and then finish it up with your files and sand paper.

Since you have read a book you probably already know, but I would suggest leaving some thickness at the edge, maybe as thick as a penny. If it is too thin it can warp or crack during the heat treatment.

There is also a makers forum here which might be valuable to you once you get further along with your project.

Good luck and make sure you post pictures when you are done.
 
I'd recommend Texas Knife Supply for your first heat treat. They do a good job, and they are priced well for treating a single blade. Companies like Paul Bos have a minimum order. Most of these companies only work with air-hardened steels.

You can take your edge pretty thin if you're using an air-hardened steel. My latest knife was only .011" at the edge and it worked out fine. I don't recommend going quite that thin; shoot for about .020" at the edge for a good user. For comparison, a dime is .048" thick, more than twice the thickness you want.

A thicker grind will make you suffer after heat treat. You will want to take it down, but you don't have a grinder, and files won't work well on hardened steel. That means many hours of hand-sanding. Get the knife as close as possible before heat treat (with air-hardened steels).
 
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