OT; sort of. Steel question?

Bobwhite

Bobwhite

Joined
Nov 30, 1999
Messages
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I have an old 1909 Plumb Bolo I got somewhere, can't even recall where. It is patinaed, bordering on rusty and saw a lot of neglect. The handles are gone and every thing. The edge is not nicked or anything and doesn't appear to be well used even. It looks like it just sat somewhere in a barn for years. You've seen those old barn tools, the ones that have just become a rouded brown shape resembling what it used to be, sort of? It's like that. I have a mind to make a project knife out of it. It is one of the ones with the flat grind on one side and a bevel on the other. I like that and want to keep it that way. Sort of like a broad axe and I have a mind to use it that way for preparing small blanks of wood. Anyway, I just start to see if I could sharpen it up as it is as dull as a butter knife. Really, you can't cut with it at all. I wanted to see if the steel was sound underneath the surface too. I got nowhere fast. The steel is hard, so hard a file wont cut it anywhere. Any clue what kind of steel it is? I am guessing it was just stamped out and hardened, there appears to be no zone hardening at all. I am really wondering if that was a good idea in a big knife designed for chopping. I think it is probably good steel and worth trying to do something with, but I have no power tools and this thing is going to take forever and a day, plus reams of sandpaper to make any headway. Any suggestions?
 
"Any suggestions?"

Bob, here's my two cents, clean it up good, use whatever you can get your hands on to get it sharp, and make a new handle for it. Dang good tool for trail clearing, etc., there's other stuff laying around you can make a knife from.

Sarge
 
I'm with Sarge on this one. Run by Home Depot, pick up some rust remover, and find out how much steel is left under there and what condition it's in. If the pitting isn't extremely deep there's probably plenty of life left in that old machete.

If you do break it, grind the pieces into knives. :)
 
Sorry, let me clarify. That is what I was planning to do. Just clean it up, put a real edge on it and rehandle it. I am not going to change much, but the bevel is just almost nonexistant. In profile it looks like you take a capital D, turn it on it's side and cut it in half. One of those halves is the edge profile on this thing. I was trying to flatten it out and make it a little more accute. Maybe 25 or 30 degrees inclusive, but with the bevel totally flat on one side, keeping the chisel grind that is already there. Sharpening this thing to a usable degree is going to take a lot of work and I was hoping to find a short cut. Maybe it is just going to have to be good old fashioned elbow grease. If anyone knows what the steel is, that would be nice to know, but just a matter of curiosity really.
 
If the file is skating off it, you're going to want to use a coarse diamond hone at the very least. Power tools would probably be a better idea.

What do you have access to?
 
Yeah, the file skates like Gretsky on this thing. I have some diamond hones, but they are pocket hones, no bench stones. I have lots of tools, but the only power tools I have are a handrill and a circular saw. I do things the Amish way usually. I like working with wood that way, but working with steel that way is proving to be less fun.
 
Or, you could send it to someone with a grinder. :rolleyes: :)

If I can help you out, just let me know.

Steve

Oh, I just noticed that you said you have a hand drill. You can buy rubber sanding wheels that chuck in a drill. They use cylindrical sleeves of sandpaper that you could use for working on the edge. Or, see above. ;)
 
I have had an offer to help, and I may have to go that route. I was just seeing if there was an easier way to do it myself. I am a tinkering sort of guy and I want to do this from start to finish if I can. The drill idea is a good one, thanks. I guess I'd have to build a jig to keep a steady angle.
 
You know, after you get past the rust, the steel may not be too hard to file. Oxides are hard. Evap-O-Rust is good stuff, it won't take anything off but the rust. I got some at Walmart.

Have fun! :D

Steve
 
Bob - I owe you one...send it to me for a free sharpening and clean-up via scotchbrite wheel.
 
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