Please Help

S

spaz815

Joined
Apr 16, 2007
Messages
14
I'm new to the forum and new to Knife making. I have never made a knife but would really like to get into it as soon as possiable. My problem is where I live there is nowhere to buy steel I can work with. The only place is Lowes to get a sheet of steel to work with and I think the pieces are already heated to its hardness. I would like to know where I can buy some steel in small pieces. Not real small I found one site that has them but the biggest piece you can buy is 2 inches wide. I would like something like 8 x12 to make a couple knives. I've been looking on the net for the past 6 days and can not find anything that sells steel. Or is there something else I can use? Can you really use old saw blades? How hard is it to work with? And if you do used a saw blade do you have to heat it to get it hard. I don't know Please help. You probably get these questions all the time and are probably sick of answering it. I'm sorry. I hope I can get some help. Thanks guys.
 
It might help your learning curve to buy some blanks already cut, ground, drilled for pins, and heat treated. You can then work on your handle skills first. This stage of the process really helped me. I also ground a lot of scrap wood into knife blanks before attempting it on steel. This also helped. Practice will always assist in making you better and better.

One piece of advice, no matter which path of learning you choose. KEEP THE FIRST ONE YOU MAKE FOR YOURSELF! I've regretted letting that one go for many years.
 
There are many places to get steel, https://www.flatground.com/catalog/catalog.jsp
http://www.egroundstock.com/index.html
http://refractory.elliscustomknifeworks.com/
Your Local Fafinal Store (I'm not sure of the spelling?)

Questions you will need to ask yourself:
What tools do I have to work with?
Will I be Forging or Stock removal on the knife?
What is the thickness width and length of the knife?
Will I be doing my own heat treatment of the knife?
These questions will help Start narrowing down what type of steel will be best suited for your knife.
Also go to the sticky above by Dan Gray, there is a lot of good info on knife making.:)
 
If it helps, I went to my local 4X4 shop and asked if I could have the old leaf springs they would throw into the scrap pile after putting a lift kit on a truck, they didn't mind a bit, said "help yourself!". I had to anneal them and then pound them straight though, they're pretty tough on tools if you don't.
 
if you havent already done so you should pick up the book called $50 knife shop by wayne goddard. great book. very helpful. should answer alot of your questions. read it from cover to cover. $20 or less for the price of the book. for steel go with admiral steel. very good prices.
 
Thanks again everyone. You guys are a big help! Another quick question.... witch do you recomend? 1080 w-1 or o-1?
 
well Ive never used W-1 or 1080...ive used 1095 and O-1..I like both and for stock removal and HT worked the same for me...i would recommend either..I would think 1080 would work the same as 1095...

where in PA you from?
 
1080 is a better starter steel than W-1. O-1 is OK, but 1080 is as easy as it gets.
Stacy
 
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