Question ( What type of metal are the thin metal slabs at lowes and homedepot)

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mocaba

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Oct 13, 2012
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I am just starting out and I don't wanna spend a lot of money on materials when I am most likely going to end up Ruining more the 3/4ths of it, and since i don't got a forge or any major tools the materials would be rendered useless haha. So I remember seeing these metal slabs in Lowes and Homedepot, I just went on their sites but alls it says is plain steel. I was wondering if anyone tried making a knife, blade, or some kind of tool out of the material.

http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-25e...&keyword=metal+bar&storeId=10051#.UHpDJVF0n6M

Would this material be good to practice making knives with or would it just be a waste of time.
 
Low quality zinc plated low carbon steel. Its good for making brackets and such but no good for knife making.
 
is their something I could use and recycle that I could practice making knives on that I can find easily
 
Checked into these, myself, and the folks there couldn't tell me, but after a while, they heard back from their supplier.

Unfortunately, it's low-carbon welding steel. I either don't remember or they could not tell me the grade, but it does not have enough carbon in it to render it heat-treatable.

Same with the stuff from Tractor Supply.

Happily for you, the MSC depot north of Harrisburg just off rt 81 does have O-1 tool steel, in various sizes. Search online, pay with your card, get it shipped, or buy from the store at the depot if it's worth making the drive.

I managed to heat-treat 0-1 with a charcoal fire, adapted from plans in "The Complete Modern Blacksmith", by Alexander Weygers. It's a marvelous book, full of suggestions for improvising your own workshop, forge, and sources for scrap steel.

Another book is by David Boye (some of you may have heard of him) called "Step-by-Step Knifemaking: You Can do it!". This is where I learned how to sharpen a file with battery acid...
 
I think that cheap Home Depot stuff could be used for grinding practice but that's about it. Grind it, try different patterns and so forth, but don't try to heat treat it.
 
Okay thanks, Ill practice profiling blades with the bad stuff so when I use better stuff I don't ruin it haha thanks for your input guys
 
mocaba said:
Okay thanks, Ill practice profiling blades with the bad stuff so when I use better stuff I don't ruin it haha thanks for your input guys
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Honestly,

Don't buy and use steel you can't heat treat. The steel is THE CHEAPEST part of a knife if you use 1080 or 1084...
Why spend 4,5 or more hours shaping a knife that you WILL have to scrap? Instead use good steel that you can heat treat!

The Lowes/HD steel is A36. No good for knives.

You can do it! Place an order for some 1084 from Aldo Bruno!

Are you using a grinder or a hacksaw and files?
 
I am going to buy a bench grinder soon I got files and a hack and jewelers saw got a drill press for the pin holes too. About heat treating the blade is it very needed? or will the knife still be able to withstand light use without it.
 
Steel from Aldo really isn't that expensive. And yes, heat treating is critical. Darrin Sanders can help you out with that; he runs a great heat treating service. I use 1095 and 5160 mainly, and he does a great job with both of those steels.

Bench grinder; well, I use mine, but it's not that helpful, and you aren't really going to be able to do the bevels with it and have it come out that well. Save your money and buy the Craftsman 2x42, or something better.
 
mocaba said:
is their something I could use and recycle that I could practice making knives on that I can find easily
Click to expand...

Yes! 1084 from Aldo. It's easy to work with and HT, and can make really good knives.

The HD/Lowe's stuff is barely OK for building structural stuff like shelf brackets and trailer frames.

mocaba said:
Okay thanks, Ill practice profiling blades with the bad stuff so when I use better stuff I don't ruin it haha thanks for your input guys
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Don't do that, you're throwing money away. Practice grinding on cheap wood or scrap plastic.

YES, knives need to be heat-treated. Check out the stickies.

I'm gonna go out on a limb here... if you actually try any of the good advice offered in this thread, and are still posting here in 2 weeks, I'll send you a piece of good high-carbon cutlery steel and a nice piece of wood for a handle.
I want pics of what you've done - most folks get a wild hair and give up after a few days. Failure is OK, and sloppy grinds are normal for a first attempt - that can lead to learning. Just stick with it, and you'll be surprised how much help and encouragement you'll get :)
 
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meant to ask you earlier about the cost of your custom knife grinding I imagine a lot of things would factor into it but for something more simple I was just wondering about how much it run me.
 
crimsonfalcon07 said:
Bench grinder; well, I use mine, but it's not that helpful, and you aren't really going to be able to do the bevels with it and have it come out that well. Save your money and buy the Craftsman 2x42, or something better.
Click to expand...

I have heard a lot of people say that bench grinders are not a good choice for grinding knives, and I would like to rebut this.

I use a bench grinder, 1 HP, single phase, 11"X1" medium hardness wheels, and it works very well for me. Or it did, I don't have anywhere to work right now.

When I decided to try knifemaking, the cost of the belts stopped me cold, and I tried a bench grinder, just to see.

There are times when I find a place on the stone wheel which seems to be of higher hardness than the rest of the wheel, and this can cause the bouncing action that some others have observed. The fast fix is to grab the wheel dresser. I work with 3/16" and 1/4" stock, and I have been able to work these hard spots out by holding the stock just a hair further away from the wheel, and letting the hard spot grind it's way out. It may not work for everybody, but it works for me.
 
OP, Listen to all the amazing knife makers here, and get yourself some steel from aldo.

I mean, come on, It's so cheap!
It's going to run you about 6-7$ Per knife if you buy a 48" bar of 1084.
Grinding on Low-carbon welding steel is a waste of time and money.

And no, you can't make a finished product without heat treating the steel, which you can't achieve with something that has such low carbon.
Don't bother.
 
If you fullfill the requirements James has set and take him up on his offer, I will heat treat your first blade for free when the time comes. Even though it will have flaws and be far from perfect it will still be a better knife than most of the factory knives on the market today. But you HAVE to make it from quality materials from the start. Trust me, my first knife is nothing to look at but I wouldn't take $1000.00 for it. So no matter how bad the first one turns out you're gonna want to keep it, so make it from materials that will make it worth all your time and effort. You will learn at least one lesson from every knife you make. You will also make mistakes but you will learn more from mistakes than pretty much anything else. Just don't make the same mistake twice and you will learn quickly. Good luck and welcome to the addiction we call knifemaking.
 
Great idea and generous offer, Darrin!

"Here, kid. Take this pill-it's free."
 
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