Steel Alloy for outdoor knife

C

Chicken Jay

Joined
Jan 23, 2010
Messages
5
Hello, DIYer here aspiring to get into the craft of blade making. Discovered Green Pete's knife making video literally about a week and a half ago and now I've got the knife making bug. Watched other videos and read what I could so far here, but obviously still have little idea as to what I am doing. That said I jumped in anyway and I am going to attempt to make a kukri style outdoor blade. Yes, I realize that something smaller and simpler for first blade may be more prudent, but this is the style of knife I have been wanting.

So in any case, I purchased a piece of 18"X3" A2 1/8" steel...but than realized that 1/8" may not be thick enough for this style blade. I think I should have gone with 1/4"? So now I am preparing to pick up another piece of stock, but before I make another mistake I am wondering if A2 is the right choice. I know steel types are subjective, and I have read several of the alloy comparisons, but after a while it becomes a blur. 1095 steel is not available from my local source in the size needed. Options are 4140/4142 | A2 | A6 | D2 | M2/M7 | M4 | O1 | S7. Any recommendations? Blade will be upwards of 14" in length. Will be made primarily with hand tools, outside of a power hand grinder for rough work (taking the many recommendations here not to spend money on a grinder right away). Not so concerned about difficulty to work certain alloys as I can take my time with that - more concerned with heat treating process/complexity as I see that as the most important part and end product for blade in question. Your recommendations of alloy I should use as well as the hardening/tempering process I should take with that alloy would be most appreciated. Thank you so much!

Jason
Thousand Oaks, CA
 
A2 should file just fine. 1/4" is the thickness you want minimum for a kukri, the H.I. ones are occasionally even up to 1/2" thick! you will need to send it out for heat treat to Peter's or Texas Knife Supply, Paul Bos... Welcome to the addiction and post pics!

Jason
 
Jason, thank you so much for the quick reply and your guidance. Let me ask you, do I have to send this out for heat treating? Is it due to the alloy type? I was kind of hoping to do it myself - was going to rig together a charcoal "forge" with a blower.
 
Tool steels like A2 and D2 and higher alloys need controlled heat treating with stable temperature soak times. If you want to do it yourself with a basic forge set up, get some basic Carbon steel like 5160 or the 10XX series. Aldo's 1084 might be a good place to start. See the for sale forum here.
 
Hmmm, ok, so attempting to heat treat A2 primitively myself just won't work - is that correct? Of the steel types that noted above can I heat any of those myself? And also will they be appropriate for the knife I have planned? I wanted to do the heat treat myself so that I could experience the whole process, and also wanted the gratification of knowing that my new knife was completely hand made by my own efforts.
 
A2 should work, though my first thoughts would be 5160 or CPM 3V. The only one of these you have any ability to heat treat without a controlled furnace is 5160. Stock removal on 5160 is certainly doable but finding a big enough piece may be a challenge.

If you're sending it out for heat treating make sure you check the maximum blade size they can handle because this will be big.

My pre-1890 kukri is 3/8 thick at the spine. It's also a little over 18" overall with a
15" by 2 1/2+ wide blade.
 
Jay, A2 is a fine steel in its own right. In the size that you have you could make a few awesome smaller belt knives/utility knives and send them out for heat-treatment. Being still new to this myself I can say that doing a couple or so smaller pieces is good practice at filing, grinding and such before moving on to a larger one. It's also cheaper to mess up on a small bit of steel than ruining a big piece. Of course a messed up big piece could always be remade into a smaller one. Anyway, just my thoughts. Whatever you decide, get to it and good luck.
 
Hey guys, thanks for all the input - much appreciated. I am having quite a time finding appropriate steel that is the right dimensions. You're right Dan, large enough 5160 is a challenge (local supplier has it, but only 6" long!?). A2 is readily available, but as noted already I will not be able to heat treat myself. Would 01 work for this application? Or does anyone have a good source steel in the size and types discussed here? Be nice if I could find a source in So. Cal., but anywhere at this point would be acceptable.
 
Chicken Jay said:
Hmmm, ok, so attempting to heat treat A2 primitively myself just won't work - is that correct? Of the steel types that noted above can I heat any of those myself? And also will they be appropriate for the knife I have planned? I wanted to do the heat treat myself so that I could experience the whole process, and also wanted the gratification of knowing that my new knife was completely hand made by my own efforts.
Click to expand...

Home heat treating without a temperature controlled oven is a waste of good steel for the higher alloys. They have to be hardened for set times (soaks) at specific temperatures to get the performance. Lacking this you will waste the extra money you have to put in to buying them. By all means make some blades from your A2, but send them out for heat treat.

Learn on simpler steels for home heat treatment.
 
Jason I am kicking myself right now!! That source that you linked to is actually the same one that I got the A2 from and also the first place I looked when the 5160 recommendation came up in this thread. When I looked there earlier today I saw that they carried 5160 in the needed thickness, but I thought the only available length they had was 6 INCHES! Bit of a mis-read. After spending too much time today searching for a 5160 source in the dimensions I needed, I was just about to give in an just order thicker A2... Checked your link and did a double-take when I realized it was a 6 FOOT length :rolleyes: Thanks for saving me there man. Thank you for the heat treat guide as well. My 1/4"X3"X6 FOOT piece of 5160 will be here tomorrow (quite a bit cheaper than A2 btw).

Thanks to everyone else as well for your guidance and for setting me in the right direction. I'll be sure to post my progress...and ask more questions
 
If you've already got the A2, by all means use it for your outdoor blade. A2 is a tough, hard use tool steel perfect for outdoor blade applications. 1/8" thickness will stand up to some hard use. Not the best thickness for a chopper but will perform any other duty in the outdoors you throw at it. Like Steve said, send it out for heat treat. You'll be amazed at the performance you will get out of A2.
Scott
 
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