steel for a pry knife

T

thedirector93

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Dec 10, 2013
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im thinking about making a bowie knife around 12 inches long, and 2 inches wide, i want it to be really tough and be able to pry stuff with it. im gonna buy some steel from nj steel baron, but im not sure which steel to use and how thick it should be.
which of these 3 would work best?

A. 1075 carbon steel thats .312" thick
B. 80CRV2 steel thats .375" thick
C 5160 spring steel thats .250"
 
Personally, I like knives for cutting, and pry bars for prying. If I HAD to have a knife to pry with, thicker the better, and a correct heat treat. Any of the steels you listed would work.
 
Lot of folks really like S7 for its resilience. I have yet to use a knife in S7 but you may want to look into it.
 
Personally I would say that anything over .300 is getting past the point if a knife and closer to a sharp pry bar. I made a chopper out on 1/4 5160 which was a bit over thickness in reality, and i have beat the crap out of it and it's fine. Any of the steels you listed would do well but if you are stuck with those thickness options I would take the 5160 as it is thin enough to still make a decent cutter. However opinions will vary.
 
No sense having people read something that I was so wrong about. Thank you Les for that information Frank
 
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What about making a knife out of an actual flat prybar? I've seen a video on youtube of this. It was a prybar to begin with.
 
The EOD knives I make are basically used to dig ordnance outta the ground or all manor of non knife shenanigans.

I am currently using 1/4 thick s35nv at 56-57 Rc and none of the Marines have broke one yet! And if they don't break them.... :)
 
Wouldn't the point style of a Bowie be counter productive for a prying device? Its smade narrower for stabbing ease but why introduce that compromise to a knife leaning towards other kinds of performance.
 
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