Steel for making a knife?

R

realitycheck

Joined
Nov 24, 2007
Messages
313
Hey guys I have never made a knife, but I have a piece of steel. Just regular old railroad steel. No not the railroad itself. Just a piece of steel like what the spikes are made from.
My questions are this, Is this a decent steel to make my first knife out of, if I harden it?
Second how do I heat treat this steel? I have a barbecue grilland an oven, hehe.
 
No i'm not joking. I said i've never made one before. So I have no clue about this stuff. I have seen several people make knifes out of railroad spikes. If this steel is different then I didnt know that.
 
I would recommend you learn as much as possible over on Shop Talk and then be very careful.
 
Railroad spike steel has very low carbon. You won't get a very good blade out of it. I've knives made from railroad spikes, but the are usually a novelty item.
 
There are RR spikes that are marked with "HC" on them. They're supposed to have higher carbon content than regular spikes, I've been told that they're used in high stress areas like turns and where the trains do a lot of braking. They can be hardened somewhat and can make a usable knife as long as you don't mind touching the edge up. Don't expect to get the blade performance of a a 1084/1095 steel and you won't be upset.

All that being said..... RR spikes are a serious, I mean serious PIA to forge because of the size and shape. Most guys that forge more than 3 or 4 of them make special tongs to handle them. You're really going to have to pound on it because you'll have to reduce the metal down to blade sizes. I wonder how many people have been run off of forging because of RR spikes? :eek:

If I haven't run you off yet :p you CAN forge in a barbeque grill if you want. My first forge was a junked out barbeque grill with a hair dryer for a blower. I forged in charcoal then horrible coal full of clinkers before moving on to propane and now I'm running a waste oil forge. Knifemakers make knives no matter what tools they don't have. Come on over to Shoptalk and read all the stickies.

I don't recommend you start making knives, it's an addiction for which there is no cure. :(
 
I would say get some real steel for new maker's the best is 5160 or 1065. they are the easiest ones to heat treat Then make that first knife. then give it away and make another and buy Wayne Goddard's book 50$ knife shop. Welcome to the club.
 
Thanks everyone for the information. Thats exactly the info I was looking for. I will check out shop talk and let you guys know if I decide to start making my own knives. I might take will's advice too though, hehe. I'm already addicted to buying knives I dotn know if I need to be addicted to making them also. My wife would be really happy with me then. :)
 
realitycheck said:
Thanks everyone for the information. Thats exactly the info I was looking for. I will check out shop talk and let you guys know if I decide to start making my own knives. I might take will's advice too though, hehe. I'm already addicted to buying knives I dotn know if I need to be addicted to making them also. My wife would be really happy with me then. :)
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I started making knives because I couldn't afford the ones I wanted... trust me when I say that I could have bought a mighty fine custom by the time I got to making knives that I could tolerate much less like.
 
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