Steel options low, but want to make a knife.

[c1328chase]

Alright, as short as I can say it. I recently saw the movie the hunted with tommy lee jones. I like the part where they made their own knifes in the woods. A friend and I are going to try it. For starters all we have is some rusted steel off of an old tractor and plow. If we are any good at even shaping the blades we can get some 1018 mild steel from metal shop at school but that's about all the metal we have access to. What can I do to make this steel have good edge retention and corrossion resistance for making my fist knife. I'm going to make one similar to the Ka-Bar Warthog and gonna wrap the handle in parachute cord. If there is any recipe like one I saw earlier to quench the steel what is it. Finally what tools will I need. Don't have an anvil, got a hammer and channel locks or linesman pliers and gloves and glasses and that's about it. What do I need. I really would like to try to make this knife so that it lasts so maybe one day i can give it to my son. Please help, thanks a lot.

Chase Cullinan

P.S. Making stuff short isn't my strong point.

 

[Keith Montgomery]

Plow steel has more carbon than 1018 and could make for a decent knife blade. However, you are going to have to figure out how to cut a practical size piece from the plow. If you can get a piece of 1018 that is around 3/16 to 1/4" thick and big enough to make yourversion of the Warthog, then that might be the way to go.

None of the tools you mentioned are going to be of that much use in the making of a knife. I have seen a nice knife that was made from 2" wide, 1/4" thick bar stock with just a hack saw, files, sandpaper, and a lot of elbow grease. The blade was sent out for heat treating.

I am certainly not an expert on the subject of knifemaking. I would recommend that you get the book, Wayne Goddard's $50.00 Knife Shop. It will tell you everything you need to know to make a knife with limited equipment.

Have fun.

 

[the possum]

Well, if there's one first tip I can give, don't limit yourself to the steel that's "available" locally. A piece of good steel is only a phone call away, and can probably be had for less than ten bucks. (though the shipping costs will likely be even more than you paid for the bar of steel.) Also, you might want to check the yellow pages for any sort of machine shop, welding/fabricating shop, or even a leaf spring manufacturer. Any one of these places will likely have a scrap piece of steel that would make a better blade than mild steel, so you don't waste all your time and still end up with a crappy blade.

Granted, man used stone and copper alloys for their cutting tools for eons, so don't get so hung up on it that it prevents you from grinding something!

What tools do you need? If I were you, I wouldn't worry about forging at first. It requires a whole 'nuther set of skills and equipment. You can just shape the metal from a bar with files if you want to spend lots of time, but any kind of grinder will really speed up the process. It sounds like you should probably have a regular old bench grinder in that shop you mentioned, which would work. Or even a handheld angle grinder and vise. If not, they can be had new for around $30 in hardware stores, or a fraction of that if you check out pawn shops or flea markets for a good used one. You'll probably still need a couple good files for final shaping, and some sandpaper or even sharpening stones to finish with.

But by all means, dive into it. Don't get too obsessed with getting all the perfect equipment at first. If you get bitten by the knifemaking bug, you can aquire better stuff over time.

 

[lwrhea]

There is a nice book that will give you some basics for ten different types of knives for the beginner. Its "Custom Knifemaking, ten projects from a master craftsman" by Tim McCreight. It will help with the tools and materials. Lin