Supplies in U.K

Joined
Mar 9, 2005
Messages
10
Hello Everyone,
I just joined today .
I have not made any knives before.I'm just at the stage of Ive ordered some books and awaiting their arrival and I'm reading online what ever I find , I would like to know if anyone can advise me please of a supplier of
knifemaking materials within the UK ?
Thank You.
Kevin
 
Hi & wellcome. :)
I dont know any supplier in any foreign country but when I started knifemaking I didnt know any even in my country. Detailed Google searches revealed some. After I traded with some I discovered some other companies just by chit-chating with the seller guys. Also some hardware shops and blacksmiths were of help....

Best wishes
Emre
 
Hi Wizzla -

There's a few options... What sort of thing do you want to do? Start off by fitting premade blades? Stock removal? Forging? There are some things that seem to be downright impossible to find in the UK, so still have to be brought across from the US - when you start looking at things like steel, this gets expensive. Best bet is to start by working with what is readily available locally IMO - but I'm a cheapskate like that :D

Thanks for the recommendation, Mike - I'm still working through that treasure trove of nickel silver you sent over here ;)

Peter
 
ESpy said:
Thanks for the recommendation, Mike - I'm still working through that treasure trove of nickel silver you sent over here ;)

Peter

I'm glad to hear that you're getting some good use out of it.:D

That bit about "if they can't find it, tell them to ask me" was just a gibe at Roger Gregory, BTW.;)
 
Thank You Everyone for your replies .

galadduin - I'll try a hardware store .
Mike Hull - thanks for the links .
ESpy - I would like to create the blades rather than modifying .
Steven - thanks too and I am going to check that forum out tonight.
 
wizzla said:
Who is Roger Gregory ?
A filthy bugger, and sod, rotter, and bounder(at least according to his Mum), who hangs out at British Blades.;):D

I think he can be found around here at times also.:eek::D


Edited to add; Welcome to Bladeforums! Enjoy!:D
 
Mike Hull said:
Actually he's a very nice guy, and I'm just pulling his chain.;):D

Tsk. I'm only going to tell him about the first bit ;)

Wizzla - I guess that brings us to the remaining part of the question - forged or stock removal? I use Cromwell for a number of tools (and they're about the best price for flat ground stock) http://www.cromwell.co.uk

Peter
 
Mike - I believe you .

ESpy - Thank You for the link I'll order from them too :)
It is the stock removal method I wish to try.
What would Flat ground stock be called when its finished please ?

Kevin
 
wizzla said:
................
What would Flat ground stock be called when its finished please ?

Kevin
If you're just talking about the barstock, it would be called precision, or blanchard ground.

But, I'm a bit confused by the question. Could you define it little more.
There are several ways to buy flat stock for making knives.
HRA = Hot rolled, annealed
CRA = Cold rolled, annealed
Those denote the different ways the mill rolls the barstock out. CRA is a bit easier to get the outside bark off of. HRA can be a real bear with some steels to grind the bark off of.
And then you have the two above definitions, precision, or blanchard ground. You will save yourself some time buying the latter two types if available.
 
Thank you for explaining about bar stock .

Defined a little more - if you made a knife from the "flat ground stock" sold on the site ESpy told me about and I said to you, is the blade 440C Stainless Steel ,AUS10, or what exactly is it , you answer would be -

"it is ............"

What I wanted to know is the answer you would use where the dots are please?

Kevin
 
wizzla said:
Thank you for explaining about bar stock .

Defined a little more - if you made a knife from the "flat ground stock" sold on the site ESpy told me about and I said to you, is the blade 440C Stainless Steel ,AUS10, or what exactly is it , you answer would be -

"it is ............"

What I wanted to know is the answer you would use where the dots are please?

Kevin

I'm even more confused. The knife would be made of whatever material you made it from. I have no idea of what espy told you.

I went back and looked at that link he suplied you with, and it appears to be a hardware store, and I didn't see any steel listed at all, unless they call it something else.
Whatever material you make the knife from is what it is. :confused:
 
wizzla said:
Mike heres the link to the section on the site
http://www.cromwell.co.uk/category?code=160202
iii


Their stock numbers mean nothing to me. You would have to ask them what type of steel it is. Be very careful here, most hardware stores just carry mild steel, what is generally called 1018 here, and is not hardenable or fit for blades.
The 10 denotes the type of steel, the 18 denotes the carbon content=18% which ain't good for blades. You would need at least 45% carbon to start getting close. Most are over 50%, and closer to 75-100+%.

They also have different normanclature over there than we have here, so what we call 1075/85, won't be the same over there.

This is where getting on British Blades, and talking with some of the makers there can help you. They're already familiar with the numbers there, and can better advise you as to what type to get for best results.
 
Thank you for looking at the site and explaining about the carbon content.

I'll join the British Blades forum,I've had a look there but just hadn't gotten round to joining yet , I better do it now else I'll put it off again lol.
 
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