Trying to get the most out of my steel off cuts.

Joined
Feb 16, 2022
Messages
615
I asked this in the shop talk on another forum too. I'm just trying to get the most input I can. Any ideas are appreciated.

So I made a couple knives in cpm 10v a while back, and i ended up with some steel left over. 2 pieces. I gave one piece away and I've held on to the other for a while now trying to think of something that this little piece of cpm 10v would be worthy of using on.

Well, I just haven't come up with anything that holds my fancy enough to use it, and I really want to do something with it.

The piece is 3.75x1.25x.25 inches (the thickness is actually just under 1/4 inch, but it wasn't important enough to me to pull out the calipers yet). So quite small, but not small enough for me to just toss, or put in with the little off cuts I have that aren't big enough to use for some kind of blade.

One thing that was suggested on the other forum, was to make a replacement blade for one of my pocket knives. This is the one thing that caught my attention. I may go with that, but it is a daunting task for someone who doesn't own, a mill. Its not out of the question, but I just wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions for me. Or what would you make with it?
 
Is forging an option for you? If so, that's plenty of material to forge out a decent sized hidden tang blade.
 
Is forging an option for you? If so, that's plenty of material to forge out a decent sized hidden tang blade.
I would prefer not to forge cpm 10v. Otherwise I would definitely would throw it in the forge.
 
  • Like
Reactions: weo
Maybe do a laminated knife, g10 or carbon fiber making up most of the blade, with just the edge being 10v.
 
I asked this in the shop talk on another forum too. I'm just trying to get the most input I can. Any ideas are appreciated.

So I made a couple knives in cpm 10v a while back, and i ended up with some steel left over. 2 pieces. I gave one piece away and I've held on to the other for a while now trying to think of something that this little piece of cpm 10v would be worthy of using on.

Well, I just haven't come up with anything that holds my fancy enough to use it, and I really want to do something with it.

The piece is 3.75x1.25x.25 inches (the thickness is actually just under 1/4 inch, but it wasn't important enough to me to pull out the calipers yet). So quite small, but not small enough for me to just toss, or put in with the little off cuts I have that aren't big enough to use for some kind of blade.

One thing that was suggested on the other forum, was to make a replacement blade for one of my pocket knives. This is the one thing that caught my attention. I may go with that, but it is a daunting task for someone who doesn't own, a mill. Its not out of the question, but I just wanted to see if anyone has any suggestions for me. Or what would you make with it?
I save some of my larger scrap pieces for potential future projects. You may decide to make folders one day so large scrap pieces would help get you started.
 
I save some of my larger scrap pieces for potential future projects. You may decide to make folders one day so large scrap pieces would help get you started.
A folder has been something I've been considering. I would really like to, idk if I'm ready to make one with my current tools. I can maybe do a friction folder, but I just want to be confident that the end result is going to be something I can be proud to say I made. Not something completely shotty.

I'm seriously thinking about the retrofitting the blade into a pocket knife thing. Someone suggested getting an opinel 6 or 7 and making a blade for that, which I think is actually kind of a cool idea, plus could be a bit simpler than making a replacement blade for my old worn out civivi elementum blade with my current tools.
 
1/4" thick is wayyyy to thick for an Opinel or other folder.
That would be a bit penny wise, pound foolish spending ages filing or waisting good belts to thin it down.
Lay it aside and you'll find good use for it some time when you don't expect it and for now order steel in the right thickness
I suppose I'm not too bothered by the idea, because that's what I did with the other knives I made. I couldn't find thinner 10v at the time that wasn't too thin so I ground it down to the thickness I needed.
 
Do you have any examples of this to show what you mean exactly?
I was thinking of something like VC Edge’s Interface. He has videos on YouTube. He makes folders but you could do the same with a fixed blade I’m sure.
 
try welding a tang onto it .. make sure to get rod for fusing different materials together..
Exactly what I do with mine. I have a machine shop weld a 1/8” thick x 1/2” wide piece of steel to the end. They used to charge me $5 or so per blade to do that but I gave the owner one of my finished blades and it’s all free now. Make a $250 hidden tang hunter and it’s like free money added to my account. Machine shop knows what I’m after with respect to the end product and they ensure it’s done right.
 
Do you have any examples of this to show what you mean exactly?
Look man, I get that you are from Houston and we may have politically differing views, (I don't know yours, I honestly do not care as long as its a respectful disagreement or agreement) but yes Blankblank Blankblank , I am burning one of my newly made accounts on here because while yes - most of this forum utterly annoys the hell out of anyone with a brain - I am NOT a metallurgist but after reading quite a few real books (Fundamentals of Physical Metallurgy, Steel Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist, of course knife engineering which Larrin Larrin as much as I jokingly rag on ya man, You are really good at typing in a way that is easy to read, but not what the kids do on the internet today, and yes, cognitively it makes a difference being on paper vs a screen where our brains know that it is easily accessible information thus do not retain it as well). I have no problem with the people who are "learning" this and trying. You already have a good bit of knowledge I can tell, but while I do not have the sheets of paper Larrin Larrin does - I do have 131k of the same equipment and a brain - I am NOT going to understand it to the degree he does I don't think that I have to actually type that but we both...agree? and disagree on a lot but. the science bs we agree on. always. I am more than willing to actually spend the time with you over text messaging or phone (your decision, I'm basing this off of your age so please don't think it's personal, just a generalization that I'm well aware I can be wrong about) and if I did not think that I could help you understand this stuff a little better. I would not spend my time bothering. That's the truth FWIW. The typical knife maker is someone who doesn't even understand the difference between HSLA and HSHC alloys, primary and secondary carbide formation, 1001k things I can list. Yes, reading John D Verhoeven is not exactly easy. I myself was going back and forth from the phone to the book - okay that means what again? ah right okay now i can continue - lol. But If you do have a basic knowledge of science it's really not that complicated just.....A LOT to deal with at once? My test is can I explain it to you in a way that you would understand.. I believe I can do that and am willing to do it for your benefit. Obviously this does not benefit myself or anything, And no mods, I am not trying to create strife on a forum for people that deal in METALS which is one very important side of materials science (essentially anything in the world) ceramics are another misunderstood one as in structured abrasives. As noted by fitzo fitzo (I know what ya did I just offered you an option to know how to reach me if you wanted to have higher level discussions about not politics but science shit, I get that I'm putting YOU in a positing there so I fully understand no um. I still respect ya), SiC or "carbides" or "nitrides" in general are technically considered ceramics. They're not allotropes of carbon like graphite(in steel) but. This isn't chemistry. I've already done about 97% of the "KSN" dataset testing, which is extremely difficult to read and as I own the actual machines that do the testing, I know what is being basically left out that is . Not exactly important on ultimate edge retention? But very important on carbide volume which is just guessed at by well, Larrin Larrin I believe has now switched to JMatPro from Thermocalc (I'm on 7.1 API as I host it for people), so we are using the literal exact same software also to calculate carbide volumes. It's expensive thermodynamic calculation software that actually, If y'all don't ban me I yes can give people on here access to it on my webserver. Just ask! But if you know how to interpret the data, it IS confirmed accurate (<~noise) by someone who spent the money myself because that's how I do things. I don't trust myself let alone humans. It's up to you whether you want to use my brain to maybe help quicken your learning process - But yep I spent 10 minutes typing this out for ya cause I actually do help people for free.

The JMatPro offer I can only offer to the first 3 people that ask me!

Apologies to the Mods and anything that can be construed as disrespectful but just because YOU don't like me, does not mean others don't. ;)This is NOT for MY or YOU benefit/annoyances. Blankblank Blankblank is a man, and can make decisions on his own.

I suppose a note of sense would be hobby makers like myself, do not do this for money. For some reason people think that is criticism of people who have earned that right. I have not yet. Pretty simple in my book?

- Jason Ward @ www.veraxknives.com
 
Last edited:
Back
Top