Type of Steel?

[etuc]

I have some pieces of flat bar stock, 1/8, 3/16 and 1/4" no markings, that I'm sure came from several of the Big Box Stores over the last ten or so years. I thought about maybe using it for some beginner knives, short blades, unless it's total junk material. Typically, what type of steel would this be, anyway to tell? Thanks in advance!

 

[brets-ftw]

welll if your willing to do the work you can always cook the metal for a day or so with high carbon charcoal and add to whatever is already in there,

but im pretty sure unless the store needs tough metals theyll buy whats cheapest, mild steel (steel containing <.033% carbon)

 

[jimnolimit]

i wouldn't use what you have for knife making.

the steel's makeup is only part of the equation, heat treating is just as important (maybe more so). there are plenty of companies that sell bar stock in just about any steel grade you could want. you should pick the grade of steel based on the knife's intended use, then it should be heat treated ideally to it's purpose.

what type of knife do you want to make?
what tools will you use to shape the blade?

 

[cramsey3006]

Yeah, the bar stock sold at box stores isn't suitable at all for blade stock. Most of it doesn't have enough carbon in it to reach a suitable hardness.

If you want to get a cheap blade material, go the tool section and buy some Nicholson files. $5-$8 each. You can either anneal them (soften) to work the steel easier and then harden and temper them, or you can just cold grind them to shape, making sure that you don't get them too hot and lose the temper that's in them.

 

[DennisStrickland]

the effort required to make knives defeats the idea of using scrap metal unless you really know what the alloy contains. however if your desire is to prefect your grinding skills w/o intention of using the knife--good idea. scrap metal at cheap prices is great for a guy to practice his grinding techniques.