Want to make my first knife-get me started

[sofasurfer]

I want to start simple. I plan to buy a blade blank and either make a handle out of wood or purchase a handle. Looking at some knife making sites and I see that blades come in different grades of steel and most seem to be stainless. What grade of steel do I want? I want a strong knife that holds its edge. I envision using it, sometimes, to split wood as is being done in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFTQf9wlwzU I would hope that the blade would be able to take this abuse. Sooo, please point me to a well used site and tell me a little about the steel I should use. I don't want to spend a lot of money my first time out but I don't want to waste my time on a junky knife that I will regret making. I don't know how cheap this makes me sound but I wouldn't mind spending $20 on a blade blank.

 

[mtangent]

I think you are going about it the right way. If you need to baton wood, you should get a full profile tang. Most blade blanks seem to be stick tang, not full profile.
Helle used to sell good SS blanks.
Use google, there are a lot out there.

Another way of looking at it, rather than "which knife will I use" is "which handle construction do I wish to learn?"

 

[onojoe]

Look at Enzo knife kits. Plenty of different steels, and different patterns. The question of steel is a pretty ambiguous one, but to start off, I would suggest one of the standard high carbon steels. Cheap and easy to work with

 

[bdmicarta]

There are several retailers that sell pre-made blanks but it will be hard to get one for $20. Another thing you can do is search other online sites such as auctions for "skeleton" knives and then put your handles on them. I've done that as well as some pre-made blanks. I think what you'll mostly find in pre-made blanks is 440 steel or D2 steel, either of which make a reasonable knife.

Be careful if you find inexpensive damascus blanks. They are likely made in the middle east of questionable materials and heat treat. Or any very low priced blade blank for that matter that isn't from a reputable seller.