what kind of steel

D

DustinHall

Joined
Dec 31, 2008
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687
I found a 10" edger blade at walmart for a buck 50 and thought it might make a nice knife so I said what the hell and bought it. It's made by "MaxPower". I was just wondering if anyone could give me a guess about what kind of steel it's likely made from? What are most lawnmower blades made from? Thanks in advance.
 
I may be wrong but I believe they are a high carbon steel. Maybe 1080. I never tried a lawn mower blade but I have heard you can make knives from them. Good luck.
 
Yeah, I realize this is a stupid question... my appologies. I know some are worthless and others make good blades but, I guess it's up to me to find that out. Thanks for your reply kvolle.
 
I'll chime in one more time. Use of some steel that was not intended to be a knife is just asking for a problem with the final product.

If the item being considered for making a blade out of was made to be a cutting implement, then maybe it will work. It it was made to be an impact item, then it may not work. Lawn mower blades and edger blades are made to wear down and to resist breaking when the strike an object. This requires a different steel type than most knife blades are made from. Years ago (before OSHA and law suits were in control) lawn mower blades were HARD and sharp. Today they are soft and bendable. Edger blades vary a lot. Some are carbon steel and some are mild steel.
Stacy
 
Thanks for your reply Stacy. Like I mentioned before, I'm just starting out so of course I'm not trying to make a world class knife that I can sell for a few hundred dollars or anything. I'm just trying to have some fun and get my grinding practice in on steel that I can find for free or cheap that will harden. If I wasn't broke, I would probably be using O1 or something but, I can't really afford to mess up a "good" piece of steel.
 
DustinHall said:
Thanks for your reply Stacy. Like I mentioned before, I'm just starting out so of course I'm not trying to make a world class knife that I can sell for a few hundred dollars or anything. I'm just trying to have some fun and get my grinding practice in on steel that I can find for free or cheap that will harden. If I wasn't broke, I would probably be using O1 or something but, I can't really afford to mess up a "good" piece of steel.
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Good steel is cheap. You can get 5 feet of 1080 steel from Ellis for $16.50 plus shipping. It's 3/16" thick by 1-1/2" wide. That's enough steel for 6 or 7 knives stock removal method. It doesn't get much cheaper than that!

http://www.elliscustomknifeworks.com/

Kelly Cupples is also a great source for steel.
 
DustinHall said:
If I wasn't broke, I would probably be using O1 or something but, I can't really afford to mess up a "good" piece of steel.
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If you're just starting out, you'll find that its just as fun to mess up cheap, unknown steal. However, it's much less stressfull...:D

I've been using different salvaged steels, however, I have so much of the same type of salvaged steel that I've been able to hone in the heat treat process. It's a crap shoot each time you try an unknown steel. Will it work, or won't it? Sure, you can make it look pretty, but what good is a knife that won't hold a proper edge. Proper Knife making Steel is cheap when compared to the headaches of unkown steel. You can buy a piece of high carbon steel barstock that will yield two or three hunting knives for less than you think.

You can be our guinea pig though, because I'm curious about this mystery metal. :thumbup:
 
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Thanks for that link, Scott. That is a good deal but, when I said I was broke I meant I've got 5 bucks in my pocket and that's it! lol. I'll remember the site for when I can order some steel though.

bjalongi - exactly... much less stressful than if I payed good money to mess it up. I do understand the getting to know one kind of steel in and out and that it's best to stick with known good steels and I agree that a knife is no good if it can't hold an edge but, I figure if I can harden a certain "junk" steel then it will probably make a decent knife and what good is a quality steel if I can't put nice, pretty lines on it anyway? ;)
 
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