Which Steel For My First Blade?

M

maury

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Sep 24, 2000
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I've decided to try my hand at making a knife for the first time and would appreciate suggestions as to which type of steel to use. What I had in mind was making a small, "hide-out" type blade, chisel grind, skeleton handle, maybe 5" overall, cut from a hunk of 3/16" stock.

I've seen photos of Mr. Perrin's "Street Surgeon" and am thinking of trying for something similar.

Tools are limited to a bench grinder, drill press and hand tools.

Since this is my first attempt, I'd rather not spend a lot on the stock. Should I get a softer steel and send it off to have it hardened?

Am really confused about whats out there, so any suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks!
 
Steel choice all really depends on how you want to heat treat it. By yourself or send it out. If you send it out, you can use pretty much any knifemaking steel you want. If you want to heat treat yourself, you're limited to certain tool and carbon steels. Heat treating carbon steel can be done with a propane torch, though I've never tried it.

I made a couple knives using a bastard file to cut the bevel before. Just be prepared for a couple of hours of work grinding the bevels. You can take a little bit of bulk off the bevels with the bench grinder before you begin filing if you want to save time.
 
BTW, most steels that come annealed will start off very soft. Its hard after the heat treat. I tried filing different steels with a file, and I honestly can't see a difference in how easy they cut with a file if they are in the annealed state.
 
Lots of guys (me included) seem to use O-1 as it's not only a very good steel, it's also very forgiving.
 
If someone else does your heat treat you get a wider range of alloys that you can use. You could go with stainless for a hide-out type knife. The easiest ones to get a hold of would be the 440 series. You could try 440B or 440C. The B resists corrosion better in extreme cases and is a little tougher. The C is a bit more wear resistant (gets harder).

If you want something easy to work, tough, and that you could heat treat by yourself, try 5160. It is very forgiving.
 
O-1 and 1095 are both very forgiving and quite cheap to aquire. The first knive i made were from these two steel and a majority of the knives i make today are 1095 with a fewO-1 thrown in for good measure;) . They are both quite easy to heat treat also.
 
If you want to heat treat it yourself i would recomend 1095 or 1084. You can get a 3ft bar for about $15 shipped from www.admiralsteel.com Easy to heat treat with a torch or a one brick forge. If you dress your wheel often you can get a good hollow grind with a bench grinder. Check out the book by david boye.
 
OK, now am a bit less confused.... Checked prices and 1084 seems inexpensive enough for me to buy a hunk of it and fowl-up 3 or 4 "first blades" for about the price of a pizza...... Any drawbacks to using 1084 for my first attempt? Also, where can I find out a bit about heat treating with a propane torch? Wife says I cant build a forge in our apartment..... Thanks to all for your replies to date. And thanks in advance for your time and patience in answering my new dumb questions!
 
check out the august 2001 blade for an article by Wayne Goddard on making a small forge from a a propane torch and a firebrick. These little forges can be built for around $20 and will work for forging and heat treating blades up to 6" or 7".
 
Thanks Belstain-

.....But I don't think the idea of a forge, even a little one will go over well with Wife-Dearest, and these days neighbors are kinda antsy..... we do live in a small New York City apartment... 'nuff sed ......anyway heat treating can be done w/just a propane torch?
 
to heat treat o-1 or high carbon steel,which can be found in most leaf springs that are not hard to find . First.get 2 fire bricks stand them on end corner to corner ^hang the blade between them and use torch toheat slowly to cherry red color put a magnet to the steel if it does not pick it up you can quech it in oil ,used motor oil will work ,let it cool in oil then put it in the oven at 350 or 400 forat least an hour. this should work very well for your first one ..order blade magizine they will give you alot of advice.hope this helps you out ..Wayne Lovins
 
1084, 1095 or O-1 are all good choices. They're high-carbon, not stainless, but will turn out great blades and can be do-it-yourself heat-treated.

The suggestions about using firebrick to build a small heat-treating chamber to work with a propane torch should work, as many have pointed out that Wayn Goddard uses it. His book, "The $50 Knife Shop," is a great reference.

Bear in mind that when you quench these steels in oil, there also may be a small flame. I use corn oil.

But it sounds like building a heat treated is likely out. You may want to consider finding a local auto shop, machine shop or muffler shop. They might have the room (large room with a concrete floor)and tools (ie, an acetylene torch and a bucket of old oil or transmission fluid. Though I like vegetable oil, petroleum products may be carcenogens.) to do the heating, and may be interested in the process if you explain that you're making a knife.

Tempering can be done in a kitchen oven (I use a toaster oven.)

You can also send the blade out for heat treating, which may be your best bet. Some places charge only a few bucks a blade. That would give you solid heat treating by people who know how to do it, eliminating one variable on your first blade. Plus, you can more easily use stainless steels like ATS-34 if that's your desire.

Mike
 
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