Wrong steel, what should I do?

[Atlas Knife Company]

It not that is was cheap steel, it was leftover from a project. I used the other 7' of the bar making some light hangers for an indoor planter and the remaining piece just screamed to be made into a knife.

What is the best steel for a knife, 154 CM or CPM S30V?

 

[cotdt]

what is the best steel for a knife, 154 cm or cpm s30v?

1084.

 

[wnease]

If you are choosing between s30v and conventional 154cm, s30v is tougher and more rust resistant and more abrasion resistant and machines more easily in the annealed condition.

Finish out your knife... I passed the free-hanging rope test at the ABS school in 1994 with a mild steel blade.

You can also cold forge the edge, serrate it, add a wear resistant coating, use it as thrower or diving knife, there's lots of fun to be had yet. It won't be a great knife, but wth?

 

[Fletch Helical]

I would see it through. It's your first knife but it likely won't be your last. It's a great learning experience, and when you get a good piece of steel for your next one you'll have that much more experience when making the knife.

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

Fair enough. I had been wondering how to "cold work" the edge.

Fletch: how is your knife coming along? I enjoyed the 7 pages of obsessing over a little scratch. It made me decide that this one was good enough and to do a better job grinding on the next one(making sure not to use the random orbital for sanding).

 

[Fletch Helical]

Coming along pretty good so far. I'm working my way back up through the grits. Almost finished at 220 after that it's just 400 and 800 should be all downhill from there....

 

[bob levine]

Use it as a practice piece. My first knife under the tutilage of Gil Hibben up in Alaska was a chain saw bar. I still have it to look at and hopefully im making better looking stuff these days. Practice practice practice. That was way back in the early 1970s. Yeah I'm old.

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

I'll post these here as well, so you may see how the knife turned out. I do feel that I learned a lot finishing the blade as well as build order.