Yet another what steel question

M

Man Hands

Joined
Dec 15, 2005
Messages
2
I am preparing to embark on my first knife attempt. Unfortunately I haven't got a lot of time to look around town for supplies. I do know that Home Depost sells some steel. It is just marked welding steel. I was curious if anyone knew what this meant (what type of steel it was), and if I would be completely wasting my time trying to get a feel for knife making with that steel. On a related note, the steel they sell comes in varying thicknesses (1/8, 3/16, 1/4, possibly more). I am planning to start out trying the stock removal process instead of forging. Therefore I am curious what you would recommend for a steel thickness. I want to make a simple full tang with a bout a 2 1/2" to 3" blade. I want to use it as a skinning knife/hunting, so for practicality thinner would nice, but as far as my first attempt at making a knife, I'm just not sure what I should try. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Sorry to add yet another "what steel" question.
 
i still dont think "welding" steel is high carbon i might be wrong
i started using 1/8 inch 440c barstock i sent it off for heat treat now i can do it in my shop
seems like everyone round here tells you start with O1 you ll be able to heat treat it yourself
hope this helps a little
butch
 
the steel at HD or Lowes doesn't have enough carbon to make a usable blade, as mentioned

try looking in the phone book under "Automotive" and find a local place that manufactures springs for cars/trucks. Give em a ring or stop by and ask if you can buy a one or two foot long piece of annealed (soft) steel. If they are actually making the springs (as opposed to just stocking prefabricated ones) the steel is most likely annealed. I ended up getting a whole 22 foot bar for under $2 a foot and still have a good amount of it on hand.

Chances are it will be 5160 steel, good stuff to start out with. The benefit of this is that you will be able to get the stuff today, for cheap and won't have to pay shipping.
 
Welcome to the Forum, Man Hands. If you'd let us know where you're located, maybe one of us in your locale can point you in the right direction.
-Mark
 
Hey everyone, thanks so much for stopping me before I put all that time and effort into an useless cause. I live in Topeka Kansas. If anyone out there knows of a good place to get steel in the area I'm all ears. If I do end up finding a place with good steel (5160), what thickness would you recomend starting with? I like Butch's idea of 1/8". Is that possible to find at an automotive shop? Thanks again for all your help!
 
1/8" is probably thinner than you'll find in a spring shop. I know my 5160 that I got from a shop is thicker than that. Great thing about forging...when you're smashin', you can make it as thin as you want! Good luck finding your source. Hopefully somebody 'round here will be near you.
-Mark
 
Try http://www.admiralsteel.com/

I would recommend O1 -as it is very easy to make a knife from using a file and a hacksaw.

I would stay away from stainless steels and D2 -until you have more experience and a belt grinder. (and some cobalt drill bits, etc.) heat treat is also more complicated.

O1 makes a good knife.
 
Check the yellow pages for machine shops. Many of them will have A2, D2, 440C, O1 and perhaps other grades of tool steel.
Just make sure you know exactly what kind of steel you're getting. It's critical info for the heat treat.

Mike
 
Are you gonna use a file, or do you have access to a belt sander of some sort? The 1" x 30" from Harbor Freight works good to get started with. If you want to heat treat it yourself, get some 1/8" O-1. It's pretty simple to heat treat and makes a great knife. If you're gonna send it off, get some ATS-34 or 154CM from Admiral, grind/file it to shape, and send it to Texas Knifemaker's Supply for heat treating. They are about the cheapest for single blades, I think. Be sure to drill your holes in the tang before heat treating.

Todd
 
The stock should be about 1/16 thicker than the blade you want to grind.3/16 is a good starting thickness.(depending on the knife you plan on making)Check the phone book for "spring manufacturing" they will have 5160 (and maybe 1095).They usually stock it in 20 gage through 1/4". Buying a whole bar (22ft) is a good idea.If you can't find a spring shop,Admiral steel and other suppliers will sell you a full bar ,and cut it into 3ft pieces.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top