Steel question

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LooseGrouper

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Okay, I've decided I'd like to try my hand and making a simple knife. Since I want to start simple, I want to use a steel that either a) doesn't need heat treating, or b) only needs a slow bake at low temps that I could do in a household oven. Does any such steel exist?

Also, what tools do I need at a minimum if I want to shape a blade manually (no dremel, belt sander, grinder, etc)?
 
There's no steel that doesn't need to be heat-treated to make a real, usable knife, unless you want to work with steel that's already been treated. I don't recommend that; part of the reason for the heat treatment is to make it resist abrasion, so it's going to take a LONG time and a lot of work to do something like that.

Heat treatment is not that bad if you use a simple carbon steel. You can heat treat with a basic charcoal grill and an oven thermometer. To work the steel, if you're using annealed stock, you need some files and maybe a hacksaw, a sharpie marker, emery cloth, and that's about it. Just gotta be patient.

If you use steel that's already been used, like an OLD file, you can anneal it yourself. Heat it on a fire with lots of air blown in (a hair dryer makes this simple, you can move up from there as you see fit) until it glows red, then put it into a can of ashes or the like so it can cool down slowly. Let it cool for hours and it'll come out soft enough to file easily.

When you've got it shaped, you can take it to that heat again, quench it in old motor oil or transmission fluid (probably) or water (less likely, depends on the steel) and it'll get very hard, but brittle. Then you heat it to a lower heat, for instance a blue color, and quench it again. Do that a few times and you'll have a blade that's hard, but tough.


None of this will go right the first few times you do it. That's OK; it's supposed to happen. It's a lot of fun anyway. Keep your safety glasses on and wear long sleeves, pants and heavy shoes when working with the hot stuff.

If you don't have anybody around to show you how it works firsthand, I highly recommend Tim Lively's video: http://www.livelyknives.com/knifemakingvideo.htm
 
A good place to get you comfortable with the whole heat treatment thing is music wire. This is high carbon round stock which generally comes with a spring temper. If you try to bend it right after you buy it, it'll snap back (to a certain point.) If you anneal it, (heat to a cherry red and let it cool slowly,) it'll bend like butter. If you quench it, (heat it to the same cherry glow and cool it quickly, usually with water or oil,) you can snap it easier than glass. If you quench it and then temper it (heat it to a controlled temperature to disrupt the crystal structure to a point where it isn't brittle, ) you can take it to an Rc hardness of anywhere in the mid to low 60's to dead soft. The last piece I played with, I tempered by wireing to the oven rack and baking a party pizza (about 450 degrees.)

Plus, music wire is cheap enough to play around with. Last time I looked, a three foot length of the quarter inch stuff ran about six bucks, and that's at inflated hardware store prices.


Clicky Linky For More Info


I've taken to forgeing the stuff recently. Nothing spectacular, just a blowtorch, a claw hammer, and an old chunk of stainless to beat it on. I've made small knives, larger spear points, and a dandy little chisel. Thing has an edge like a razor. . .
 
Just buy O1 tool steel, which is cheap, and make a small forge. Mine is 2 fire bricks hollowed out and wired together - you can get them here: http://refractory.elliscustomknifeworks.com/

Then go to Home Depot/Lowe's and get a bottle of MAPP gas and the torch top. Put a hole in the side of the bricks and stick the torch in. Heat the knife up slowly until non-magnetic, then quench in oil. I use simple olive oil in a roasting pan. Then temper in a toaster oven (under $20 at WalMart) at least an hour at 400.

That's the basics - there are many tutorials and tips on the Web.

http://www.knivesby.com/knifemaking.html

brick_forge.jpg
 
kitchen ovens only go to about 500 degrees. steel needs to hit between 1450 and 2000(depending on the steel) to harden. so an oven wont harden..but it can be used to temper the blade after hardening.

for tools you can make a knife with nothing more than a metal file. using a hacksaw to profile the blade helps then use the file to grind the bevels in. with practice this can be fairly quick.

of course additional tools come in handy. target used to carry a rotary tool(think dremel) that came with like 50ish bits, a carry case, a flex shaft, a stand, etc..for $20. i had to buy one to see how it would do....a year later its still working fine. its not nearly as smooth running as my dremels but i use it for the crap work and save the dremels for finer work. if you can buy an occasional cheap tool like this before you know it you will have a collection going.

O1 is a good steel. also 1080 and 1095 are good. very inexpensive and basic when it comes to heat treating....you can use the torch method on them.

my O1 source = www.toolanddie.com
my 1080/1095 source = www.admiralsteel.com
 
Thanks for all the info, folks. I'm primarily interested in shaping my own blades and handles, which is why I was looking for an easy way out of heat treating. From what I've seen it looks like I either have to send it off to be treated or learn to do it myself. (Not really interested in pre-shaped "kit" blades)

Maybe I'll get a little extra steel and make some thing simple to practice my heat treating skills while I send my "real" project off for a pro treatment. Is outsourcing the heat treatment expensive?

Thanks again for the help. I love this board.

LG
 
There is one steel designed to be used without HT but I'm not sure it's still used .It's called H-1 and was used commercially for dive knives. Didn't make the best knive though.
 
Get Wayne Goddard's "50$ Knife Shop"... excellent book and will answer all your questions and then some.

~tmm
 
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