Where to get steel?

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notupperwareplease

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I know a little about knives, own just a couple, but I was thinking about taking up bladesmithing.

I've got a pretty good guide and a lot of info on how to go about doing it from Bladeforums...but where is a good place to get steel? Nothing fancy...just O1 or something...would Home Depot or Lowe's have this? I couldn't find anything matching on either webpage.

Thanks.
 
as far as i know home depot or lowes doesnt carry anything suitable for knives.

for tool steel including O1 my favorite source is www.toolanddie.com i havent found better prices than them yet. they carry two lines and each has different prices...so make sure you compare them for your size

for stainless and high carbon steels i like www.admiralsteel.com

if you just wanted a small piece and didnt want to pay shipping on it look in your phone book for steel suppliers. many of them will carry O1, A2, D2, etc. but their prices are higher than mail order (at least from my experiences)
 
1)So should I buy oversize and layer it (two layers=1/4" blade) or buy drill rods? and hammer them into the right shape?

2) Is there a way to cut the steel w/o using any sophisticated tools?

thanks
 
at this point i am doing strictly stock removal so hopefully someone with more forging experience will come along and answer..

i would avoid layering steel unless you are trying to do a damascus or san mai design. anytime you fold steel you have the chance of not getting a good weld or impurities caught in the weld...no point in risking this if you dont have to. from what ive read and seen many forgers start with drill rod or a thick piece of flat stock then hammer in the bevels. alot of it depends on your design...doing something with integral bolsters will be easier with drill rod, etc.

as for cutting the steel...you can get an angle grinder from harbor freight for about $20 and you can use it to cut and rough out your blades. if you are forging you can heat up the point you want cut and chisel through it. you can use an abrasive cut off wheel in a table saw or circular saw too.

for suppliers i forgot to mention the knife supply houses. their prices ownt be as good as toolanddie or admiral but they carry other stuff you may need too

www.jantzsupply.com www.kovalknives.com (now owned by jantz) www.texasknife.com www.knifeandgun.com www.sheffieldsupply.com
 
Texas Knife seems to have a fairly good deal going w/ their 5160...I think I'm going to buy about 3' of that for starters....

Should I go ahead and buy more?

Should I buy the 5160, or should I buy the 1/8" ones?

The guide I'm going buy says to go w/ 1/4" thick...I have a 5" Kabar and a 3.5" Gerber, and neither is that thick...am I fine w/ just an 1/8?
 
you can use...


old truck leaf springs
files
lawn mower blades
any type of former blade i.e. saw blades and old yard shears
railroad spikes (i think)

or you could just buy some but that is what i have done.
 
I think I'm going to buy the 5160...I don't have any of that other stuff lying around...and the nearest junkyard to go get old leafsprings, between the actual cost and gas money, it'd be cheaper to just buy some stock.

OK, one last question and I'll stop annoying you guys :rolleyes:

When I make the "blueprint" or w/e you want to call it...the outline for the blade...how do I go about doing it? Can I just heat it up, then hot cut it in before letting it anneal? Or do I have to cut/file it out before I anneal?

Thanks
 
Actually you can buy fantastic steel online for not a lot of money.

Starrett tool company of Athol Mass, sells small bars and flats of top notch steel for really not much money. Here is O-1

http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/cgdr_cgfs.cfm

Near the bottom you can see 1/4" x 2" by 18" goes for about 42 bucks. (shop around you may find it for less) but that would be about 21 bucks a knive for a bigger knife, and if you cut it right maybe 3 or 4 blades. Now this is not a chunk of cut off that is supposed to be 0-1, this is vacuum degassed, annealed and ground real tool steel. I use this and others a lot for making jigs and fixtures that are then heat treated to prevent wear.

This is D-2 makes fantastic blades but is a royal bugger to machine. IF you get someone who knows the tooling to use to cut it, it can be fashioned into perhaps the best knife blades. I have only used it a bit and it seems to need a plasma cutter or EDM to cut it. I need to learn more about it and how to cut it and grind it as i want to make some shaper knives out of it for cutting teak.


two more sources

http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/N2DRVSH?SISHNO=1408692&SISRCH=1&SIS0NO=287998&SIT4NO=8046429&SIOR=3

http://www.jlindustrial.com/endeca/searchResults.jsp?N=3895+4294966603


I have no connection to any of the above buy I used to buy a lot of J&L when they had a local warehouse, and I have bought a lot from MSC over the years too.

There are several forum dedicated to knife making and tool making. I prefer a knife that is VERY tough and keeps its edge well so if i am scribing a line and I hit a nail I will not chip an edge. I can get most steels very sharp very fast with either a diamond plate or silicon carbide wet or dry paper on a glass plate. I prefer a knife that is nearly unbreakable and will stay sharp as long as possible over one that is easier sharpened.
 
For a beginner 5160 is about the best choice as it can be heat treated and forged easily and makes a good serviceble blade.
 
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