good metals to make knives from?

M

manwithnoname

Joined
Nov 29, 2006
Messages
6
I am looking to find a good source for cheap or free steel to use for making knives..... Because I am not a metallurgist I dont know how to determine carbon content or metal properties... I have been welding for 10 years and have been tinkering with knife blacksmithing .... in our shop we have lots of scrap ie; stainless, mild, and other types of steel as well as non ferrous metals.... I know of the grinding "spark" test, and hardness testing with files and or center punching. what i really want to know is what scrap materials usually have good properties....ie; old leaf springs,files,cold chisels ect.... for knife making...... how do i test them before wasting my effort on a peice that will not hold a good edge?
 
Best to buy known steels, W2, 1084, W1, 1095, 5160 etc. But if you must use scrap, leaf springs, old files and old large saw blades are all good.
 
You might want to try chainsaw chains, old lawn more blades, and broken teeth from backhoe buckets etc.
 
Broken teeth from buckets [grousers] are sometimes made of Hadfield steel .That won't be good for knives.
 
There is a simple test to determine if you have carbon steel or not. Use the cutting torch and heat about 2" on one end until nonmagnetic and quench in water. Next put it in the vice and try to snap it in two. If it is high enough carbon steel to hold an edge it will easily break.
 
I forge a lot of coil spring in 5/8" & 3/4" dia. Been pounding it for 3 or 4 years with good results,very respectable blades.Most junkyards and repair shops will give you broken/replaced spring.
I'm new around here also & learning the rules.Will purchase makers membership soon as I have a few bucks to spare.Look forward to sharing info & feedback on my pieces.
Good luck and have fun!
 
thanks to all.... I will try some of the listed metals and post some pics of the stuff I don't mangle.... (I want to learn on scrap.... maybe when I am more confident I'll go buy some good steel)
 
If you want cheap steel to practice forging techniques or grinding techniques, just get plain old mild steel. if you are looking to make a heat treated knife, get a known steel, I would suggest 1075, 1095, or W2 to start. when you break it down, none of these steels should be more than $1.00 for a hunter/utility, especially if you are forging. When you play with an unknown steel, you may encounter unseen cracks that can show up later, and problems with hardening and tempering(what temp do you need?) not to mention that you can save much more than a dollar or two in finding steel that is the right size for your project instead of forging down a large spring, or spending time and belts grinding off teeth, rust, and other impurities that you don't want to pound into your steel.

Good luck
Ken
 
Yeah, don't sweat the price of steel- six feet of 1095 from www.admiralsteel.com totalled me $21, including shipping, and that's how I got started. That six feet lasted me about a year.

Somewhere during that year I probably lost a twenty dollar bill under the couch... same amount of money.

Likewise, I know for sure that sometime during that year I picked up the tab at lunch with a friend. Badabing, twenty bucks.

What I'm saying is, it's well worth the small cash outlay in terms of right size, right shape (1/8" x 1"), no rust, pure, and you can look up what to do with it.

Heck, even if you don't want to look up what to do with it, you can get on here and say "Hey, I've got some 1095 and I'm trying to make it do x, but it won't, what's wrong?"

If you try "Hey, I've got some mystery metal and I'm trying to make it do x, but it won't, what's wrong?", the answer you'll get is "First step, go buy some known steel..." That's the answer, promise.

In fact, if you want a foot or so of 1080, just send me a postage-paid envelope. It's affordable stuff, I'll give it to you for Christmas. :):)

Mike
mscantrell at gmail.com
 
MSCantrell said:
Yeah, don't sweat the price of steel- six feet of 1095 from www.admiralsteel.com totalled me $21, including shipping, and that's how I got started. That six feet lasted me about a year.

mscantrell at gmail.com
Click to expand...

They ship that in a box? Right to your house? Hmmmm this may be easier than I thought!
I have been going over to my grandfathers house and he has almost everything that I could ever need! I am going to try some stock removal first then move on to hot work!

/ps I work in the steel industry (mostly just A36 grade A, .2 carbon is to low :( ) and I cant get prices like that buying at company cost! Those guys are great!+:cool:
 
Also ask the auto shops for old timing chains & head bolts. The newer cars head bolts have to be replaced every time they are removed, they are some kind of spring steel.
Leon Pugh
 
manwithnoname said:
I am looking to find a good source for cheap or free steel to use for making knives..... Because I am not a metallurgist I dont know how to determine carbon content or metal properties... I have been welding for 10 years and have been tinkering with knife blacksmithing .... in our shop we have lots of scrap ie; stainless, mild, and other types of steel as well as non ferrous metals.... I know of the grinding "spark" test, and hardness testing with files and or center punching. what i really want to know is what scrap materials usually have good properties....ie; old leaf springs,files,cold chisels ect.... for knife making...... how do i test them before wasting my effort on a peice that will not hold a good edge?
Click to expand...

I've been playing with some old circular saw blades (skill saw) for shapes, etc.
Ive been getting some interesting shapes and about 4-5 decent blades (hidden tang) per circle.

I've done nice work with lawn mower and edger blades that were saved for me. An old carpenter's square that was bent from true was an excellent source.

Broken industrial hack saw blades found for acouple bucks at a pawn shop produced blades that take/keep wicked sharp edges (retempered/hardened) produced a blade that I made for a friend who said that he skinned 5 rabbits before he had to touch up the edge.

Hell, I found some scrap out in a field that did well! `Course I enjoy making stuff from scratch that works out to be 100% recycled materials.

Explore and have fun!

Jim L.
 
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