Knives made from files

The particular one I recall, I heat treated it poorly and it broke when dropped on a concrete floor. I hadn’t completed the handle yet.

But I look forward to seeing what’s posted, good thread idea. Who knows, maybe I’ll get inspired again.

Parker
 
I have a good Bowie made by Tom Goodpasture from a file, also two from RW Fred, and some Anzas. sorry cannot find the old pics to show you.
 
Some people say that old files were good for making knives (because the material was high carbon steel all the way through, homogeneus), but new files (recently made, that is) are not suitable. They say that they are only hardenable on the outside (a few thouhsands) and the core is a non hardenable lesser carbon content steel.

I have no idea if this is true or not.

HOWEVER, I guess that with all the steel stock available in pieces suitable for knife making (thin slabs for stock removal) is not worth trying to make a knife out of unknown material. For some change you can get a piece of known steel, with a known heat threat procedure, etc. At least in the US. Here in Spain is a bit harder to find it, but still worth the effort.

I have always used leaf spring material (new, from a leaf spring shop that let me buy some pieces of the thinnest stock they had at the time, annealed).

Mikel
 
Aside from novelty, I don't see the point of making knife from files.

It is not faster or easier than modern stock removal.

If older files are better, then you are wasting quality tools that could be used for other jobs, that sometimes they want high quality tools as well. Just a waste.
 
Deino said:
Aside from novelty, I don't see the point of making knife from files.

It is not faster or easier than modern stock removal.

If older files are better, then you are wasting quality tools that could be used for other jobs, that sometimes they want high quality tools as well. Just a waste.
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I think a lot of it is driven by people having/inheriting piles of old files that they have no other use for. Even if they have to acquire them, they likely buy them at pawn shops and the like for a little bit of nothing.

Older files may have been made better, but much like knives, they can be rendered ineffective at their jobs by years of use/abuse/neglect.

I don't think it's a waste for people to take something that's not being used or looked at as trash/scrap and turn it into something that someone will value. Better than letting them rust away in grandpa's shed.
 
Mikel_24 said:
HOWEVER, I guess that with all the steel stock available in pieces suitable for knife making (thin slabs for stock removal) is not worth trying to make a knife out of unknown material. For some change you can get a piece of known steel, with a known heat threat procedure, etc… I have always used leaf spring material (new, from a leaf spring shop that let me buy some pieces of the thinnest stock they had at the time, annealed).
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It ain’t always about the price, laddie. Sometimes it’s about the challenge, about learning something new about old steel, about the look on your buddy’s face when you hand him a knife made from the worn out springs off his uncle’s old truck, about imagining you have something in common with smiths of old, when men were bold, and the Bowie was first invented.

Sometimes it’s about having more time than money, or being in a place where old steel is common and new steel is scarce, or wondering “will new steel always be available in small retail quantities?”

I’ve used junkyard leaf spring steel myself, but my current favorite is L6-ish sawblade steel.

Parker
 
There are probably eight or nine Anza knives on my shelf, including one I bought just a week or so ago. I have been a fan for about forty years, long before I developed a more general enthusiasm for knives. Some I carry. A couple of others fill out Moto tool kits.

Many Anzas have file work on the spine in a sort of self-referential pun that calls to mind Asimov’s self-repairing robots, or Kirby self-polishing vacuum cleaners.

Michael Morris also makes some nice file knives, particularly his friction folders.
 
It is nice to make something useful out of a used/worn out file, something cool about the whole process, but also reminds me of those who had the skills to make a knife long ago when steel was not always plentiful and they used what they had on the farm. Kudos to those who used their ingenuity and skills to make something they needed. There is something awesome about It.
 
K.O.D. said:
This is a one-off design from Warpath Strategies I bought last summer at the GAKC show in St. Louis. I've yet to use it.

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It's quite thin behind the edge for what it's made of. The maker said it took a significantly higher hardness that what he expected.

I bought it in a whim, knowing full well that it won't get much use as I'm not a fixed blade guy and my days of camping are probably behind me. It's been 11 years since I went camping etc.
 
Sounds like you’re ready to rediscover the joys of camping any weekend now. Just try to refrain from going all bushcrafty on us.

Parker
 
Here is a Slip Joint I made around 20 years ago for my wife. It has had many sharpenings as you can see.
The Blade is made from a File, you may need to zoom in to see it.
IMG_20230807_180933390.jpg
This knife is about 3 inches closed and 5 and a half open.
 
Does a Kiridashi count?
Made for a KITH giveaway some years ago in the UK so I no longer have it.

Half round file & firewood olive wood.
32C2F12F-3EB1-4E1A-B7FC-17697E5A36A8.jpeg

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755DCBDC-0888-49B9-9C5C-F2AF8F117105.jpeg

This was actually comfortable in the hand, held like a pen/pencil.

07968DE4-B84E-4471-8BEA-3D067093CA90.jpeg

I made another fixed blade file knife given to a friend that I've lost the images of, will get him to send me some.
 
I have made some knives from scraped files before. (nothing pretty)

It was impossible to find new 1095 or similar steel so the files were a good option. I softened, shaped, annealed and tempered them and they work OK as knives, though you end up with a thick blade.

As mentioned you need to find older files, or make sure that they are made from the same high quality material throughout.
There is a way, seeing how they spark with a grinding wheel, that gives you an indication of whether they are fully high carbon steel.

It is a fun activity, though the more equipment you have the easier it will be.
 
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