Scrap blades repurposed for wood carving knife

A

aaronacj

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Dec 28, 2014
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Made my first "knife", really just a small wood carving knife. I was going to buy one at the store but i figured i could simply make one with an old hacksaw blade. I finished and haven't had any time to try it out but its pretty sharp, I used my Tormek t-3 with the knife sharpening attachment to sharpen it (i'm a wood turner).

My question is, is this a good metal to hold an edge? if not is there anything readily available that i could use? I was tempted to use a chisel made of HSS that i don't use, but its $100 chisel i figured i would save it for when i know what i am doing.

Here are some pics:

I didn't really polish the blade to much, the handle is some scrap curly walnut and brass and its about 6 inches long.

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I don't really like the idea of re-purposing steel from leaf springs, chisels, hacksaw blades, etc... When you think about how cheap "known" bladesteel costs, and the amount of time you're going to spend working it, it's just not worth it. I would get some high carbon steel from NJ steel Baron- 1084, 1095, or 0-1 if you were determined to make your own. 1084 if you wanted to heat treat yourself.

You might also just look at getting a Flexcut carving knife. Unless you're really into making these things you'll probably spend less, over time, just getting one of those. They have replaceable blades and are made for carving.
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
I don't really like the idea of re-purposing steel from leaf springs, chisels, hacksaw blades, etc... When you think about how cheap "known" bladesteel costs, and the amount of time you're going to spend working it, it's just not worth it. I would get some high carbon steel from NJ steel Baron- 1084, 1095, or 0-1 if you were determined to make your own. 1084 if you wanted to heat treat yourself.

You might also just look at getting a Flexcut carving knife. Unless you're really into making these things you'll probably spend less, over time, just getting one of those. They have replaceable blades and are made for carving.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the direction on steel, I will be buying some 1084.

I was hoping to find a known steel that works for small blades that doesn't require any significant work other than sharpening.
 
I've used a lot of nice carving knives made of hacksaw and bandsaw blades. Were they premium knives, no. They tended to need to be stropped often but for playing around with blade geometry and especially making a knife to perform a very specific function.

Yeah, you can probably buy decent knives for the time you'd spend, but sometimes it's just plain fun to make your own. Even better, buy the blades and make your own custom handles.

If you want to play with making carving knives, go for it! it's how a few knifemakers I know got their start.

There are also a few places that will sell you the blade so you can make your own custom handle.

Buying 1084 will require shaping, hardening, and tempering. Not difficult, especially for such a small blade, but it does add some variability to the mix.

Just my $.02
 
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