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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need. |
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#1
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Knife Steel
Has anyone worked with 1018 or A36? I found a very resonably priced place in town and that is what they carry in stock.
__________________ Jayson H Bucy "Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to" - Arnold H. Glascow |
#2
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Jayson, 1018 and A36 is classed as mild steel. You wont be able to harden it enough to make a good blade. It is great for practice, for making guards etc. You need at least a 1050-1060 to make a decent blade. My 2 cents.
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#3
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I agree Jayson, shoot Kelly Cupples an email for good 10xx steel. For knives anything from 1050 through 1095 is going to be fine.
Here is his email: octihunter@charter.net Great guy to work with and excellent prices. Not tomention free shipping on orders over $50 __________________ Cap Hayes See my knives @ knives.caphayes.com This quote pains me: -- "Strategically placed blood grooves control blood spray in covert deanimation activities." -- |
#4
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I second Kelly great prices and and selection and very helpful. Plus the free shipping helps on orders over $50 helps.
Mike |
#5
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what about 304 stainless?
__________________ Jayson H Bucy "Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to" - Arnold H. Glascow |
#6
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You will want to stay out of the 300 series as it is none hardenable, like the others it makes good bolsters but not a good blade.
In stainless go with at least 440C, you can make blades out of 420-440B but not good ones. Jim __________________ I cook with a flair for the dramatic, and depraved indifference to calories |
#7
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Thank you all very much for the information. I think I need to read up on my metalurgy a bit more. I'll contact Kelly and Jantz is just down the road so I will check with them as well. Thanks again.
__________________ Jayson H Bucy "Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to" - Arnold H. Glascow |
#8
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I would stay away from the stainless as it requires certain temps for certain period of time unless you send it out for heat treat. Just my 2 cents.
Mike |
#9
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Jayson, you can get a good selection of small bars from Jantz, they are a little pricey if you look at it by the pound, but not too bad if you're just experimenting and don't want to buy a lot of something you might not like working with.
Mike is right about stainless, but I'll add that I've been thinking more about switching to it and just sending out the blades. The learning curve is not quite as harsh, since you don't have to worry as much about breaking the blade during heat treat and they come back straight so you don't have to worry about warpage as much as you do with carbon steel. I think TKS does stainless for $4 per blade, not bad insurance if you ask me. __________________ Cap Hayes See my knives @ knives.caphayes.com This quote pains me: -- "Strategically placed blood grooves control blood spray in covert deanimation activities." -- |
#10
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Jayson, I'd stick with 10 series steels and would not use anything under 1070 for regular knives. I could see going down to 1050 and maybe 1045 for some heavy choppers if you don't mind sharpening a lot, but unless I was making swords or axes, I probably not go below 1060. From studying info on steel, I'd leave W1 alone because it's carbon content is all over the map, from 60 points to over 100 points, and you would have to relearn how to heat treat each new batch. It is also hard to find in flat bars. 5160 and 9260 are also possibilities. I would also stay away from air temporing steels to start off with for no other reason than expence, if nothing else. Dido for stainless. When you are starting out, either in forging or stock removal, you are going to make some knife shaped paper weights (read ruined blades). It's far better, and easier on the pocketbook, to mess up a $1 piece of steel than a $5 piece of steel. Some of the more complex steel alloys are also harder to heat treat and could require you to send them out for hardening and temporing, at least until you can get the money together to buy the equiptment to do it yourself.
There are some "sticky's" on the boards here that deal with steel sellection and characteristics and there are other places on the web to get the information, you'll just have to look. A book you would do well to get is Wayne Goddard's $50 Knive Shop. Plenty of good info for the beginner whether you are interested in forging or stock removal. Doug Lester |
#11
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Contacted Kelly and on his recommendation I am getting some 1080 and then I also want to get some 1095 as well. I think over all I am going to end up with 240" worth of material to meet the minimum which the wife and I figured out to be just over $1 per 6" knife on metal, which is pretty darn good in my book. Now if all of those knives turn out okay I'll be really happy and if they don't...it's all good learning right? Plus I might even make one with a file for the practice...have to admit that scares me though.
__________________ Jayson H Bucy "Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to" - Arnold H. Glascow |
#12
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Once you've made a knife or two from a good piece of blade steel where you knew what it was when you started and exactly how to heat treat it, where it was annealed and clean and flat when you bought it, and when you realize how much money you SAVED by buying that steel over trying to process and old file into a knife, you'll wonder why you even considered it ...
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#13
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Kelly gave you a good start with 1080, I have ordered 1080 and 1084 from him and I'm happy with both. It will be a little more forgiving to you than the 1095, although in small knives it probably won't make a big difference. I think you'll be pleased with the results.
__________________ Cap Hayes See my knives @ knives.caphayes.com This quote pains me: -- "Strategically placed blood grooves control blood spray in covert deanimation activities." -- |
#14
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I never even thought about annealing because I was originally looking at Jantz and their bar stock is pre-annealed. I'm not even sure how to anneal...looks like I will be studying a little bit more.
__________________ Jayson H Bucy "Live so that your friends can defend you but never have to" - Arnold H. Glascow |
#15
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304 was mentioned for bolsters, I hate the stuff. shear hell on drillbits and lots of cutting fliud. For stainles bolsters I still like 440c. Not that expensive and looks coll if you peen it on with mild steel pins then throw some bluing on it. Most folks tr to hide the pin But that big black dot or dots mixed in a pool of stainless seems to be liked a time or two.
__________________ tame birds sing of freedom,,,,Free birds just fly. http://neotribalartist.freeforum.ca |
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blade, forge, forging, knife, knife making, knives |
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