The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need. |
12-09-2013, 02:35 PM
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Steel Addict
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: High Point, NC
Posts: 196
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I will add that the mild Home Depot/Lowes steel can make for nice practice blades (save money while trying) as long as the grinder understands that they will never become a knife but can be used as a pattern if you like that shape and would like to repete it.
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12-09-2013, 03:00 PM
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Founding Member / Moderator
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
Posts: 9,840
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I'd argue against mild steel for practice on the basis of saving money, to me that's a false economy. Mild steel at my local hardware stores costs as much or more than 1084. You use the the same belts, supplies, and time to do the grinding but you completely eliminate any possibility of making a real knife if the blade you create turns out to be especially nice. And, if you decide to keep it as a pattern 1084 is just as good for that as mild steel. My mom would have called that penny wise and dollar foolish ....
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12-09-2013, 04:57 PM
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Hall of Famer
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Decatur, IL
Posts: 2,612
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Also part of making a knife is learning how to heat treat and you can't heat treat the mild steel. Those first blades that we hammer out are great for that. Most are good enough to use but not to give away. They make fine blades to test to destruction and to learn heat treating you are going to have to break some blades.
Doug
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If you're not making mistakes then you're not trying hard enough
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12-10-2013, 04:09 AM
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Moderator
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Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Acworth, GA and/or Hanging Dog, NC
Posts: 3,584
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Hear! Hear!
You cannot learn to master a blade steel without working with that steel. You will expend "X" amount of time/effort learning to get it right with that steel. You are adding considerable T/E to the learning curve just to learn a small portion of what goes into making a reasonably good article of cutlery. The heart of a quality blade is thermal cycling and edge geometry, all else is incidental comfort, ergonomics and esthetics. These you will modify many times as you learn. Get the thermal cycle issues worked out and you most likely not change them, making that a constant to work from.
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Carl Rechsteiner, Bladesmith
Georgia Custom Knifemakers Guild, Charter Member
Knifemakers Guild, voting member
Registered Master Artist - GA Council for the Arts
C Rex Custom Knives
Blade Show Table 6-H
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12-10-2013, 07:15 AM
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Steel Addict
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Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: High Point, NC
Posts: 196
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Ray, I do see your point and after further reflection I have to agree. I was looking at like I had some weld steel in the shop, which I did.
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1084, 5160, advice, bee, blacksmithing, blade, blades, carbon, easy, forge, heat, heat treat, home, knife, knife making, knife supply, knifemaking, knives, made, make, man, noob, post, steel, supply |
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