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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  
Old 06-04-2012, 03:22 PM
goldenboy2532 goldenboy2532 is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2012
Posts: 7
Yet another Newb

Hello All. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself and say that I look forward to learning from you all. I just ordered my first sets of steel and am looking for the last few items that I need. Any advice would be much appreciated! A few questions that I have right off of the bat:
1) Do I need to use stabilized wood for the scales?
2) How thick should I buy the wood? I will be doing small 3 inch fixed blade knives to start, but want to make sure that I get appropriate thickness to start.
3) Is there anything I can use for the pins that may be available at home depot or do I need to order the pins? Also, I see a lot of pins are available in 1"... what do I do if my knife is thicker (I do not anticipate this)
4) hardening/tempering.. this confuses me a bit, but I think I have the gist.

Anyways, sorry to ramble... I am looking forward to getting my steel and I hope it comes in time to begin work this weekend. This is going to be a hobby for me as I never plan on selling them. Instead I will make them as gifts to family and friends once my skill level is higher and more consistent.

Thanks Again!
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  #2  
Old 06-04-2012, 03:48 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Welcome to our addiction! I'm sure you'll get along just fine.

1. No, you don't need to use stabilized wood. It makes finishing the handle much easier because all you need to do is buff it but it also makes the scales more expensive. Instead, get some Dymondwood or Pakkawood. These materials are incredibly cheap to buy, very easy to finish (just buff), fairly durable, and some of it looks pretty good too.

2. Standard scales are 3/8" thick. Then you grind them down to whatever you decide you need.

3. You can use almost any kind of rod material from any source for pins. However, I think Loveless bolts work much better than pins. Look them up in your suppliers catalog or website.

4. Ya, we'll get to that. What kind of steel did you buy?


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  #3  
Old 06-04-2012, 04:06 PM
goldenboy2532 goldenboy2532 is offline
 
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I bought three pieces of 1095 1/8" X 1-1/2" X 18". Hopefully the right stuff??
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  #4  
Old 06-04-2012, 04:42 PM
goldenboy2532 goldenboy2532 is offline
 
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I bought three pieces of 1095 1/8" X 1-1/2" X 18". Hopefully the right stuff??
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  #5  
Old 06-04-2012, 05:11 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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OK, 1/8" is good for stock removal but if you're forging I would at least start out with 1/4" and stick with it until you learn hammer control and don't have as many deep dings that have to be ground out. As to the 1095 that's sort of yes/no/maybe. It will depend on the actual chemical make-up of the steel, not typical assay. Some doesn't have high enough manganese in it to quench in oil which means that you'll have to use water or brine. Temperature control is a little more critical than with some other alloys but not nearly as critical as many others. FYI, buying steel in 18" lengths is the expensive way to do it. Buying it in 4-5 foot lengths is cheaper by foot.

When you order again in the future go to Alpha Knife Supply, AKS, and get their 1080 or 1080+, whatever they have in stock. The + indicates that it has just a touch of vanadium in it, in the case of this supplier, it will be easier to heat treat. They also have CruForgV which was made especially for the knife trade. I've not used it but it's supposed to be easy to heat treat but a little more difficult to grind. It's just a more wear resistant steel that grinds more slowly. The New Jersey Steel Baron, aka Aldo Bruno, has some 1084 that also has a touch of vanadium. He may be getting a little low. Another good beginner steel is 5160 and I think that he may have some W1 and/or W2 in thinner sizes that's rather beginner friendly. Anyway, Aldo is also a knife maker and all you need to do is drop him a line and he'll help as much as he can.

On process, hardening makes the steel harder (amazing, that) and tempering removes some of that hardness so the blade won't shatter and I think that's enough metallurgy for now. You might look for some books on knife making, if you haven't done so already. A good reference library is one of the best tools you can get. They will teach you as much metallurgy as you need to know right now to be able to communicate and follow discussions on the boards. You can get more into it later, or not.

Doug


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  #6  
Old 06-04-2012, 05:13 PM
DaveD DaveD is offline
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Where did you get your steel from?
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  #7  
Old 06-04-2012, 06:35 PM
goldenboy2532 goldenboy2532 is offline
 
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Doug,
Thanks for all of the information. That kind I info is exactly what I was hoping to get by joining this forum!

Dave,
I purchased the steel from www.knifemaking.com (hopefully it is ok to put the link here.. If not, mea culpa)
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  #8  
Old 06-04-2012, 06:35 PM
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Eli Jensen Eli Jensen is offline
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Aldo is out of thin stock W2 until late September he said.
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  #9  
Old 06-04-2012, 09:02 PM
rimfire63 rimfire63 is offline
 
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Welcome from one newbie to another!
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  #10  
Old 06-04-2012, 09:28 PM
goldenboy2532 goldenboy2532 is offline
 
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Thanks rimfire! Hopefully our projects will be successful and we can learn from eachothers positive and negative experiences.
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1095, advice, art, at home, blade, easy, fixed blade, forging, handle, hobby, home, hunting knife, knife, knife making, knifemaking, knives, make, materials, newbie, pins, rod, scales, steel, what kind, wood


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