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Making a knife
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Feb 3, 2011 at 1:26 pm #1691978
That bow is something else, love to see it in action.
Feb 3, 2011 at 3:14 pm #1692017Thanks everybody. I'll definately post a few pictures when I start working on a knife (may take a while though).
In the mean time, enjoy some pictures of the old Mora I made earlier. As you can see, the blade has seen quite a lot of (ab)use, but that just made it the perfect blade to experiment on ;)
Feb 3, 2011 at 10:52 pm #1692257Nice work on the knife handle. Not a typical style at all. Looks confortable.
Feb 4, 2011 at 11:20 am #1692438I've seen some excellent chisels a guy made from steel cut from automotive leaf springs. They took an extremely sharp edge and held it. As I recall he had to heat it very hot and let it cool slowly to make it workable, and he had to heat it and quench it when he was done shaping it to make it hard enough to hold an edge. I assume it would make good knives as well.
Feb 4, 2011 at 4:54 pm #1692579I've no experience with D2, my boys have Becker with what Becker calls "CroVan" which looked to be very similar to D2. Never heard anything actually bad about it, except hard and harder to sharpen if the edge is dinged. I finally pulled the trigger on a Ontario RAT 7 in 1095 because it was a cosmetic 2nd and I saved a bundle. Not out too much if it doesn't work out. And, being not has hard, less difficulty regrinding by hand.
The biggest issue for me is getting a consistent bevel, especially when I try to make a shallower angle. Whether I want a convex bevel or not, seem to end up with one. I have a Lansky-type sharpener, (oh, and actually have a Lansky kit sitting on my desk right now – clean, paid $2.00.) that is well used, but problematic on
large knifes for me.For re-grinds I'm going to make a super-sized Edge-Pro type sharpener to play with. Once I get it right, usually don't have more than tweaking once in a while.
Feb 4, 2011 at 11:49 pm #1692712> steel cut from automotive leaf springs.
That would be a very high carbon steel. Despite all the interesting modern steels (which do have their place), well-tempered old-fashioned carbon steel still has huge potential.
I have a Brades (UK) machete, hand-forged around 1900 I imagine. Back of the blade is about 6 mm thick. I have shaved with it after a gentle sharpening, and I have cut open 44 gal steel drums with it. Cutting open the drums did not seem to affect the sharpness of the edge. But leave it in the rain, and it will rust fast.
Cheers
PS: I do use modern HSS-Co steel for machine tools on the lathe and the mill. That's unreal stuff as well, but it can shatter if seriously mistreated.Feb 5, 2011 at 12:11 am #1692715One of the primary steels people seek when using leaf springs from big trucks for knife making is 5160. It's easy to work with, and extremely tough stuff. It's my personal fav.
Here's my most recent acquisition in 5160, made from leaf springs by Bura the Royal Kami of Nepal. ;)
Feb 5, 2011 at 12:22 am #1692716While I'm showing off, here's some more Nepalese 5160 awesomeness:
Feb 5, 2011 at 1:55 am #1692722Love the sword but I'm really drooling over the Kukris!
Feb 5, 2011 at 9:52 am #1692824re. the Brades (UK) machete, there were some ledgendary steels made back then, they are still trying to reproduce, could cut steel and still be razor sharp.
And how do those big beauties hold up, chopping stuff?Feb 5, 2011 at 9:56 am #1692827When I was younger, a friend's dad used to make knifes using discarded blades from a slaughterhouse. No clue as to whether that's still a viable source, nor the quality of the metal, but it might be worth a shot.
Feb 5, 2011 at 10:01 am #1692833Hey Javan, remind me never to question you questioning Dan Mchale. And you can call me Mr.Ure.
Those are some big knives. Makes my Fallkniven F1 look puny.
Feb 5, 2011 at 10:30 am #1692845Cheers David! :)
Ziff, if you're asking about how the Khuks handle chopping well, the M43 on the bottom there has taken down a number of frozen 12-18" diameter oaks this winter, if that gives you an indication. I've never sharpened it, only burnished the edge, it won't shave anymore, but it still did after the first one.
FWIW we had a huge storm last winter here that broke the tops off many trees, so they're dying, some in very hazardous ways, so I'm not just out terrorizing the leafy people for no reason. ;)
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