Knife making

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DL.
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Knife making

#1 Post by DL. »

Would I be able to get two knives out of this old file?

It's made in Sheffield, but is there a way to know if the grade of steel is adequate for repurposing into a knife/knives?

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snayperskaya
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Re: Knife making

#2 Post by snayperskaya »

If you put "making a knife out of old file" into Google it's amazing how much comes up so I'd say the steel is up to it.
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Re: Knife making

#3 Post by Alpha1 »

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Re: Knife making

#4 Post by Pippin89 »

I make knifes as a side line hobby and sometimes a bit of a business. Files are usually pretty good. I have made a couple from used Farrier Rasps. Whether you can make 2 from a single file is really up to what knifes you are making and whether you are forging or stock removing. Obviously there is far less waste with forging but its easier to lay out and plan the use of material with stock removal. If you want to do stock removal you also have the option of whether you want to anneal it, make it and then re-heat treat it. Or you could keep it cool while making it and keep the heat treatment that it already has. I would not suggest the later. Removing hardened material is not fun in the slightest. But if you don't have the facilities to heat treat and just want to make a one off then it could be a way to do it....
Lampuki
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Re: Knife making

#5 Post by Lampuki »

I made a couple out of files! Good fun but pretty useless, couldn’t get a decent edge and it wouldn’t hold either. A forge would have helped.
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kennyc
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Re: Knife making

#6 Post by kennyc »

Lampuki wrote:I made a couple out of files! Good fun but pretty useless, couldn’t get a decent edge and it wouldn’t hold either. A forge would have helped.
Unless you were using completely the wrong material you weren't getting the heat treat right, I have made a few and never had a problem with edge or retention even on a 5mm thick Damascus blade, although I did have to fire up the BBQ with charcoal and use a hairdryer to get the blade hot enough to treat
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Re: Knife making

#7 Post by Ovenpaa »

As above, heat treatment is king. Ideally, you need a HT oven and they are actually quite easy to make, I have a feeling I have written on here a bit about the one I made. Knife making was always at the back of my mind when we installed the surface grinder a while ago :)
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Re: Knife making

#8 Post by Lampuki »

kennyc wrote:
Lampuki wrote:I made a couple out of files! Good fun but pretty useless, couldn’t get a decent edge and it wouldn’t hold either. A forge would have helped.
Unless you were using completely the wrong material you weren't getting the heat treat right, I have made a few and never had a problem with edge or retention even on a 5mm thick Damascus blade, although I did have to fire up the BBQ with charcoal and use a hairdryer to get the blade hot enough to treat
It will be the heat treat without a doubt!

Cheers
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