I am trying to find 3 pieces of knife steel for a pair of wood working marking knives and a veneer knife. The knife blanks need to be approximately 1/8" x 5/8" x 7". I have found several sources for O-1, A-2, 1095, etc... But it is all annealed already. I dont have the capability to heat treat so I was hoping to get 3 pieces already heat treated and grind the blades myself. I know it will be a bugger to grind them but it would be the easiest method for me.

Here is what the knives I need look like.


They are gound in a mirror pattern of each other so that one is right handed and the other left handed. The veneer knife with a bevel on each side of the blade like normal knife blade.

Does anyone know of a source for heat treated steel like I am describing? Or any possible suggestions?

Just a thought, but you could try using a file, it will be a bastard to grind, but is already heat treated and hardened. I make knifes out of them fairly regularly, but some can be a bit brittle, you may end up losing 25% to breakage during remanufacture.
Might be worth a try, if you cannot come up with an alternate source?
Another thought is power hacksaw blades, but they are brittle, and usually do not tolerate much flexing
Surely there is a knifemaking supplier who could help? If all else fails PM me and I will give you my list of suppliers here in OZ, who may be able to hook you up with someone in the USA.

Cheers, Dave.

quote:

Another thought is power hacksaw blades, but they are brittle,

A High Speed Steel (HSS) sawblade was my first thought as well. Gives a very sharp edge. The problem with hacksaw blades is that they sometimes are not HSS-steel throughout; the edge is HSS but not always the back.

I have some blades made from a circular saw-blade in HSS steel that is very nice. If you know someone in a workshop it is worth asking...

Regards,
Martin

Some people use bandsaw blades--the really big ones from steel mills. They make the knife without heat treating it as the bandsaw blades are made to be resharpened. Your little knife you want is available through Lee Valley tools, it would be a lot easier than making one. I understand the impulse to make things though, I just annealed an old file in my wood burning furnace last night. Since you are a wood worker I might also ask you--Do you know a cheap source for two cherries carving chisels (made in Germany)

The chef

Bill,

For what you want to do you can easily heat treat also. I'd buy some 1095 stock orget an old file and do what calgarychef did, stick it in a wood fire overnight. Then grind it out how you want it. Then heat it to a cherry red (if you don't know what that is right now just heat it until a magnet will not stick to it, that color will be cherry red) and quench it in oil. Motor oil is fine, used oil works OK too but make sure there is no water in the bottom of the bucket.

At any rate, heat it up and put it in the pot of oil. Make sure you go straight down or you run the risk of it warping. If it does warp heat it up and lightly tap it straight and try again. You should be able to heat it with a propane torch for the size you are looking at. To heat bigger stuff you can make a small oven by taking 2 bricks, the softer the better, and carve 2 hollows in them so it looks like a hot dog mould, then carve a hole in the middle of one side and point the flame of the torch in there.

Anyway, after the blade is hardened, it will have a battleship grey sort of look. Polish it off with some sandpaper so it is shiny and then heat it with the torch until it turns a "straw yellow" color. That's it in a nutshell. Oh, the hardening and tempering should follow each other pretty closely, within the hour.

You'll find it much easier and a lot faster to anneal, grind out your chisel, and harden & temper than it would be to try grinding something that you can't overheat at any point.

Oh, regarding grinding- keep a can of water that you dip the tool into all the time. If you keep it wet you will know when it is getting too hot because you can see the water heat up and boil off the blade.

M1

I would recommend that you get the correct knife steel for your project. It will be easier to cut and shape like you want. It will save you in time and cost of materials. Then send it to Texas Knifemaking Supply and have them heat treat it to the hardness that you want. I think they only charge about $5.00 per blade.
Just my opinion.

James

I was lucky enough to find a member who will do the heat treat for me. Now I need to order the steel and get busy making them.

I know it would a lot easier to just buy the knives, but it wouldnt be nearly as much fun. I do a lot of woodworking with hand tools and I reall enjoy making my own tools when I can. And this is one of those times. Plus I can make the handles to fit me perfectly and use the handle material of my choice.

Mark I would love to know what you know about tempering,is there a video or book about how to temper all kinds of steel?Drop-Shot

Mark, what do you think about forging file steel? The file I have is purty thick and I think it would make a nice big knife if I forged down the edge a little before the stock removal. I don't have the equipment for intricate forging but I could definately thin it a little as well as making the blade a little larger.

thanks

the chef