View Full Version : budget knifemaking from an old file
I wanted to make a knife from an old file and also to try to keep the cost down as much as possible. I did have a lot of wood scraps and the gasbottle forge already and I did have the tools and leather, but I tried to use scraps and bits that were left over.
Chopping up the file, I found the file at a scrap yard and had thrown it into a fire some months before to takethe temper out of it.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file1.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file2.jpg
Shaping the file a bit more, it was a fairly thick piece of metal.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file4.jpg
Then heat treating the blade.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file5.jpg
I used some 2p pieces as the bolsters, I should have checked but one was all copper, the other was copper covered steel.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file6a.jpg
I was using some offcuts of wood we'd gathered over the year for various projects and some birchbark I'd got from Hopetoun House near the Forth to make the handle. It was the first time I'd tried birchbark and had under estimated the amount needed, but the extra space was easily taken up by the wood.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file6.jpg
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file7.jpg
This is the knife done so far.. I plan to oil the wood and bark. I assume/hope the bark wont go too soft with oil...
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file9.jpg
The sheath was from a bit of B&Q lat, split in half and hollowed out. I wanted to use only a few bits of scrap leather, so this worked fine. I plan to wax the wood and leather later on. There'll probably be a bit of cord to wrap in between the two leather bands.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/file8.jpg
:notworthy :D
That's excellent John :D , very well done, and thanks for sharing.
atb,
M
Ogri the trog
15-12-2008, 10:14
Fantastic work John,
especially when you've only used hand tools!
I've made a few using old files but now I'll be trying a wooden sheath - that looks great too.
ATB
Ogri the trog
Thanks, I hope to use an old saw blade for an ulu and a kitchen knife later in the new year. Not so sure on the steel type though.
very skillfull and a very nice result!
Excellent work! How did you cut the holes in the 2p pieces?
IntrepidStu
15-12-2008, 17:16
Thank you John. Excellent work, as all your projects are mate.
Stu
bushyboo
15-12-2008, 18:48
lovely knife
I started one a while back and its been on the back burner ever since
You have just inspired me to get working on it again thanks:You_Rock_
Gordon
Grooveski
15-12-2008, 19:05
Brilliant. That's really nice, a class act. :)
Used to use 2ps sometimes when hanging gates and big doors if they were too heavy for nylon and squeaky using steel. Was a handy alternative when you ran out of at-hand options.
Thats a great post John, I really like the knife I think it looks really good, nice idea for the sheath too. all in all mate a top job.
All the best.
Excellent work! How did you cut the holes in the 2p pieces?
I drilled a 3mm hole in the middle and used a small square file to shape it.
Thanks for the comments...
robin wood
15-12-2008, 22:13
Nice one. There is nothing like using a tool you made yourself.
Nice work. The birchbark will end up with a lovely, warm velvety feel after oiling.
I'm suprised you found a copper 2p, the ones I've tried were all coated steel.
You should have weighed that copper 2p in, must be worth about 5p in scrap value ..... and before anyone says anything bah humbug :bluThinki
The 2p at the front when I drilled and ovalled the edges appeared to be copper all the way through, the one at the back was just a layer of copper.
launditch1
16-12-2008, 16:39
Beautiful knife there.As for the 2p's..pre 1970 coins are all copper.Just thought you might like to know!
Mike Ameling
16-12-2008, 21:11
Thanks, I hope to use an old saw blade for an ulu and a kitchen knife later in the new year. Not so sure on the steel type though.
A lot of the modern circular saw blades are something like D2 or D7. But they usually have carbide cutting teeth on the tips - so they are bi-metal blades.
If you use a hand saw blade, they do make up into very good knives. As long as you keep them cool when shaping/grinding, the original heat treat remains in them. And that works very well as a knife. I use a chisel to tap along the profile of the knife blade I want. I go over that line several times, hitting a little harder with each pass. This creates a "shear line" within the saw blade, and the blade will eventually crack along that line. Then I take that knife blank to my bench grinder and clean/smooth up the profile. If it starts to get too hot to hold in my fingers, I cool it in water right away. Once I have the profile shaped up, I then move on to create my bevels. One hard part is drilling holes for pins for the handles. That hardened saw blade eats up expensive drill bits. I now punch my holes through. I ground a steel punch down to the size I need for my pins. And I drilled a matching sized hole in a thick scrap of iron to use as a backing plate. I put the saw blade on the backing plate, and then start tapping/hammering the punch until it shears out a round plug the size of the pin hole. I go slow with this - sometimes having to hit the punch 6 or 8 times to get it through. And then I run a drill bit through the hole to ream it out to size and smooth the hole up a bit.
Handsaw blades do make up into some nice knives - and without any forging or heat treating. The rip and crosscut handsaw blades make up into wonderful little knives - like penny knives or kitchen parring knives. The big/thick logging crosscut saw blades make good belt/sheath knives.
Have fun with your projects. And I will have to see about using some birch bark stacked up like that for a handle. Interesting idea.
Thanks
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
Thanks for that advice Mike, I'll try the punch idea for the holes..
wildrover
18-12-2008, 00:27
Thats nice stuff John.
I like nice up swept profile, it looks good.:cool:
Any chance of some more pics of your forge set up.
I've got several lengths of cromwell O1 (and old files for that matter) in the shed and to be honest it's the thought of the heat treatment that puts me off.:rolleyes:
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/100_0116.jpg
It's a half gas canister, with a length of piping into the bottom, then connecting a foot pump onto the end of that to provide a draught. the charcoal gets pretty hot, the dustbin lid helps to see the colours of the metal a bit and shield things. I have a magnet on a stick to check when the steel is non magnetic, and a tin of veg oil nearby. Once its cleaned up after hardening, I use the kitchen oven to take some of the hardness out..
Mike Ameling
18-12-2008, 16:42
I've got several lengths of cromwell O1 (and old files for that matter) in the shed and to be honest it's the thought of the heat treatment that puts me off.:rolleyes:
Yes, the heat treat is the really tricky part. Once you get into the higher carbon steels (like above 1085) or the specialty alloy steels, you need to be a lot more precise in the temps and quenching to get an optimum heat treat on a knife blade. If you are using something like 1095 carbon steel, at one point you have only 1 second to cool the blade through a certain temp range - to get that optimum heat treat. So a very controlled heating/cooling environment is almost required.
But you don't have to get that "optimum" heat treat to have a using knife. Just letting most tool steels "air cool" will give you a usable knife. The cutting edge probably won't hold up as well in use, but that just means sharpening it a little more often.
That's why I like those old lawn mower blades. They are generally made from 1084 carbon steel, or 5160 alloy steel. They both are far more forgiving in the heat treat.
Good luck on you project.
Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands
- who knows several professional knife makers
wildrover
20-12-2008, 01:35
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f278/Johnnyvariety/100_0116.jpg
It's a half gas canister, with a length of piping into the bottom, then connecting a foot pump onto the end of that to provide a draught. the charcoal gets pretty hot, the dustbin lid helps to see the colours of the metal a bit and shield things. I have a magnet on a stick to check when the steel is non magnetic, and a tin of veg oil nearby. Once its cleaned up after hardening, I use the kitchen oven to take some of the hardness out..
Thanks for the photos John.
It looks quite straight forward:rolleyes:
I've got some time off organised, if shmbo doesnn't have too many diy duties for me to do (or finish:rolleyes: ) I might actually get a chance to gert on with this
[QUOTE=Mike Ameling;475533]Yes, the heat treat is the really tricky part. Once you get into the higher carbon steels (like above 1085) or the specialty alloy steels, you need to be a lot more precise in the temps and quenching to get an optimum heat treat on a knife blade. If you are using something like 1095 carbon steel, at one point you have only 1 second to cool the blade through a certain temp range - to get that optimum heat treat. So a very controlled heating/cooling environment is almost required.
But you don't have to get that "optimum" heat treat to have a using knife. Just letting most tool steels "air cool" will give you a usable knife. The cutting edge probably won't hold up as well in use, but that just means sharpening it a little more often.
That's why I like those old lawn mower blades. They are generally made from 1084 carbon steel, or 5160 alloy steel. They both are far more forgiving in the heat treat.
Thanks for the advice Mike, You know how it is best intentions and all that....
I suspect that once I actually get started I'll be fine it's just that first step.
now that I think about it I think there is an old lawnmover in the shed :rolleyes: :D
sticks65
20-12-2008, 01:43
Nice job...............
Beautiful knife there.As for the 2p's..pre 1970 coins are all copper.Just thought you might like to know!
morning,
you'll find pre 1992 coins made of an alloy that is high in copper, cut costs after 1992 with the steel coins. you can check because all pre 1992 coppers are non-magnetic.
Mooseman1
27-12-2008, 19:57
lovely knife mate and great pics.