|
Edy420....Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, you have fallen into a trap that snags nearly every aspiring knifemaker. Because you already have the "cheap crowbar, you are thinking that the total cost to you is nothing....and that is true...but what is also true is that nothing is the value of what you might learn in the effort of making your first knife. As a newbie, most people have no concept of the knowledge required to correctly heat treat steel to make an acceptable knife....and when they ask questions of this forum, they become disapointed when they don't get specific answers to their questions.
Here is the problem. There are many different types of steels. some are suitable for making a quality knife, and others are not. The processes can be very different to take two pieces of different types of steel, and arrive at the same properly heat treated blade. For members of this forum to answer your questions, we need specific information. If we go to a reference and try to look up "cheap crowbar" steel....we
are not going to find anything in our reference material. If you were to call the manufacturer of the crowbar, the odds are they could not give you the type of steel that went into that crowbar....so once again...you're looking into a dry hole.
Here's the fix. Order some knife steel from any of the knife makers suppliers, and then at the very least, you will be working with a known steel, and then we can give you specific answers to your questions, and the entire process can be a learning experience for you. The steels recommended are excellent for beginners because they are "simple" steels, and yet they are excellent for making good, quality knives....and the processes used are as easy as it gets...and that knowledge can then be parlayed into properly heat treating other types of steel as you go down the knifemaking path.
Your attempt at making a knife from this "mystery metal", might , if you are lucky...lead to a decent knife, but you will never know if the process can be used on another piece of "mystery metal" or not.
By starting with 1080 steel, you can build your knowledge base...along with your skill set, and you will have information that is valuable to you that can help you on your second knife. Eventually, you will be able to probably take a piece of "mystery metal" and make a quality knife with it, but by then, you will not want to do that because you will have an understanding of the problems that "mystery metal" can lead to.
We are not trying to be vague with our help...it's just that when you use "mystery metal", it's as much a mystery for us as it is for you. By buying 1080 steel, you will know what type of steel you're working with, and when you ask your questions, we can help you by giving specific answers to those questions.
The whole thing represents a lot of value for the price of a piece of 1080...which is a very cost effective steel to work with.
|