MEMBER ITEMS FOR SALE
Custom Knives | Other Knives | General Items
-------------------------------------------
New Posts | New PhotosAll Photos



Go Back   The Knife Network Forums : Knife Making Discussions > Custom Knife Discussion Boards > Knife Making Discussions > The Newbies Arena

The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 01-04-2014, 08:35 PM
Blue EagleBum's Avatar
Blue EagleBum Blue EagleBum is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 42
Impatient newbie wants to order steel.

Ok. Was going to go the prefinished blade route and couldn't take the easy route. Just not in my nature. I want to order some flat bar, too many steels out there, and hate continous reading on computer. Wanting a hunter / skinner type knife. For a newbie, what steel would you suggest?
(It's like the Honda commercial with everyone saying, I wanna ride... Well, I wanna work at my bench! LOL.)
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 01-04-2014, 08:53 PM
Hempish Hempish is offline
Steel Addict
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Miles City,MT
Posts: 195
Being a fellow beginner I wondered the same thing and found 1085 or 1080 to be the most user friendly so far. If you are going to be sending them out for heat treatment then 440c which is a stainless would be another quality one to check into. Just my two cents welcome to the hobby.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 01-04-2014, 08:54 PM
jmccustomknives jmccustomknives is offline
Skilled
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Alabama
Posts: 554
You didn't say what your skill level was or what you will use to heat treat. Not all steels are equal. Some are hard to heat treat, others a newb (and experienced alike) should touch unless the blades are sent to a heat treater. Are you forging? Stock removal? All will have bearing on your steel choices.
Take your time, make your first shot count.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 01-04-2014, 08:56 PM
Blue EagleBum's Avatar
Blue EagleBum Blue EagleBum is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 42
I plan to try my own heat treating. And see how it goes...
Didn't know till yesterday u could send out for heat treating. Do u know what that costs?
Trying to keep costs low.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:01 PM
Kevster Kevster is offline
Skilled
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Plano Texas
Posts: 498
Get some 1084, it's a great newbie steel.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:07 PM
jmccustomknives jmccustomknives is offline
Skilled
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Alabama
Posts: 554
Like has been said, 1084 is a relatively easy steel to deal with. If you are planning on doing large knives 5160 is a tougher steel and is also very forgiving in the heat treat.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:15 PM
Ray Rogers's Avatar
Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
Founding Member / Moderator
 
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
Posts: 9,840
If you want to do your own heat treat then you need 1084 (or 1080 will substitute). You can probably find this in very small quantity from alphaknifesupply.com You can also look up the New Jersey Steel Baron or Kelly Cupples. One of them should have it.

1084 is a simple carbon steel, sending a newbie's first carbon blade out for HT isn't going to be a real efficient use of your money since paying for a few so-so blades would also pay for a forge so that you could do the HT yourself. You'll want to build a small forge to HT in or you might get by with an acetylene torch if you have one and really know how to use it.

Obviously, building a forge will cost a few bucks so a cheaper alternative might be 440C stainless. You can get this steel at Jantz or most any other knife supply in 12 or 18" pieces. It is more expensive than 1084 but Texas Knifemakers will HT your 440C blade for $5 so that's a bargain.

1084 (or 1080) or 440C are really you best choices for your first blades if you plan to make it yourself. Don't - please don't - start asking about every piece of steel you found laying in the ditch near your house. At this point in your knife making career salvage steel is not a good idea, buying steel is actually cheaper in most cases. Either buy a blade as you originally planned, build a forge, or grind a blade from 440C and send it off - whichever you think is the best fit for your budget and personality. Anything else you do will increase your cost in the knife almost without any doubt at all....


__________________

Your question may already have been answered - try the Search button first!







Last edited by Ray Rogers; 01-04-2014 at 09:18 PM.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:17 PM
Blue EagleBum's Avatar
Blue EagleBum Blue EagleBum is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 42
I planned on using the propane torch in a cylinder or brick. I also planned on doing stock removal.
Skill level, newbie. KNife plan is approx. 3" blade with full tang that will be approx 4". A total length for knife between 7 to 8".
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:19 PM
Blue EagleBum's Avatar
Blue EagleBum Blue EagleBum is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 42
With motor oil or olive oil tempering bath.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:20 PM
RJO RJO is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 12
I've been happily hacking away at a chunk of 1080 for my first knife, which is also planned to be a basic hunter/skinner type. I was instructed by the good folks here to use either 1080, 1084, or maybe 5160 since they're all forgiving to heat-treat with minimal technology and skill, but only time will tell how badly I can screw up I was initially hesitant to use a more basic steel because I wanted to maximize performance, but after doing some research I discovered that a decent 1080 blade will still vastly outperform any of the cheap storebought knives I'm used to so it's all good.

I really wanted to go with O1 or 440C, but both of these require more precision in HT than I'd be able to manage for now so they'll have to wait. I believe either of them would do the job well if they were professionally heat treated.
Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:21 PM
Kevster Kevster is offline
Skilled
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Plano Texas
Posts: 498
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ray Rogers View Post
If you want to do your own heat treat then you need 1084 (or 1080 will substitute). You can probably find this in very small quantity from alphaknifesupply.com You can also look up the New Jersey Steel Baron or Kelly Cupples. One of them should have it.

1084 is a simple carbon steel, sending a newbie's first carbon blade out for HT isn't going to be a real efficient use of your money since paying for a few so-so blades would also pay for a forge so that you could do the HT yourself. You'll want to build a small forge to HT in or you might get by with an acetylene torch if you have one a really know how to use it.

Obviously, building a forge will cost a few bucks so a cheaper alternative might be 440C stainless. You can get this steel at Jantz or most any other knife supply in 12 or 18" pieces. It is more expensive than 1084 but Texas Knifemakers will HT your 440C blade for $5 so that's a bargain.

1084 (or 1080) or 440C are really you best choices for your first blades if you plan to make it yourself. Don't - please don't - start asking about every piece of steel you found laying in the ditch near your house. At this point in your knife making career salvage steel is not a good idea, buying steel is actually cheaper in many cases. Either buy a blade as you originally planned, build a forge, or grind a blade from 440C and send it off - whichever you think is the best fit for your budget and personality. Anything else you do will increase your cost in the knife almost without any doubt at all....
Well said! You can build a propane forge pretty cheap, assuming you want to try knife making you must be pretty crafty?
Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 01-04-2014, 09:54 PM
Blue EagleBum's Avatar
Blue EagleBum Blue EagleBum is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 42
Thanks for all f the input / help. And don't worry, I will not ask about all the ditch scrap. Just needed some direction on steel type for my newbie status. Have been reading a lot, but it seemd that each place I looked and read gave vastly differing opinions or some new steel I'd never heard of. Will start with 1084 probably, see how it does, or how I do, and go from there.
in answer to your question Kevster. Over the years i have tried many new things and most have turned out well. Sawing wood with my father in law on his woodmizer saw mill. Saw a piece with grain that looked like a bow, Asked for it, said I was going to make a bow. Never, made one before. Made an osage longbow for my first son, it has survived both sons, and several of my cousins kids. Went onto board bows, then a takedown recurve of Bubinga riser and Hard Rock Maple limbs. Took my first trad bow whitetail doe 10 days after finishing.
Then had a good friend make me and my boys hunting knives with handle od whitetail horn that I had killed. Took one look at them, decided they could not be placed in a store bought sheath. So, I started leather working. Now I would like to try my hand in knife making...
Not to say I am an expert in any of the above, and believe me I went through a lot of trial and error. But more often than not I have found that I have learned more from my failures that my successes. If that makes sense. Like the words of Tred Barta, I like doing things the hard way, the Barta way. I tend to get more out of it and as I said before, Murphy is always there to lend a hand.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 01-04-2014, 10:16 PM
Whipster Whipster is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 39
Wes, for what it's worth, Lee Oates of Bearclaw Knives has done O1 heat-treat for me in the past with good results, if you don't want to do the HT yourself. http://www.bearclawknives.com/

I think he charges $10 per blade... Like Ray said, Texas Knifemaker's Supply can harden the stainless steels for a very reasonable cost.
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 01-05-2014, 11:17 AM
Bob Hartman Bob Hartman is offline
Steel Addict
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 105
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blue EagleBum View Post
With motor oil or olive oil tempering bath.
I assume when you say tempering you mean quench. After the quench you will need to temper the blade, but you don't want to do that in oil. The temps are too high.
Use olive oil, not motor oil for the quench. If you are going to use 1080/1084, or 5160 olive oil heated to about 130 degrees will be fine.

Last edited by Bob Hartman; 01-05-2014 at 11:24 AM.
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 01-05-2014, 04:59 PM
Blue EagleBum's Avatar
Blue EagleBum Blue EagleBum is offline
Enthusiast
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: West Virginia
Posts: 42
Ok thanks. Quench was what I meant.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Tags
1084, 440c, 5160, bearing, bee, blade, blades, easy, flat, forging, heat, heat treat, heat treatment, hobby, hunter, knife, knife making, knives, make, motor, newbie, skinner, stainless, steel, stock removal


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Getting ready to order steel Hurley The Newbies Arena 3 09-16-2013 09:29 AM
Steel and Steel Thicknesses for Newbie Mario DeAngelis Fit & Finish 7 10-13-2006 05:18 PM
Impatient Bowie Robert Dark The Display Case 10 05-18-2006 09:57 PM
An order...wooohoo!! my first real multiple knife order Little Hen Knives Knife Making Discussions 5 08-17-2001 07:16 PM
Best way to work out this steel order? NickWheeler The Supply Center 1 05-15-2001 12:05 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:47 AM.




KNIFENETWORK.COM
Copyright © 2000
? CKK Industries, Inc. ? All Rights Reserved
Powered by ...

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
The Knife Network : All Rights Reserved