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At the NC ABANA booth at the State Fair this year, a guy I know welded up the blade section of the cable, made a bolster somehow - I forget how - left the handle unwelded and made a butt cap. It was a very interesting piece.

In Tim McCreight's book, Custom Knifemaking, he mentions that you can put the normal borax in a can near the forge fire and it will boil the water out of it. All that will be left is a glassy substance- borax- in the bottom of the can. You break this up and then use it on your welds. I'm trying to look up the reference for you if you ever get your hands on the book. But I do question some of the things in the book. Pages 193-194

On the lawn mower blades, I have HEARD that they can be 5160, but I really don't know from personal experience. I have several out in my junk pile. I may spark test them, or use them in pattern welded stuff one day.

Okay the usual questions apply: steel used, handle material used and fittings. It's all beautiful. I love the workmanship in this piece.

Rainsfire, you answered my question before it was asked. I have two that are pretty dull. No one around here sharpens them and it would cost too much to sharpen anyway. One could buy a new blade for just a few dollars more. So, I'll set my two aside until I want to try my hand at pattern welding.

Did it again! :mad: I didn't mean Waynesboro. I always confuse Waynesboro and Waynesville. I went to Haywood Tech a few years ago to learn my day job. But I learned about Waynesboro when I was into Civ War reenacting and went to a couple of living history events there. Sorry 'bout that.

Man Doc, I'm just seeing this for the first time. I'm glad to hear that things are on the mend, but that's scary! You're on our list. I explained to my 9 year old that the guy who wrote the black book that I have about knife and sword making was in an accident. As he went to bed, he prayed for you. We'll all be doing the same.

I saw a knife with giraffe bone handles somewhere recently. It was really pretty. Yeah, deer is our exotic animal. :D

I like the anvil stand. I've been looking to replace mine and that may do the trick. Since the saw mill where I work got stingy with their steel ( something to do with a poor market ) I have a problem getting the guys down there to make me anything. Flying steel: I learned about that one early. I was holding an orange RR spike in Channel locks. I hit it and it came straight at my face. Thanks be to God that I have pretty fast reflexes. I felt the heat as it whizzed past my right ear. If I hadn't moved, it would have been between my eyes. I bought a set of rr spike tongs from Blacksmiths Depot shortly after that.

Thanks for the help guys. Yeah, there's plenty of meat on the bones at the present. Once I cut off as much as I can, I'll try boiling it down and setting the bones somewhere that neighborhood dogs don't get them. (Dog says, "Ooo! A treat!" I say, "Where'd my knife handles go?") Fire ants. I remember the time before they came this far north. Those were the good ole days. I've got Jim Hrisoulas' The Complete Bladesmith I think he covers stabalization of bone it there. I also have a couple of antlers that will work. I just have to start putting out some knives. There are three sitting in front of me right now and two more in my bedroom. Boone: How far is that from Waynesboro? I and my son are going to Waynesboro in December to meet with the guy who runs Calerin Forge. He's going to start teaching us the fine arts of blacksmithing and- I'm sure -help me in my knife making skills.

I saw the thread about bamboo for knife handles and it reminded me that I was going to ask about handle material. I've never been much of a hunter, but I have considered taking it up to supply some food and cut back on a grocery bill if possible. Since I missed our hunter safety courses this year, I mentioned to a guy at work that I would like to have some deer meat. Well, he mentioned it to our maintenance supervisor who showed up with two deer shoulders and a ham for me yesterday. This got me thinking. Could I use the bone for knife handle material? I know a respirator of descent quality is in order to protect from particles and I'll have to buy one. But is it usable, or pretty if done right?

Look, I've been "playing around" with making knives for two years and don't have anything to show for it yet. I think you are doing OUTSTANDING! I have a book here that I plan to go through too. It's not a bad idea. It gets you started. I like the one in the pic. You could make a few, then modify it later into something that is solely yours. Eric

I am pretty sure that's what I bought too. Mine only cost $30.

I met Mr Kayne a couple of years back and bought the Swedish hammer from him. I am just a beginner, so the hammer seems okay to me, but I will look at it again. As for doing business with him, I have chosen not to make him my first choice for my blacksmithing needs. That is only a personal choice that has little to do with his product.

Zip disc works great also. But caution. I am wearing a scar on the inside of my right forearm from snapping off a piece we had almost cut through about 7years ago. When the piece broke free (we were cutting off a small piece) my arm came down on a sharp barb that was more than ready to leave its mark. The guy who was doing the cutting- a French-speaking Canadian as a matter of fact- had a choice word or two when he saw the cut on my arm. Kinda funny, but it could have been worse.

Plasma cutters make quick work of my saw blades as long as there is no rust on the blade. No, it won't contaminate the steel. I'd love to have a plasma cutter.

Hi Mike, have those blades been cut and rolled into that coil? That's what it looks like to me. I generally cut mine into strips of around 4 feet long. I use two different blades. The small one is 30' 6" x 8" w x 16 gauge, or .065. The large one is 36' 6" x 11" x .078

Thomas, both of your statements are worth keeping in mind. I may try to light the ole forge tomorrow- if I get my anvil in place- and play around with a couple of the newer files to see what I can do. I need to try to anneal a cleaver that I cut out of a circular saw blade today (MAN that thing is HARD!). Umm, I think I'm on the verge of hijacking this thread. SO, how 'bout that pawn shop steel?

If there is a sawmill near you that runs bandsaws - most do these days- get in touch with the saw filer. Most mills are running blades made from Uddeholm 15N20 steel. Most filers won't touch it if it isn't 15N20. They generally just throw out old blades as they clutter up their shops and make it look like they are behind in their work. Most likely they'll give it to you. On the down side, you'll most likely need a way to cut it up and you'll have to contend with a large number of sharp teeth just waiting to bite you. My day job is as a saw filer. I'd offer to send you some steel for the cost of shipping, but I still owe another forumite that didn't get his steel when I moved. Just noticed you are in Canada. Shipping form me would most likely cost you more than buying it new.

I would love to tell you the steel is L6, but I don't know. Thanks for the suggestions. Tomorrow I actually have to go out and get the steel out of the pile. I know exactly where it is; I saw it a couple of days ago. That's why it came to mind.

Hello everyone. A guy at work asked me today if I could make him a meat cleaver out of some saw blade steel that I have. I said I'd give it a shot. Keep in mind that I have never finished a blade before. But here's what I will probably do: I plan to cut out the basic shape from a piece of 3/16" thick circular saw blade- it's the cleanest that I have as far as rust damage. I will most likely grind in edge bevels but I have considered forging them in to some degree. One of the main problems that I may have is heat-treat. If it will fit in my small toaster oven, how long should I leave it in there and at what temperature? Any other suggestions would be great as this is the first one for me.

That's kinda what I thought. Today I was handling a used up file in my shop and it had a bur on it up near the tang. I used another file to remove said bur. It took it off easily. I took note of the lack of resistance to the new file. So, yeah, I imagine it's mild steel. Big let-down though, because I have a bunch of them. I do have two really old files that are about 1/4" to 5/16" thick. I'd imagine they've got some good steel to them. As for the other trash files, I can always load them onto the truck with some scrap and sell them to the scrapyard then buy some good steel with the money. When life hands you lemons . . . ?

Hmm, North, the backside of my house. South, the treeline marking the property line to my half-acre lot. There is an old road there that dates back to colonial times. Our line is in the center of the old road. We just moved here and when some of the foliage dies off, I plan on exploring the old road bed a bit, maybe with my father-in-law's metal detector. East, thick hedge separating us from our neighbor. West, empty house and other neighbor's house beyond that. My shop is currently the great outdoors, but that will eventually change.

I have some roller chain from the mill where I work. I've tried welding some of it up but it would always fall apart on me. I mentioned this to a very experienced smith. His suggestion was to anneal the chain first. I haven't been able to try it yet to see if it helps. But I also would rather save the chain until I get more confidence in my welding abilities. Personally, when I get the forge set up again, I'll start off with mild steel again and work my way into more complicated things. Yes I have welded in the past, but it has been a while since I had any forge time and I am just a beginner after all. Just my ramblings, but maybe you can glean something from it that will help.

Hehe, I have a rather large collection of 10" and 12" files that I have used at work and are no longer in any shape to file on 15N20 bandsaw blade steel. The only problem I have found is that I forged out two rather nice camp knives out of them and they wouldn't harden. :mad: Could have been case hardened steel, or I could have heated them too many times and burned out all of the carbon. Usually Simonds files are pretty good, right?