chuckster2.0

Isn't their a place where you can get that tested? Like a lab or something?

I am about to finish my first knife made out of a railroad spike! Though I tried to keep the head intact. Are you going to put a handle on it?

Hey I checked it out. He has a lot of different ways of making it. Thanks

I am leaning towards denim micarta since I want the handle to have a high polish and I don't have the money to get the wood stabilized. I will always stabilize the wood because I don't have the patience to care for the wood in the dry Colorado air. Micarta is cheaper and something I can make. Not only that but it is much stronger than wood. http://www.fendleyknives.com/micarta_tough.htm I also find it as beautiful as wood.

okay, I will not do that again

Seriously!? Because the spikes I pulled out would have fallen out the next time the train came anyway. If they charge me with terrorism then they need to lighten up.

This is what my first railroad spike knife currently looks like. I went to a local railroad and found 20 spikes lying around or so loose in the track that a toddler could pick it out. This actually is not my first attempt. My first attempt ended up melting slightly which I did not believe could happen with the forge I had built. I also had help from a friend since I do not have tongs that allow you to hold in one hand with out the blade slipping out. He held it and I hammered out the shape and told him where to move it. I still have to harden the blade a bit and put a handle on it. I am going to try to make my own stablized wood but what kind is proving hard to figure out. any criticism would be appreciated as I have much to learn. Also, handle material suggestions would be helpful Sorry obout the picture quality, but all I have is my laptop webcam.

If it looked any worse, it would be excellent.

How old was the muzzle-loader barrel? What gun did it come from?

Hey thanks. I may not have some of the tools that he has but I can probably improvise. I think that a spike hawk will be the last rail road spike project for awhile. But that is after 18 more knives.

That is just awesome. From the head to the handle.

Is their a blue print for that? I have nineteen railroad spikes that I need to use up. Since they are for practice I would like to make a tomahawk out of one. Since you have I would like to know where you learned (websites?) it from so that I can make one as well.

I am sorry sounded testy Rich. I just have spent a lot of time on the knife and hoped that I could heat treat the knife and make it hold an edge for awhile, though probably not as long as a good quality steel knife such as that created from a leaf spring . I have spent months doing preliminary research that suggested that it could be done but since I am such an inexperienced bladesmith I became anxious when Pete said that it could only be a letter opener since that was not it's intended purpose. I also have 19 other spikes that I intended to make into knives not letter openers. I want to be able to say that I made a knife. I want to be a bladesmith.

I don't have much experience but I would try buffing it. I also would call the Ht line the Hamon

Well mine had HC on it. It also had a W on it but I know what that means. Thanks for the info!

Well I know they can be normalized since I've already done that. (Before I could not drill through it) I also know it can be hardened using Gunter's Super Quench.Robb Gunter I also know that it can be tempered. Railroad Spike knives - Salamander Armoury If that is not heat treatment than what is it?

I am in the middle of making my first knife out of a rail road spike and am about to heat treat the blade. after that is done I am going to hand sand the knife until I reach 1200 grit when I have nothing finer. But to me that is not shiny enough. I would like to buff it but I am afraid that if I get it the blade too hot, I might ruin the the heat treatment. Is this possible?

I'm sorry but I have never liked cord handles. To me they look dull and boring. I like vibrant wood handles or carved antler. If I had made those beautiful blades (I'm not that skilled yet) I would have stuck tiger wood on them and stained them red, and then buff them to a high polish. But that is just me.

Gunter's super quench will harden mild steel.

I am a new bladesmith and have very rudimentary equipment. In my first attempt at forging, I found that the tongs (a.k.a. the longest pair of needle nose pliers I could find) I found that they are in fact ill suited to the task of grasping the hot metal without two hands. So I have been forced to ask for the help of a friend to hold the metal while I hammer out a blade. But sometimes he is not available. So what can I use to hold the metal by myself until such a time when I have the ability to forge my own tongs? To clarify, I with am making blades out of rail road spikes which are pretty thick. Also, I can't make tongs unless I have good ones. My friend and I are still having communication problems (where to put the blade, how to turn it, etc.) I've looked at GS tongs but not nakedanvils. But I guess I'll try GS tongs when I get the money.

make a wash tub forge Charcoal Forge As far as metal goes. Start out with a railroad spike then move on to leaf springs. After that, started pattern welding chainsaw blades. After that you can start to make anything you want. All the plans for those things are online.

Belt grinders are good but they generate a lot of heat which can ruin the temper. If you aren't good at controlling the edge you have to put more effort into building jigs. I'm not saying that people should use it to make a blade, but it would be a convenient way of putting the finishing touches on it. Plus, you have to buy all the belts and then replace them when they get worn out. A stone will last a long time and you can get replacements for them when they get worn out. yeah it does only do hollow grinds which decreases the edges durability but he just wanted to sharpen his blade.

Well if you aren't afraid of price I found an interesting sharpening system called the tormek. Tool Sharpening it seems pretty cool and they have a variety of stones you can use. But it it costs over $600. But it looks like a good investment.

I used clay and sand but I have not done it's first fire yet because it has not dried. I moved it to my garage to today from my basement. I'm afraid to move it outside because I has been raining frequently where I live. The concrete exploded because there are air bubbles in it. Same thing happens with clay but I'm hoping I packed it in enough for it not to explode.

I'm waiting for mine to dry as well so it would be helpful if you posted any problems you had with it and I will do the same. Although mine is not oval since I could not find that in my area.