my file blade

[Raikey]

had a go at a file knife after seeing green petes vid,,,

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/IMG00103-20101025-1941.jpg

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/IMG00106-20101026-1925.jpg

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/IMG00125-20101027-2357.jpg

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/IMG00133-20101028-2131.jpg

can only upload 4 pics so later for the rest

[Raikey]

and more,...

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC02960.jpg

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC02959.jpg

i also rehandled a RAT3,..in laburnum..

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC02881.jpg

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC02900.jpg

[Raikey]

oh i made the mosaic pins out of pipe olives and paper clips and welding rod,..

[Matt]

That looks awsome mate :)

Matt.

[Ashley Cawley]

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing.

The sheath looks sturdy too :)

[greenpete]

Excellent work! And thanks for the pics, it's great to see such quality workmanship.

[Raikey]

the little skinner is an old blade i had and it took 20 mins,..to stick the laburnum scraps to it and sand down to this,...

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC02902.jpg

[JEEP]

Beautifull work :happy-clapping:

I am looking very much forward to seeing more.


Regards.

Jakob

[Martin]

Wow, the word awesome is much over used but I think it's appropriate in this case, and I'm sure GreenPete will be chuffed to know that he was he inspiration for such a beautiful piece of work.

Martin

[Bernie]

Like Martin, I find "awesome" is overused these days, so I'll just say "Raikey makes exceedingly good knives." ;)

[WoodTroll]

Cor that's a cracker. Like those mosaic pins. How do you make them?

[Raikey]

Cor that's a cracker. Like those mosaic pins. How do you make them?

i have a load of 8mm stainless pipe cut offs,..

take an inch,

do a dry test for fit with welding rod, paper clips copper wire . whatever you can find really,...

when happy with the pattern, mix a blob of apoxy, and push the bits inside the tube and wait 24 hours,

when its solid just grind (lightly so as not to burn) , file and polish the cross section,..

e voila ! ...

hahah

cheers for the comments guys,...

be aware the file blade is not finished yet,

the finished knife you see is an ONTARIO RAT3 and i just polished the blide and rehandled it.

[CanadianMike]

Very nice work!

[Kieran]

Knife looks awesome!
How does it perform? :)

[redmegalord]

so the greenpete vids were your inspiration? im planning on making a file knife here pretty soon as well, my problem isnt finding materials or any other such problems, my problem is im scared. i have this irrational fear that the metal will explode while im heating it up or quenching it. any kind of reassurance would be much appreciated. also where would be a good place to make a file knfe? and i saw another vid here at naturalbushcraft that said that using tool steel (such as an old file) is bad because tool steel breaks easily, how are your file knives holding up over time and with use?

[Raikey]

so the greenpete vids were your inspiration? im planning on making a file knife here pretty soon as well, my problem isnt finding materials or any other such problems, my problem is im scared. i have this irrational fear that the metal will explode while im heating it up or quenching it. any kind of reassurance would be much appreciated. also where would be a good place to make a file knfe? and i saw another vid here at naturalbushcraft that said that using tool steel (such as an old file) is bad because tool steel breaks easily, how are your file knives holding up over time and with use?

i have a pretty decent garage ,...


but the heat treat i did outside with a bbq and briquettes from b and q

the quenching is fine ,..i did it outside,...

if its then tempered in an oven at 240oC for an hour this takes the edge off the hardness and makes it more usable,...

dont be scared man,...go for it,...

the blades are holding up fine,...they hold a terrific edge,..

[redmegalord]

i have a pretty decent garage ,...


but the heat treat i did outside with a bbq and briquettes from b and q

the quenching is fine ,..i did it outside,...

if its then tempered in an oven at 240oC for an hour this takes the edge off the hardness and makes it more usable,...

dont be scared man,...go for it,...

the blades are holding up fine,...they hold a terrific edge,..

alright thanks ill keep that in mind. did you put it directly on the oven rack or did you use some kind of sheet? also was it a gas oven or an elcetric? (simply out of curiosity) i apologize for my spelling, i was just in a wreck sio im a little shaken up but nobody was hurt so its okay. so your tool steyl is working just fine? i kknow eveybody keps asking but how did you make the pins?

[Raikey]

the mild heat of the oven during tempering wont warp the blade so just lay it on the bars,,

its a gas oven,..

the pins are described in post #12

[redmegalord]

alright thanks a lot, ill keep all of this in mind, and ill be keeping an eye on this thread for further developements. let us know how it turns out when its all done, thanks for sharing.

[CanadianMike]

The metal won't explode when you heat treat or quench it, don't be silly, it only catches on fire! In oil that is. ;)

[redmegalord]

The metal won't explode when you heat treat or quench it, don't be silly, it only catches on fire! In oil that is. ;)

im aware of this, and if youll read my first post i acknowledged that its an irrational fear, but its a fear nonetheless. thanks for your input, i apologize if i sound snippy.

[CanadianMike]

No worries, I was being silly anyways, but serious regardless. I was a bit apprehensive when I started making knives, largely a lot of your worries too (except the exploding metal thing) but I WAS a bit nervous about what I mentioned, the flames coming off hot metal when quneching in oil. I don't have a natural fear of fire, so it's not bad at all for me, but make sure you wear gloves, the flames will travel up enough to scorch your hands even if holding the blade in channel lock pliers by the end.

[Raikey]

had an hour on the belt sander today ,..

got to this stage,..after a bit of 400 grit too,...needs finishing but you get the idea,...

its fairly chunky, but i reckon i'll use it when its sharpened....

thanks for looking ,...

Stu,.

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC03016.jpg

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC03015.jpg

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC03019.jpg

[Ashley Cawley]

... and i saw another vid here at naturalbushcraft that said that using tool steel (such as an old file) is bad because tool steel breaks easily, ...
You definitely didn't hear that from NaturalBushcraft. You might have heard it from someone else on the NBC Forum, but I didn't say that. :confused:

Stu, your work is, beautiful and inspiring, thanks for keeping us updated.

[redmegalord]

i could be mistaken, in which case i apologize. i checked back, the video i saw was in fact on naturalbushcraft but i misquoted, so im sorry but heres the link http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/kit/reviews/tempering-spring-steel-blacksmithing-bushcraft-forge.html not trying to put anybody on the spot, just saying that this is what gave me the idea that tool steel isnt exactly the best option. again, my apologies.

[C. Lupus]

Extremely nice job, sir. Beautiful workmanship.

[OKBushcraft]

NIce work, I have wanted to make the mosiac pins but didn't have a good handle on it. Thanks for the info and for sharing the lics, John.

[C. Lupus]

Stu,
I'd be more than happy to send you another old file if you promise to send it back looking like that, LOL!!!

[CanadianMike]

Very nice job! What was the final grit you used on the sander? And what type of sander do you use?

[CanadianMike]

i could be mistaken, in which case i apologize. i checked back, the video i saw was in fact on naturalbushcraft but i misquoted, so im sorry but heres the link http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/kit/reviews/tempering-spring-steel-blacksmithing-bushcraft-forge.html not trying to put anybody on the spot, just saying that this is what gave me the idea that tool steel isnt exactly the best option. again, my apologies.

That's actually a semi misleading video, watched a few minutes of it, tool steel is what you want to use because of the high carbon content of it. The thing with using the file, it has to be annealed first, meaning it has to be heated up red hot then allowed to cool very slowly (if allowed to cool in air, it' would be normalized, which is tougher but not as hard as it was).

Here's a good video regarding using files to make knives (by the Anza Knives owner), he doens't actually say it, but the file he bends has been annealed.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybMDdLpMAvQ

I recall spring steel as being medium carbon steel (specially heat treated), not so great for a high quality knife because it won't hold an edge long, but on the other end, you want this type of steel for higher impact knives such as machetes and such where you want a bit softer blade. The entire thing with "spring" steel is you want it to be flexible yet maintain a memory.

[Raikey]

i wasnt 100% happy with the handle shape after having a play today,...

it was too butt heavy and didnt feel safe to use,...

so i took some more material off the back,...

http://i840.photobucket.com/albums/zz325/raikey1/DSC03024.jpg

amazing how much different it feels just a few onces off the back, seems to look a bit better too,..after a bit of teak oil...

[CanadianMike]

Looks like it gave birth.......... where's the baby? Lol, yes, looks a lot more comfy and proportional than the first pic (had to go back at look at it again).

So when is your next knife coming out? ;)

[Raikey]

mark 2 , 3 and 4 are in progress,...

i never seem to get the time,...

an hour after work dont seen to progress them very far,,,,

and havin young kids takes up a lot of my weekend time

[redmegalord]

That's actually a semi misleading video, watched a few minutes of it, tool steel is what you want to use because of the high carbon content of it. The thing with using the file, it has to be annealed first, meaning it has to be heated up red hot then allowed to cool very slowly (if allowed to cool in air, it' would be normalized, which is tougher but not as hard as it was).

Here's a good video regarding using files to make knives (by the Anza Knives owner), he doens't actually say it, but the file he bends has been annealed.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybMDdLpMAvQ

I recall spring steel as being medium carbon steel (specially heat treated), not so great for a high quality knife because it won't hold an edge long, but on the other end, you want this type of steel for higher impact knives such as machetes and such where you want a bit softer blade. The entire thing with "spring" steel is you want it to be flexible yet maintain a memory.

oh alright, thank you for the information and the video, ill certainly watch it when i can. i stilll havent had the chance to make my very first knife yet but i cannot wait to try :) i was tinking about using my grill for the annealing, and since i have no power tools i suppose ill have to use hand tools. does anybody have a video like this so i kind of have an idea of how to do it?

[CanadianMike]

I hear ya, been there, one that, but isn't so much of a problem for me now, I'm lucky in that when I get home from work and spend a couple hours in the garage, I feel guilty about not spending more time with my girlfriend so go snuggle a bit and mention why, her reply is "Is ok, you are working". Lol, ya, my endeavours are more than just making the occasion knife for myself, is more business/training oriented as I've sold two knives so far and have three more on the plate I was hired to make, plus experimenting with my equipment/techniques trying to master this thing known as knife making. I started with files, moved to flat ground O1 steel, and over the weekend annealed another file, sometimes for smaller projects (making a marking knife for my stepdad, really doesn't have to be 1/8" thick or have a wicked edge holding ability) files are just the ticket.

[Shewie]

Wow Stu, nicely done mate

[redmegalord]

howd you shape the grip? greenpetes video didnt say and ive been wondering, do you just use a file or what?

[Raikey]

howd you shape the grip? greenpetes video didnt say and ive been wondering, do you just use a file or what?

well,..

you SHOULD get the tang to your shape before hardening then the excess wood and liner can be hand rasped or filed to match the tang,..

BUT! ,....i wasnt happy after hardneing and fitting the wood and liners

so ,..i was naughty, and belt sanded the lot in one go,

you can burn the liners and effect the apoxy this way so not advised,....

if you have to do it i would advise hand filing ,...

[redmegalord]

alright ill keep that in mind, thank you. im about to start work on mine, i finished drawing my own basic template and am now in the process of reviewing the entire sequence for knife making.
1. anneal to soften the metal
2. shape the softened metal with a file and then sharpen it as best i can
3. heat it up again and then quench in warm motor oil or water
4. clean and polish, attach handle and further sharpen blade

i only listed the basic steps, im aware that there is more to it.

also im considering a cord wrapped handle until i can scrounge up some good handle material, any advice on a cord wrap if im not using paracord? suggestions for wrapping techniques?

[Raikey]

yeah, dont!

use wood,...it'll make the experiece sooo much more satisfying,....

if you were in the uk iwould send you some wood and liner,..

above all,....be patient,...dont rush it,..

[redmegalord]

okay then, so my next little obstacle is to find pins for the handle but i need to have a handle first so that i can make the correct length adjustments. i guess ill go ahead with the knife itself, but i have no idea when it will be finished or how well it will turn out. its my first knife though, so i wont sweat it if it doesnt turn out perfect :) thanks again for all your helpful advice, it will really come in handy soon. ill be sure to post pictures when i can, but since i dont have an actual camera they will all come from my phone.