Thread: Need some advice about knife making

i already have a grinder just needed to know what types of metal to use and beautiful blade mick

I'd recommend starting with O1 - easy to forge and heat treat. Or, you can send it out for heat treating. Mike Blue would be a great choice - he is a member here. What king of a grinder do you have? Good luck on your new journey!

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Originally Posted by DoubleEdgeFreak

... just needed to know what types of metal to use

I have always favored simple carbon steels. 1095 has been mentioned and as a simple steel it will do just about anything you could ask it too. The heat treatment is not as complicated as some think it is. I routinely quench 1095 in good old Wally World canola oil and/or water and it will take good hardness and toughness either way.

1084 is a good material, nearly foolproof since the Mn in the mix makes it through harden. That's not something I personally care for since I want the steel to be able to do other things. It's popular and relatively inexpensive.

O-1 is something I was reintroduced to on this forum (Thanks guys) and it has some very attractive features, but to make full use of those requires a little more complicated system. But, it will work in the simple dunk it in the bucket of oil method quite well. It was designed for that. It makes fine blades.

W1 is acceptable. W2 is available. Either is a very good other choice for anyone who wants to play in a water quench. Water does not have to be scary. It's not complicated or expensive and will teach you a lot about how to get a hot blade in and out of the quench in time.

L6 has been one of my all time favorites. Using simple methods it will perform very well. Using the complex heat treatment methods it will produce some very interesting and superlative features.

Find a good steel for the cheapest price possible. Files are free when they are used up. Most of the old brands are very good high carbon steels, often 1095 or W1 variations. Watch out for new files, some are merely case hardened mild steel.

Anneal them. Grind them. Heat treat them and if they break, you haven't lost much more than the time you put in.