I used 01 from Cromwell as well. Get yourself a Black and Decker Powerfile and a good selection of belt grades for shaping the handles, they make the job much easier and you can do some accurate shaping with them on lower speeds. Rubber sanding drums with abrasive sleeves are good in the drill as well.
The kitchen knife looks good, but isn't there some kind of health risk using copper in a kitchen utensil? I only ask because I saw a history program where they showed some reproduction cooking vessels and made a point that the food that was in them could not be eaten because the pots hadn't been prepped or cleaned a particular way.
After seeing this I think I might have a go at a kitchen knife as a christmas present! Just been having a bit of a read online and the knife making lot seem to go to some serious levels with the heat treating although by the sounds of it you got on okay with your set up?
Do they still use the coppers or are they just for show?
I'm on an estate in Bedford today working next door to a Cromwell Tools. After a bit if searching just picked up some 01 steel 4x40 mm. Just need to find a design to make and sort something out for the handle
That's good to hear! I think I'll give it a go and see how I get on, making a small forge big enough for a knife doesn't look too hard either! Did you heat your quenching oil up before quenching like people suggest online or just use it cold?Yeah, it gets crazy. The thing is, a lot of people want stainless knives because they stay shiny and that's what everyone is used to using these days so they don't know how to look after plain old carbon ones. Stainless is a lot harder to heat treat, you have to go through specific temperature ramps and holds, and it often includes cryo-quenching and all kinds of stuff.
But really, it's the heat treating that makes it a knife, rather than a nice knife shaped object - which is why people take it so seriously.
For plain carbon steel (or O1 if you're not looking for the best of the best) you can just heat it as uniformly as possible and wait until it goes just above critical temperature, using a magnet to check (when it looses its magnetism, that's the right temp).
One thing I haven't done yet is make myself a knife and actually use it for an extended period of time... I should probably do this to actually check what I'm making is remotely good... It seemed good after sharpening though!
Copper Toxcity
We need to take a measured and sensible approach here, yes copper is toxic but so is water if consumed in enough quantity. The Internet is a very powerfull tool and provides lots of information but needs to be evaluated carefully.
Water toxic? Really? How so? Assuming it is drinking water and not loaded with toxins. (I know flouride is added to water by some "health" authorities and that is incredibly toxic stuff). But to say water is toxic, is that accurate?
Water toxic? Really? How so? Assuming it is drinking water and not loaded with toxins. (I know flouride is added to water by some "health" authorities and that is incredibly toxic stuff). But to say water is toxic, is that accurate?
toxicity is about material AND dose..... stuff like iron and zinc arw essential, but too much is a real problem too
What about getting the final edge?
What do you all use?
Oilstones, water, slate?
It's not really toxic but if you drink too much it will kill you by leaching the electrolytes out of your system and causing malfunction in the brain, called water intoxication.
A better steel for the heat treating I did would be plain carbon 1084 or 1094, however this is almost impossible to get in the UK.
For 1084 (four numbers is the american SAE designation) the uk equvalent is cs80, and you can get that in the uk.
http://www.steelstrip.co.uk/international_equivalents2.htm
http://www.rapidmetals.co.uk/?portfolio=spring-steel
That's wrong!They are excellent well done.
Just a point often mentioned on the subject of knives, the police will charge you with possession of a bladed instrument as far as I am aware you have to prove why you are carrying it with you and size is irrelevant, so just be careful, I no longer carry a knife for this reason
Firstly I carried a knife for many years until I was advised to stop by a friend with a great deal of legal knowledge and experience as they explained it is often not worth the hassle it can cause.That's wrong!
The information is so easy to find yet people still spout rubbish without checking the facts:
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Lock knives (knives with blades that can be locked when unfolded) are not folding knives, and are illegal to carry in public without good reason.
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A very valid question, I don't feel its one any of use can answer in all legal certainty unless we have a Judge or Magistrate who does a bit of welding to hand?Does this mean my leatherman, (blade less than 3" ) is illegal as it locks?
Sorry posted at the same time as above.