Made my first knife

[vampire]

Found an old rusty gate hinge and thought I would have a go.

The handle is oak and rosewood  the brass spacers are flattened out of old shower tubing and the pins are screws cut down.

Really was what ever I had laying about.

Started a second one....

[fatchap]

I like shiny. Very nice. 

[johnphilip]

Well done , it will become addictive  .

[ditchman]

for the first one that is a bloody good start.............mower blades make half decent knives.......or circular saw blades........

[vampire]

28 minutes ago, ditchman said:

for the first one that is a bloody good start.............mower blades make half decent knives.......or circular saw blades........

Thanks👍I have some old hand saws,circular saw blades,ride on mower blade and some shears.

Think I might be busy repurposing while I can't work.

[ditchman]

23 minutes ago, vampire said:

Thanks👍I have some old hand saws,circular saw blades,ride on mower blade and some shears.

Think I might be busy repurposing while I can't work.

keep away from the shears..and the hand saws might be a bit too thin..........the other stuff you have is good..........when you grind and cut it to shape dont be too aggressive as it will heat the metal up and lose the temper...

before you try and drill holes for the handle...heat those areas up quick and let them cool and the metal will soften ...try not to let the heat run towards the blade....or wrap the blade in soaking cool wet water and rags before you anneal the handle 

you defo have the skill............now start amassing your knowlege   

[Farmboy91]

Very nice indeed 👍

[NoBodyImportant]

That looks really good. 

[Paddy Galore!]

that looks good chap,

I think i'm going to jump on this bandwagon and have a go myself, I've got a bit of leaf spring lying in the shed waiting for me to either throw it or make something with it

[vampire]

On 08/04/2020 at 21:21, Paddy Galore! said:

that looks good chap,

I think i'm going to jump on this bandwagon and have a go myself, I've got a bit of leaf spring lying in the shed waiting for me to either throw it or make something with it

Don't throw it away,make a knife.

now making my third 😂wife not happy about me putting blades in the oven.

be carefull,already cut myself twice whilst for grinding and sanding,definitely wrap blade👍

circular saw blades make better blades and less work than rusty gate hinge🤔

[fatchap]

13 hours ago, vampire said:

 

be carefull,already cut myself twice whilst for grinding and sanding,definitely wrap blade👍

 

Don't use parcel tape the brown stuff to wrap the blade. its a nightmare to get off and leaves residue on the blade which is also difficult to get off.

[1066]

Excellent job - Certainly agree with the concept of "use what you've got". You see many people want exact parts lists and asking for detailed drawings/plans etc. when you really need to understand the concept and adapt the design to use what's locally available.

[fatchap]

49 minutes ago, 1066 said:

Excellent job - Certainly agree with the concept of "use what you've got". You see many people want exact parts lists and asking for detailed drawings/plans etc. when you really need to understand the concept and adapt the design to use what's locally available.

Exactly! start out with a rough idea on what you want it to look like, then adapt it when it goes wrong.

[Paddy Galore!]

15 hours ago, vampire said:

Don't throw it away,make a knife.

now making my third 😂wife not happy about me putting blades in the oven.

be carefull,already cut myself twice whilst for grinding and sanding,definitely wrap blade👍

circular saw blades make better blades and less work than rusty gate hinge🤔

well, I did it, and it looks pretty good in my opinion, I've got to ask though, why put the blade in the oven?

I've got some thick cut proof gloves which helped a lot

 

[fatchap]

18 minutes ago, Paddy Galore! said:

well, I did it, and it looks pretty good in my opinion, I've got to ask though, why put the blade in the oven?

 

If you have hardened the blade in a forge for instance then quenched it, ie cooled it rapidly the metal is very hard but brittle, so it needs to be tempered ie softened slightly which you do in your oven. Once it comes out of hardening the blade will be black clean up till its silver again, then put it in the oven around 250 degrees for about an hour or until the metal has turned a straw colour.

If it was an old file then you shoud temper it, files are hard and have a high carbon content so can snap or even shatter quite easily. Bit late now as you have a handle on it, you may be able to use a blow torch but it may not temper it evenly.  

Edited April 13, 2020 by fatchap

[Cheshirelad]

We need our very own 'Forged in Fire' section!   

[fatchap]

34 minutes ago, Cheshirelad said:

We need our very own 'Forged in Fire' section!   

At least it would be realistic unlike the Tv Show.

[vampire]

On 13/04/2020 at 12:05, Paddy Galore! said:

well, I did it, and it looks pretty good in my opinion, I've got to ask though, why put the blade in the oven?

I've got some thick cut proof gloves which helped a lot

 

Welldone👍looks good.

have now got a little plank I clamp the blade to when sanding,which is a lot safer than a blade sticking out of the bench😭