Metalworking Hunttalkers!

[GoGriz]

OK, I'm trying my first attempt at making a knife, technically knives.

I took an old table blade and cut out two skinner-style blades. I did some grinding and a lot of sanding as well as some work on a course and a fine whetstone. I am relatively happy with the sharpness and I think I can probably improve upon it, but I am wondering if I need to heat and quench these blades before I add a handle and try to do a final sharpening.

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So I am reaching out to the Metalworking Hunttalkers for advice. Do I need heat and quench these blades? I do have a friend who is an associate professor of metallurgy and he said he could heat treat it for me, but I am kinda hoping I can skip the step simply so I can move on to adding handles and making sheathes.

Not sure on the answer to your question 100% but you could try the file test (run a file along the back edge and if it catches its soft and needs a heat treat, if it skips along the edge without grabbing or digging in then it’s likely hard enough). You could also do some cutting with it and see how well it holds and edge (looks like you are close to having a sharp cutting edge) and if it holds up after cutting some rope and other items you might be good.

 

[GoGriz]

The journey for my 10 year old and I continues. We got some 1095 flat stock and designed and ground out three knives (he wanted a sword so we settled on a dagger). Learning a lot in the process and getting a little better each time. We also made a trident to see how the forge and anvil/ hammer work. Next up moving to making some sheaths (and I need to finish polishing/ fine tuning the finish on the knives).