Starting a new knife

It's going to be a liner lock not a lockback. I've made both types before but prefer using a liner lock as its much easier to use with one hand. It's just a simple spring that I was going to make from o1 steel but am now using a different piece of steel I had saved for this purpose. The steel it already at the proper temper for the spring so I'm grinding it rather then cutting with a saw or mill. Just to let everyone know I may not be building this correctly I am just doing what has worked for me in the past. I can't use part of the frame as the lock as it is aluminum and would wear quickly.

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If the blade blank was hardened,you would not be able to cut it with a bandsaw or a hack saw.

In fact,W1 or OI can harden if you saw OR FILE it too vigorously. It will harden a few thou deep,just enough to ruin the teeth on your file or saw. The heat from cutting it,even filing it too fast,can cause this localized hardening.
 
Just following along and learning. thanks for posting.
Brian.
 
george wilson said:
If the blade blank was hardened,you would not be able to cut it with a bandsaw or a hack saw.

In fact,W1 or OI can harden if you saw OR FILE it too vigorously. It will harden a few thou deep,just enough to ruin the teeth on your file or saw. The heat from cutting it,even filing it too fast,can cause this localized hardening.
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I believe it might be hardened because while cutting the blank it destroyed a high speed steel bandsaw blade. The same blade will cut tool steel with no problem as long as it hasn't been hardened. I have never had a problem with it work hardening any steel before. The only metal i can remember cutting on the saw which caused damage to the blade like this one was some type of .187 thick titanium. I don't have any experience with pattern welded steel so was unsure if the damage was hardening or possibly the very thin layers of metal jamming in the teeth.i didn't expect the blank to be hardened. I have never cut any known hardened steel on the saw so I have nothing to compare the cutting too.
 
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Ebel440 said:
I've decided I need to make myself a new knife. I have only made a few before this, a couple fixed blades and 3 folders I think. I got started on this because I was looking for some steel on ebay and saw a cheap piece of pattern welded steel. I bid on it thinking I would loose. Well I won it, a piece of 12"x.200x1.75 made of 1095 carbon steel and 15n20. It came from the USA but I'm pretty sure it was made in India or Pakistan. When I got it the blank was actually 11.9 long and 1.64 wide and varied from .200 to .16 thick. It's claimed to be 55-58 rc hard. I have been meaning to contact the seller to see if it really is hardened as it looks like a generic ad which is used for pre shaped knife blanks as well. I decided to copy the shape of a knife I carry everyday as its what I'm used to.

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If you're talking about the pattern welded steel, you said it (per advertisement) has been hardened and tempered back to 55-58. That's pretty hard to work on at that hardness. You may want to anneal, work it, re-harden it then temper to your desired hardness.
 
george wilson said:
If the blade blank was hardened,you would not be able to cut it with a bandsaw or a hack saw.

In fact,W1 or OI can harden if you saw OR FILE it too vigorously. It will harden a few thou deep,just enough to ruin the teeth on your file or saw. The heat from cutting it,even filing it too fast,can cause this localized hardening.
Click to expand...
Yup, I ruined my last bandsaw blade cutting some O-1.
 
It was some time ago but The uncertainty came from the same ads being used for finished blades. And buying from an auction site you don't always know if the seller is correct . I got the metal cut close enough to finish it with grinding and if I need to there's always carbide tools. I have more material so I suppose I should try heat treating some to see what it actually does. But I've been to busy working to really do anything on it anyway. I've never worked with this type of material before so I've just got to figure everything out.
 
Andre,what FPM cutting speed were you using on your bandsaw? I have a Roll In bandsaw,a MCS 14" contour saw,and my old 4"x6" tilting bandsaw goes down to 75 FPM (The first metal cutting saw I ever had. A Dayton),which will cut tool steel. But,over heating can harden the steel just a few thou deep,like I mentioned. Are you using any cutting oil?

Ebel440: If your steel blank is hardened to about 58 RC,you will not be able to file it. Try to file it. Use a spot on the file that you don't normally use. Like the very tip or the teeth just ahead of the tang. Don't take a long stroke as it may be too hard,and will dull all of your file's teeth. A FINE file will cut harder steel than a COARSE one. So,use a fine file.

If you can't file your blank,you won't be able to saw it either. The whole blank will have to be shaped by grinding,and holes will have to be drilled with straight fluted carbide drills.

You can ANNEAL the blank by carefully heating it up. Polish the blank and you will be able to see the colors. By polish,I mean to sand it till a little bright with fine wet or dry paper. Heat the blank. It will turn yellow,then brown,then blue,then GRAY. The gray should be the temperature at which your blank is annealed,or softened. his can be done with just a propane torch,or lay the blank on your kitchen stove burner.

It must be allowed to cool SLOWLY. DON'T quench it! When you get your blank annealed,you can saw and file it,and drill holes with a DECENT drill bit(not Chinese!-they are not always hardened!)
 
I've made several sheath hunting knives but not a folder. Your making this look fairly easy even for my one good hand. I'm gonna watch as they say with baited breath. Thanks
 
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