Making A Belt Knife

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Toepopper
Patriot ⭐ Construction, Shelter
Patriot ⭐ Construction, Shelter
Posts: 1229
Joined: 16 Aug 2007 12:03
Location: Southwest Oregon

Making A Belt Knife

Post by Toepopper »

I have a friend who saves old worn out files to be used to manufacture home made knives, he says that files have the best steel for a knife and once re-forged and hammered into the shape of a knife blade they will hold an edge and withstand much abuse. I disagree with his selection because files are a high carbon steel that will break if pressure is applied to pry something open. If you set a file in a vise and hit it with a hammer it will break like a piece of glass due to its high carbon content and extreme hardness, like tool steel for lathes and mills use. They are too brittle to use for anything other than cutting steel. A milder type of steel such as a piece of a leaf spring from a car would be easier to heat up and rework and the finished product will hold an edge and be more durable due to the steels ability to flex when striking a rock while chopping firewood or doing some other chore. A leaf spring gives you enough material to make a machete sized knife which is more useful than a smaller knife made from a file.
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bbj101

Re: Making A Belt Knife

Post by bbj101 »

Clever none the less...
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