making knives from odd steel

[John47]

Wouldn't the rail road spike be mild steel???? I have a couple of cold chisals I made some 40 plus years back from my apprenticeship. We spent some time with a blacksmith, they were made from old coil springs. Heated and annealed first, shaped, ground, hardened and tempered.

Not sure about files, but something tells me they are case hardened, so you might have problems with those.

 

[Bird]

My parents moved to Alaska in the Fall of 1965. Someone gave my Dad a heavy piece of an industrial hacksaw that simply had a lot of black electrical tape wrapped around one end for a handle and then one edge had been sharpened for skinning moose and caribou. Dad said it was hard to sharpen, but when sharpened would hold an edge better and was a better skinning knife than any store bought knife he'd ever tried. I wish I had a picture of what looked like a piece of junk, but I don't. Anyway, in the mid-70s Dad gave it to me. I really had no use for it, but a neighbor friend took it and worked on it. I still have it and the photo is what it looks like today.

 

[Soundguy]

wow! nice!

 

[PILOON]

When I was in the air force reserves I spent free time grinding a file into a skinning knife.
Once we were skinning a moose and all the blades available quickly dulled 1/4 way into the task.
My home made 'file knife' out lasted all the others, like about a 6:1 ratio!
A file blade can sure keep a fine edge for a long time.
Another source is a heavy duty power hack saw blade.(sawsall type)
I have one that I use to cut gyprock all the time. Lasts days B4 needing to hone it again.
I much prefer it to the usual Olfa style snap off blades.

 

[Bird]

When I was in the air force reserves I spent free time grinding a file into a skinning knife.

Funny coincidence. The neihbor friend I mentioned making the knife for me retired from the air force active reserves (OSI).

 

[nue2farm]

Don't forget farrier rasps and files. Horseshoes will work also. My Dad was a welder and used to make spear points from old files. He made machetes also.....

 

[Soundguy]

that reminds me.. I did see a horseshow knife once.

hm.. one moe thing to do.. I have spare horseshoes..

soundguy

 

[yomax4]

My buddy makes Throwing Axe's out of old Woods type brush cutter blades. He has a forge and uses coal to heat everything. These Blacksmith guys can make just about anything.

 

[brucewj]

I made this knife from a file. I made the sheath for it also

 

[Bird]

Very nice work, Bruce.