Where to next?

[CactusBob]

After seeing how easy some of you guys make creating a knife look I just had to try.
I picked up an old Nicholson file at the used tool store
Stuck it on my propane burner until it was cherry red then let it cool slowly.
Went over to my neighbors where we used a angle grinder to shape the blade and a 1X30 belt sander to add the bevel.
I have some sanding to do on the blade to get rid of grind marks but then I have to find a way to heat treat and temper this thing.
Since I don't have a forge or really anything except the burner on a propane kettle grill how can I HT and temper this or should I send it to someone to do that?
Thanks for any help

Bob
(Sorry for the crappy pics I had to use my tablet. Mora #1 is for size comparison)

 

[hughewil]

This is what I did and it seemed to work for me.

Keep in mind that you can't be 100% sure what the steel but it could be 1095 since it is a nicholson.

1. Heat the knife until it is non magnetic in a fire and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

2. quench the knife edge first in canola oil heated to about 300 degrees and hold it there for a minute then quench the rest of the knife.

3. take it an dplace it in the oven for 1 hour. After an hour take it out and let it air cool to room temp then place it in for another hour.

4. remove knife and take it to the belt sander to put the final edge on and then sand and buff it to clena it up.

5. make and attach scales.

6. make sheath

7. Enjoy every step and become addicted.

8. Order some bars of 1084 from Aldo, leather for sheaths, wood for scales and set about spending all your fre time making knives.

Since you don't know exact steel this proabbaly won't get the knife to it's perfect hardness, but it should work to make it usable.

I made these from files

I made this one last week out of some 1084 I got from nj steel baron

I have the bug now

 

[CactusBob]

I like your work, hopefully this will come out near that good. how do you heat the canola oil to 300 degrees without it going into flames?

Bob

 

[hughewil]

I put it in a pot and stick it in the oven. 300 degrees is the temp I was told , I didn't check it to get an exact reading but it was hot.

 

[Ironwood]

Every one is different with their recipes. I quenched in veggie oil and found the blade to be too soft.

After the quench, a file should just barely skate off the blade and not obviously bite into it. I quenched in a salt water brine and then tempered in the oven at 415 for 40 minutes. Seems to have worked decently.

Be sure the quench is successful before proceeding. A blade is crap without a good heat treat. It took me three times to get it right with my last project.

Test the steel after the quench before tempering it. Don't become too attached to any blade until you get a good heat treat. Many knife makers loose many blades to the quenching process warpage, cracks, and snap offs are common it is part of the growth, and the riddle of the steel. Be patient. When you nail your first one it will be worth it.

 

[CactusBob]

Test the steel after the quench before tempering it. Don't become too attached to any blade until you get a good heat treat. Many knife makers loose many blades to the quenching process it is part of the growth, and the riddle of the steel. Be patient. When you nail your first one it will be worth it.

I take it you test by putting a file to it? How do you loose a blade? Does it crack?
Thanks for the info

Bob

 

[Ironwood]

I take it you test by putting a file to it? How do you loose a blade? Does it crack?
Thanks for the info

Bob

When you quench be sure to drop the blade in vertically tip first. Perfectly straight down. This will help prevent warpage. Yes they can crack or warp or be so brittle that a slight tap of the blade on a hard surface will snap it off.

Sometimes it comes down to the age or quality of the steel. Seems the vintage steel is better in the Nicholson files. I lost my last two where I bought new files. I used water to quench and had good results before these last two, but that was an older Nicholson. The tempering will make it less brittle and tough. There are sweet spots in all these procedures. Just takes time to rule this temp out or that quench in. Its a real balancing act.

I just ran a file over the top of the spine after quenching. You are aiming for a hardness just under that of a file because a knife takes more abuse and should be a little softer and tougher than a file hardness which is brittle. If you use oil I doubt you will have crackage. You may have to contend with it not being hard enough. If the file bites easily into it after the oil quench you may have to try a different quenchant.

This was my first quenched in water and tempered at 400 for over an hour.

This was my latest quenched in salt brine. Half cup of salt for average bucket size of water

Keep us posted.

 

[Ohio Bushcrafter]

Thank you for your post,I hope some of the custom knife makers on the forum chime in to give us their "2cents" about the topic.

 

[CactusBob]

Sometimes it comes down to the age or quality of the steel. Seems the vintage steel is better in the Nicholson files.

Hopefully this is my case. The file was an old one I picked up at a place that sells used tools. What size bucket do you use and do you heat it at all?

Bob