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Patch knife making

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DRameySr

32 Cal
Joined
Mar 26, 2020
Messages
17
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10
Location
East Texas
I'm trying my hand at making a patch knife. Not forging but using an old old hickory knife. My question is how to cut the hardened carbon steel without ruining the integrity of the heat treating of the blade?
 
I'm trying my hand at making a patch knife. Not forging but using an old old hickory knife. My question is how to cut the hardened carbon steel without ruining the integrity of the heat treating of the blade?
I am not a knife maker, but have dealt with shaping metals with pre exiting hardness. The main objective in grinding is to go slow and do not overheat. I have a slower, but powerful bench grinder. I keep my bare finger right where I am grinding. When it gets uncomfortable, I quench in water. This method has always worked for me. The main thing to remember is do not hurry the grind and the thinnest area will get the hottest.
Flintlocklar 🇺🇸
 
Got the blade cut using a file... Now I'm figuring out how to cut the tang area out. As I'm limited to only a file at the moment due to limited funds I'm having problems but not giving up. Seems logic tells my slow & steady with the file & I'll be ok.
 

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I have cut a few blades, and many “Trade point” arrowheads out of old sawblades using an abrasive disk in a Dremel Tool. If you have one available, go for it.
Cheers,
R
 
You don't need to worry about the temper towards the butt of the tang. Ease up when you get near the blade, but a little blue near the blade edge is OK as tougher in that area doesn't hurt. Make sure to round the inside corners. Use a concrete bit to cut holes in the tang. Or you can buy one of those fancy carbide bits.
 
Have trimmed em down in that pic... Just a little added look to the knife is all they're for,... Added finished pic except for sharping
 

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That’s a fine looking knife. How long is the blade?

Welcome to the fire by the way... :ghostly:
Thanks..... 3 inch blade... Was a fun project & a wore out arm & hand from all the filing on that old hickory blade to make the tang
 
Took a few more pics of my knife I made from side, top edge & bottom edge
 

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Nice job! Using a file to remove that material is a great example of patience and determination! The finished knife looks great. I have messed around and modified several old butcher knives myself. One alternative is to stick the blade in damp ground and soften the tang with a propane torch. The damp ground acts a heat sink to protect the blade. This also helps if you want to drill pin holes in a tang. Keep researching and experimenting and you will find that annealing the blade to soften it for filing and then re-heat treating isn't really all that complicated. Another possibility is to cut vertical lines down to your outline with a hack saw first, to make the horizontal cut easier. That is if you have a hack saw. Have fun and keep up the good work.
 
Nice job! Using a file to remove that material is a great example of patience and determination! The finished knife looks great. I have messed around and modified several old butcher knives myself. One alternative is to stick the blade in damp ground and soften the tang with a propane torch. The damp ground acts a heat sink to protect the blade. This also helps if you want to drill pin holes in a tang. Keep researching and experimenting and you will find that annealing the blade to soften it for filing and then re-heat treating isn't really all that complicated. Another possibility is to cut vertical lines down to your outline with a hack saw first, to make the horizontal cut easier. That is if you have a hack saw. Have fun and keep up the good work.
Thanks for the kind words. I will have to research annealing a blade. Got another old hickory blade I'm gonna modify. Gonna take me a little more time on that one. I'll send the pattern to you for your opinion & advice.
 
Have trimmed em down in that pic... Just a little added look to the knife is all they're for,... Added finished pic except for sharping
Good looking blade! All of our kitchen knives are Old Hickory and we use them every day. Ours are not hardened- I use a fine file to sharpen them. Good choice of a project.
 
If they are Old Hickory, they were hardened and tempered. Old Hickory used to be 1095 steel. Good steel if the heat treat is well done.
 
If they are Old Hickory, they were hardened and tempered. Old Hickory used to be 1095 steel. Good steel if the heat treat is well done.
I believe it was hardened cause the filing was slow & at times just skidded across as I was filing. Had a blast doing it & getting ready for my next project.
 
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