Finland File Knife Blade

I made this from an old file from finland. I grinded it with an belt grinder. I brought the blade portion up past the magnetic point while leaving the ricasso and the shaft relatively cool.and then quenched it in oil. I mirror polished it by bringing up the grit from 80,120,220,400,1200 and polishing compound. i cut the right angles on the bottom to accept where i will be putting a brass cross guard and a hickory handle. i hope to get the brass soon and work on it shortly. i will pin the rattail in the handle. Does anyone have advice on the best way to do this with what i have so far?

Comments

[EmcySquare]

BTW: a hint on where to find some brass for guards: big old padlocks ;-)

[Basement_Craftsman]

I will have to check it out!! thank you. although it mite be easier to just buy stock material then search for padlocks, its not a very common item. unless you have any certain recommendations...

[EmcySquare]

Hehehe, where I live it's exactly the other way around: big padlocks can be found in DYI stores or even discarted if you know where to search for them, while stock material for brass is rather hard and expensive to find ;-)

[Basement_Craftsman]

haha thats bizarre!.

[EmcySquare]

Good Job !!
I subscribe to what mr.mountaineer said: do not use right angles where the blade ends and turn into the thang. Right angles makes that a weak point where the knife could break under heavy load. To do that I put holes in the file with a large drill bit, then I prefer to have a wide tapered tang.
One thing on the Heat Treat: passing the magnetic point is a weak hint you are going the right way. Let me explain: iron ( thus steel) gets non magnetic at 770°C, but most steels, due to the chemical composition, get to the austenic point between 750°C and 850°C or more, each steel has his own temperature. You should keep the blade at this temperature for 5 or 10 minutes (the thicker the blade, the longer) and then quench. Also quenching has some "tricks" you could use to maximize martensite content in the blade: Drop the temperature from (say) 800°C to 400°C in a second, then go to 200°C in 10-30 seconds and then keep the 200°C for 5 to 10 minutes or so.

[Basement_Craftsman]

Thanks for the input! i understand what you are saying but i only used the magnetism for a reference point i brought it up past it then continued the heat. i especially made sure to heat it more because of how thin the blade edge was. i needed to make sure it didnt cool simply in the time it took to bring it to the oil. Also so you know i was at the local group of blacksmiths i have been working with who have been at the trade for decades. i am not disagreeing with your points i just think i got the temper fairly good.

[mr.mountaineer]

awesome knife! I've never done a hand guard myself so i cant speak on that part, but for the handle i would suggest hot-fitting the tang, the basics of it are to heat the tang while keeping the blade cool and burning it into the handle. and a right angle on a tang like that will likely weaken the handle, the tang of a knife should always have a slight inward curve to it. keep up the good work!

[Basement_Craftsman]

thanks for the input. i have done some hot fitting before, probably 3 knives, but when it comes to the right angle issue i have read many controversial things about it. Some say that it will weaken it like you, others have said that the right angles only become an issue if the entire blade is heat treated but not the tang. this is what i think makes the issue. however since i only treated the blade edge i think i should be in the clear. the entire tang is still soft flexible steel so i should be fine. The reason for the right angles is just because it is easier for me to make it except the guard. i am just speaking from personal knowledge already gained so i may be wrong.

[mr.mountaineer]

Your welcome. my knowledge only comes from what I've read. I've never personally had a stick tang brake off myself, I'm just saying what iv read by many supposed professionals, whether its true or not, i don't know. I've only been making knives for a few years or so, so i barely qualify as an amateur, let alone a professional. all of the metal i use is already tempered all the way through (i wish i could heat treat my own knives but i cant afford a gas forge and coal and charcoal is hard to get around here) so i guess for the time being its best for me to round it off, but, hey, if it works for you, do it how it works and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

[Basement_Craftsman]

I would say that really sums it up. You could always spend 4 grand and buy an induction heater. those things work great. What i would recommend for you is to just heat up the blades using a couple of torches. Mapp gas works wonders. with 2 you can get a whole piece orange without any forms of insulation. Another thing you can try is just by getting a roaring fire say a bonfire night, and when a bed of coals develops, put the piece in there and add an air source. this should get the job done. As soon as it is not longer magnetic, quench it and you should be good. trust me annealed steel is much easier to work- BC

[mr.mountaineer]

for the knife I'm working on now, i used annealed steel and managed to get a decent heat treatment using an oxygen-propane torch. maybe I'll post it when i finish. i did find gas forge burner plans, so I'm planing on making my own forge.

[Basement_Craftsman]

i made a fairly good burner a few months back but its just a prototype. I made it out of black pipe and brass fitting connected to a propane line. ill get pics on sometime soon...maybe happy crafting-BC