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Home made bushcraft knife

Thi knife cost $0.00 to make it's a fun project to do. I used files, my dremel, sandpaper and a drill. I hardened my blade in white hot coals and quenched in water. I polished the blade first using 180 grit, 220 then 240 grit. After that i used a polishing compoundwith my dremel to make it shine like a mirror. Hope you enjoy.

29 comments

Feb 11, 2012. 9:11 PMpopperman.3000 says:

i lyk ur knife
but wat metal did u use

Oct 7, 2011. 2:51 PMninja of suburbia says:

first of all, your blade is not strong right now. hard, yes, but not strong. here's the difference: a hard knife will not be marked or scratched, but it will shatter with a hard blow. a strong knife can be marked, but a hard blow will do nothing to it. to rectify this problem, you need another step in your process. take the just-quenched piece of steel, and sand it to a point where you can see some polished metal. then, take a blow torch to it until you see a golden tinge on the polished surface, not a golden GLOW, a golden TINGE, the metal itself is turning gold. this is called tempering, and will undo some of the hardening done in tempering, rendering the blade stronger. also, it is a good idea to quench in oil, not water. automatic transmission fluid works really well.

Jan 31, 2012. 10:01 PM

cobalt420 (author) says:

Thankyou so much this is my first knife and i did not find exactly how to heat treat but now i know. Thanks!!!

Feb 2, 2012. 1:31 PMninja of suburbia says:

No problem, I'm glad to have been able to help.

Dec 6, 2011. 11:31 AMghost999 says:

dang you no a lot about knives

Dec 9, 2011. 2:08 PMninja of suburbia says:

I'd better, if I want to keep my status as a journeyman blacksmith.

Jan 30, 2012. 7:22 PMjaylan77 says:

i do some home blacksmithing
and temper by heating until almost red hot then cool in sump oil

Jan 31, 2012. 5:26 PMninja of suburbia says:

you have the right idea, but you're not quite doing it right. First, that's called heat treating, and is one step before tempering. second, what you want to do is he the entire knife to the same temperature. I would recommend a glowing orange about the same color as our name texts. then, quickly dunk it, cutting surface first, into the oil. next, follow the tempering instructions I posted earlier in this thread.
enjoy!

Jan 27, 2012. 7:01 AMcurvy77 says:

to truly test a knife, most people would set up a situation in which another object hits the blade with sufficent force and see if it cracks, breaks or shatters. to test the sharpness one should use multiple objects rangeing from soft clay texture, to soft fruit, then harder fruit, maybe pumpkin after that, then work to soft wood, mid wood , then tough wood such as oak. the easier the edge cuts into the object with minimal force ( just enough pressure to make sure it stays straight but not to little so that it only rests on the object) relates directly to both the sharpness and weight of the blade.

Jul 8, 2011. 3:23 PMokoshima says:

i wouldnt have quenched in water... not good for your blade at all

Jan 27, 2012. 6:53 AMcurvy77 says:

not exactly true. in medevial times up through the renesanse many blades armor and horse shoes were quenched in cold water and turned out fine if not great. i too use water and my blades remain strong with some flexibility.

Jul 30, 2011. 12:12 AMdoomsdayltd says:

yea when heating up metal then rapid cooling it with water will cause anything from micro-cracks to even full metal combustion. It's dangerous to rapid cool any form of metal at all, best to dip it in oil :D

Mar 14, 2012. 10:13 AMThe Metal One says:

i realize this is a little late on the uptake but if you knew anything about heat-treating blades then you would know that oil cools the metal much faster than water. this is due to oils high flash-point, keeping the metal in contact with the cooling medium as much as possible. this creates a harder, more durable edge.

Dec 25, 2011. 12:24 PMElectric Warrior says:

The BEST samurai blades were made by water quenching.

May 10, 2012. 2:00 AMnunchucker says:

there's a clay sort of coating at different thicknesses when this is done.
this gives the blade the curve and also the "hamon"

Jul 14, 2011. 11:39 AM

cobalt420 (author) says:

hi,

can you go to the launch it chalenge click entries and vote for my baseball launchit contest entry.

thanks

tell your friends to vote for mee too!!

Jul 20, 2011. 6:58 AMokoshima says:

no.

Jul 8, 2011. 4:22 PM

cobalt420 (author) says:

its the kind that you have to quench in water.

Dec 6, 2011. 11:31 AMghost999 says:

very cool

Jul 8, 2011. 10:21 AMRanie-K says:

What was used for the blade?

Jul 14, 2011. 11:39 AM

cobalt420 (author) says:

hi,

can you go to the launch it chalenge click entries and vote for my baseball launchit contest entry.

thanks

tell your friends to vote for mee too!!

Jul 8, 2011. 3:19 PM

cobalt420 (author) says:

the metal?

Jul 18, 2011. 9:29 AMRanie-K says:

Yes, the metal.