Hi all,
So, we are all stuck at home.
Sky for some of us has been unfavourable for astro, so you want to keep busy, active and doing stuff. One thing this StayAtHome is offering many of us is the chance to do some of those projects, astro or not, that have been on the backburner for a LONG time.
You are welcome to add your project to this thread! It will be a welcome change from some of the dire threads of late too.
~x-X-x~
Me, I've been wanting to make a knife for some time now. I'm sick of the ones I have at home that just refuse to hold an edge, or the ones that do hold an edge I can't take with me camping or to clean up animals taken at the family farm.
I was not about to forge one out of wrought steel - too time consuming and requires a skill set I don't have. But there is an easy to acquire quality of high carbon steel that is perfect for this - old steel files! This was not my first file-steel knife - I lost the first one I made, and it was very crude compared to this one, but the experience I gained from it was invaluble.
Yes, I know that files can be brittle. This is especially the case for new ones, and I have also broken one. So I found some old Australian made Whiltshire files that I rescued from the recycling tip. And to shape it, I used an angle grinder, being careful not to let the blade get too hot so not to lose the temper (hardness) of the file, constantly cutting a small amount and then spraying it with water. I deliberately left some of the original file cutting texture on the blade and tang. The steel is protected from rusting with good ol' canola oil.
The scales (timber used for the handle) was from good ol' Aussie red gum that Wavytone gave me - thanks mate!
The scales were epoxied on as the unannealed steel is just too hard to drill through to use rivets. Then the scales were shaped and varnished.
The final edge was given after the varnish had cured for a few days. And Goddamn it is sharp!!! I can shave my arm using any part of the length of the blade.
Thanks for looking and adding your project to this thread.
Alex.