Knife from file

[kahowell1]

I have been very busy trying to knock out Christmas orders. But I took a little while last night to work on something new. I work for a company that makes aftermarket automotive replacement carpet. After our carpets are molded they are trimmed with hawk billed knives. We use small files to keep the blades sharpened. That gives me a supply of a lot of old used files.

I first sketched my design out on the file. Then I anealed the file in the forge to make it a little easier to work with. After that I hollow ground the blade on the belt grider. Then I switched to sand paper and finished it up to 1500 grit. Next it went back into the forge. Once it was brought up to temp it was quenched in luke warm oil. Then back to the bench where I removed all of the scale and sanded it down all over again. After that it was tossed in the oven to temper for a couple of hours. Finally, I sharpened it on my belt grinder and put a convex edge on it.

So this was my first attempt.

Photo 1 is a pic of the files we use. 6 inch Bahco files

Photo 2 is a picture of the file after I sketched my blade design.

Photo 3 is the blade after being ground and sanded. It is ready for a handle.

[LeanMachine]

beautiful work. What does heating it in the oven do after you have heated and quenched?

[kahowell1]

Quenching it in oil brings the hardness back up but can result in it being too hard/brittle for practical use. Tempering it in the oven brings the temp back up enough to remove some of the hardness but not enough to sacrifice edge strength.

[LeanMachine]

are you accomplishing this in a conventional oven? What temp and how long?

[kahowell1]

Yep, I throw it in with some chocolate chip cookies and call it an evening.

Conventional oven at 350 for one hour. Then cut off the oven and let the blades cool to room temp inside the oven.

You could do a similar thing with a torch to the back of the blade for a few minutes but I've never felt comfortable doing that. I've always been afraid I would get the blade too hot and ruin the heat treat.

[LeanMachine]

Thanks for the info. You've been a big help, as always. I just finished a knife last night and did the sheath this morning. Wish i had read your post sooner. Oh well, i haven't had any trouble in the past.

[kahowell1]

As long as you don't try to use it as a pry bar you shouldn't have to worry about it. I've made a ton over the years that I didn't temper that never gave me any problems. I started tempering all of my blades the past few years because it helps the damascus etch a little better.

[donfish84]

Very nice.

[Shane]

Keith, how hot do you have to get the blade and for how long to anneal it?

[kahowell1]

I get it yellow red until it is no longer magnetic. Then let it cool to room temp. The slower it cools the softer it should be.

[big_smith]

Do you have a web site? I really want one of your knives. I would like to look at a group of your work.

[kahowell1]

I have a website that I don't update very often that shows some of the past knives I've done. www.howellcutlery.com

I also have a FaceBook Page that I update fairly frequently with things I'm working on. http://www.facebook.com/keith.a.howe...y/129780183898

It's a fun hobby and I encourage anybody to try it.

[kahowell1]

Thanks for the info. You've been a big help, as always. I just finished a knife last night and did the sheath this morning. Wish i had read your post sooner. Oh well, i haven't had any trouble in the past.

LM, You need to post a picture of your knife.

[big_smith]

kahowell1 just sent you an email about available inventory.

[major_74]

nice work