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Table of Contents
From File to Knife (with simple tools) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Step 3: Designing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Step 4: Annealing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Step 5: Profiling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Image Notes
1. Hardness test on quenched blade (step 8)
Image Notes
1. Spark test: mild steel (left) and high carbon steel (right)
Image Notes
1. Break test on round file
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Step 3: Designing
In this instructable I'll be making a knife with a full hidden tang.
The tang is the portion of a knife that extends from the blade and connects the blade to the handle.
Two common tang styles are the full tang and the full hidden tang.
A full tang follows the contour of the handle and is therefore visible.
A full hidden tang extends all the way through the handle, but is not visible.
The height of the thickest part of the handle depends on the size of your hand, but is usually about 30 mm.
So if you want to make a full tang knife, I would advice you to use a flat file that is about 30 mm (or at least 28 mm) wide.
In this instructable I'll be making a knife with a full hidden tang, because with this tang style the size of the handle doesn't depend on the size of the file.
You may either stick to my design (and adapt it to the width and thickness of the file) or make your own design (just make sure the construction is the same).
Image Notes
1. Warning: The end of the tang will be peened to secure the rear bolster, so the
final length of the tang (110 mm) will be smaller than the initial length (115 mm).
Step 4: Annealing
Materials can only be worked with tools that are harder than the material itself.
Files are hardened.
So before they can be worked with a hacksaw or other files, they need to be softened.
The softening is done by a heat treatment called "annealing".
Annealing involves heating the high carbon steel and cooling it down slowly.
You'll save a lot of work (and tools) if you do this correctly.
Annealing the file
Make a (char)coal fire and bury the file in it.
Make sure there is plenty of coal to surround the file completely.
Blow air into the fire with a pump to speed up the heating process.
The file should be heated to the so-called "austenitizing temperature".
At this temperature the carbon steel is red hot and non-magnetic.
After a couple of minutes of heating, expose the file to see if a magnet doesn't stick to it.
Also see if the file is evenly red hot.
Do this in the dark, as you'll see much more contrast between the different colors of the steel.
If the file is still magnetic and it isn't evenly red hot, bury it in the fire and continue the heating process.
If the file is non-magnetic and is evenly red hot, you know that the fire is hot enough.
Bury the file in the fire and heat it back up again (the file cooled down while it was exposed).
Then leave it to cool down with the fire.
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Image Notes
1. This picture was taken when quenching the blade (step 8).
The blade is at austenitizing temperature.
Image Notes
1. This picture was taken when quenching the blade (step 8).
The blade cools down quickly when it is exposed (compare to previous image).
Step 5: Profiling
In this step you will cut out the knife profile with a hacksaw and refine the shape with a file.
Marking out the knife pattern
Print and cut out my knife pattern or cut out your own design.
Then trace the pattern onto the annealed file (workpiece) with a scriber or permanent marker (I used a white pencil, which quickly faded due to the use of lubricating oil).
It's hard to accurately mark out the knife pattern on the grooved surface of a file.
I ended up using a caliper and a separate knife pattern, which I compared the workpiece to as I progressed.
Cutting out the rough shape
Secure the workpiece into a vice in such a way that you can make a vertical cut and that the cut is as close to the vice as possible to reduce vibration.
For sawing material with a thickness of 8 mm or less, a blade with 32 teeth per inch is recommended.
A minimum of 3 teeth should be engaged in the material at all times to prevent tooth breakage.
Install the blade on the hacksaw frame with the teeth pointing away from you.
Tension the blade sufficiently to ensure straight cuts.
Don't start a cut on a sharp edge, or else less than 3 teeth will be engaged in the material.
When sawing, apply a little bit of oil to the blade to reduce friction.
Use long, steady strokes and only apply pressure on the forward, cutting stroke.
Remove as much material per cut as possible.
If the cut is wandering away from where you planned to cut, turn the frame gently in order to twist the blade into the right cutting direction.
If you need to start a cut on an angle (with respect to the material), first make a shallow perpendicular cut that will keep the saw into place when sawing on an angle.
Refining the shape
In this step you'll first use a cross-filing technique to remove the most material and straighten the somewhat wavy edges made by the hacksaw.
Then you'll use a draw-filing technique to clean up the rough surface and flatten the slightly rounded edges produced by cross-filing.
Secure the workpiece into a vice in such a way that you can file in a horizontal plane most of the time.
Cross-filing (straight-filing):
Use a large coarse (bastard, double cut) flat file.
Finer files can also be used, but remove material less quickly.
When filing, you can usually feel whether you're using the right file and the right technique.
Grasp the handle in one hand and the tip of the file in the other, so that you can apply downward pressure.
Place the file diagonally on the edge, so that the file covers a large area.
This ensures that large errors (wavy edges) are corrected.
Move the file from tip to handle, in a direction not quite parallel to the file, to prevent grooving.
Use long, steady strokes and only apply pressure on the forward, cutting stroke.
Usually you have a tendency to file slightly on an angle, as opposed to perfectly horizontal.
Correct this error by changing filing direction by 90 and flipping the workpiece 180 in the vice.
Draw-filing:
Cross-filing usually results in a straight edge, but slightly round in cross-section due to the rocking motion of the file.
Draw-filing is used to make the edge flat in cross-section and perpendicular to the adjacent surfaces and to give it a fine surface finish.
Use a fine (smooth, single cut) flat file.
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Image Notes
1. cross filing
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Image Notes
1. Checking whether the tang is straight
Image Notes
1. Draw filing
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Image Notes
1. Blade cross-sections for typical grinds: (1) hollow grind, (2) full flat grind, (3)
sabre- or Scandinavian grind, (4) chisel grind, (5) double bevel, (6) convex grind,
(a) included angle, (b) grind angle
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Tempering
The color of the steel gives an indication of the temperature to which the steel was heated.
Remove the scale on the bevel, spine and tang with sandpaper so that the color of the steel will be visible when tempering.
Heat the blade to 175-350C for about 1,5 hour in a kitchen oven.
A higher tempering temperature yields a slightly softer material with a higher toughness, while a lower temperature yields a harder and slightly more brittle material.
I would recommend tempering in two or more cycles of 1,5 hour, because of the inaccuracy of a kitchen oven.
For example, if you want to temper your blade at 250C (brown-red):
First temper the blade at 175C.
If the steel didn't reach a brown-red, temper again at a higher temperature.
Image Notes
1. This picture was taken when quenching the blade (step 8).
The blade is at austenitizing temperature.
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
Image Notes
1. Hardness test on quenched blade (step 8)
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
http://www.instructables.com/id/From-File-to-Knife-with-simple-tools/
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