You made it look easy, its something Ive always wanted to give a crack, actually with the length of steel you've got you could make some pretty interesting fighting style or throwing knives.
I'm well interested now, just gotta tidy up my garage when winter finally relents and stops bloody raining.

rain..... RAIN... Ill send you some plurry rain!!!!!
If we get much more the chickens will either grow webbed feet or turn into rubber ducks

Mates, if its not for the rain, I wouldn't have taken the time to make this!!
It was a nice morning, with a little dew, but about 9am it starts drizzling, and because it is soaking wet in the range I thought to stay home and just make it.

Radar...get your hands on an old metal working file mate...once softened, they are easy to work, and once re-tempered and annealed they make a magnificent knife. And, as Gelan did, you can use a good wood fire to do the necessary softening, tempering etc. I've made four from old files.

Cheers, Vince

I'll have to give it a go sometime, maybe we can post some ideas into the primitive weapons forum - gimme some ideas and hints

radar wrote:

I'll have to give it a go sometime, maybe we can post some ideas into the primitive weapons forum - gimme some ideas and hints

Here you are Radar...a 9 page thread on Knives.

www.huntingnut.com/ind...p;start=30

Drop me a line any time mate if you need info on "how to" if you decide to use a file to make a knife. A file in it's "intended use" state is almost impossible to shape...unless you use a grinder...but it is easily softened so you can work it with a file, then re-harden and anneal to bring the level of hardness up to what it needs to be for a good knife. I don't have a forge to get ultra high temperatures, but a good wood fire using hardwood is more than adequate to treat the metal in a metal working file.

Cheers, Vince

+1 to Vince's

Using old file would enable you to make nice and hard blade that would hold edge for a long time.
OTOH, if you wish to just practice to make stuff, maybe an old wood chisel could fit the need.
Old car/trailer springs are great too..

Rough shape with a grinder, and finalize the shape with a good file.
Then use a linisher with fine grade to polish out the file marks.
Buff if necessary.
Scandi bevels are the easiest to make sharp edges.

chisel bevel is easier to make, is even sharper but to be honnest: I don't like it either.
But when you want to use a chisel bevel, be sure it's on the right side of your knife. A left bevel for right-handed use doesn't work for a bit.

Im bumping this as its too good to loose in the deep dark recesses of time...someone may just have similar idea in mind

LOL.. Good on ya Elvis.

Yep...I agree, a great thread.