"Farm King" metal stock???

[Ted]

Was at FK today and in the metal stock rack I found a piece 3/16 2x36 for $12. Of course I'm gonna make knives with it. Anybody have any idea what kind of steel this metal stock is? Think it will make a decent blade? Any input greatly appriciated!

[your_comforting_company]

The metal shop where I worked had all sorts of different grades of steel. A36, T1, Manganese blends for plow parts.. Might ought to slip back over to FK and ask them for specifics. I don't know squat about making knives, but I do know that manganese stuff we used to cut would hold an edge like nobody's business! Being "Farm King" I would think they would have harder stuff than A36 for just about everything. Our stock for mainline was almost all A36 or T1

[klickitat]

most of the steel in those metal racks is mild steel. Not a good choice for making knives.

[Camp10]

most of the steel in those metal racks is mild steel. Not a good choice for making knives.

I agree. Most likely it is for fabricating and would be a mild steel. Home Depot sells 1018 in their steel rack (up here at least). For the price they are asking, it is most likely similar.

[shooter_250]

i don't know for sure..so don't quote me...my dad used to make knives from the "leaf" springs of old cars,,,now this was in the 60s' so "old" back then was a vehicle made in the early 40s' or before,,,,

i'd presume the same would apply to farm steel...the older, the better for knife making..and..the thing about old farmsteel...the farmer is usually happy to get the stuff outta the way...

just saying

God Bless

Lee

[canid]

shooter: they still make an apparent majority of automotive springs from SAE/AISI 5160, and probably all of them from something suitable as blade steel.

ted: as has been mentioned, pretty much all the structural steel you find at such places will be mild steel, since it's meant to be used as rolled, easy to cut, and in situations where it's just as easy to over build as to use strong materials.

[gryffynklm]

Ted, I agree with the above. The metal rack at most hardware locations will be mild unless specifically labeled with the steel type. If you want some flat stock to make a blade you can use an old "wonderbar" or similar pry bar. Its not the best but can be inexpensive from a garage sale. I've banged out a knife from a piece of lawn mower blade. Someone who has actually makes knives like Crash and the others in the knife pack could recommend other decent scrap old tool options for knife making.

When I lived in Illinois, the company I worked for used a machine shop for repairs and fabrication Jim the owner would let me buy some of his scrap that was too small for his needs but fine for me, for a just few bucks. Check with a local machine shop

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[crashdive123]

If you have access to old planer blades.......they are often made from D2.

[Camp10]

Another great source is a spring shop. Any place that works on heavy trucks probably has a pile of broken leaf springs in a corner someplace. Most of them will be happy to give you a few of the broken ones. They might look at you funny but thats a small price to pay for good knife steel.

I just climbed through the metal dumpster at work to grab a few lawnmower blades. You can get a knife or two out of each of them as well.

[Ted]

Thanks guys! Figured it wasn't the best considering I've priced O-1 on the net and it's 3x more for the same size piece! Hot rolled steel, Plain steel, on the label is what caught my eye. Figured it wouldn't be too hard on me grinder but could still be hardend and tempered.

On the found steel, I have plenty to play with!

Thanks again!

[Erratus Animus]

If you want to make a large knife 5160 is hard to beat and is many a smiths goto steel for a large knife. It is very cheap and will make as tough a knife as you could ever want as long as you do the ht correctly. The HT is not hard either and can be done with good results with a magnet. From Admiral steel a 22' flat bar of 5160 13/64 3/4 was 118 shipped 22' is the minimum length you can order.

That is a lot of steel and very cheap when you consider 0-1 @60 buck for 3' same specs.

[Ted]

If you want to make a large knife 5160 is hard to beat and is many a smiths goto steel for a large knife. It is very cheap and will make as tough a knife as you could ever want as long as you do the ht correctly. The HT is not hard either and can be done with good results with a magnet. From Admiral steel a 22' flat bar of 5160 13/64 3/4 was 118 shipped 22' is the minimum length you can order.

That is a lot of steel and very cheap when you consider 0-1 @60 buck for 3' same specs.

Man that is cheap!!! Thanks E.A.