General discussion > Contemporary Accoutrements

grinding

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Ky-Flinter:

--- Quote from: Rolfkt on August 17, 2008, 09:17:58 AM ---Check if your file is carbon steel. If it is , go for it. But , a some cheap files are case harden mild steel and useless as knife blades.  Best regards,  Rolfkt

--- End quote ---

I've been considering the same type of project.....  How does one determine whether a file is carbon steel or mild?  BTW, I have heated the file cherry red and let it air cool, which I understand now, may not be enough.  Thanks,

-Ron

Rolf:
You are soposed to be able to tell the difference between mild steel and carbon steel by looking at the sparks a grinder throws. They have a different color and shape. That said, I've never been able to relyably tell the difference that. Thats why I forge my knives from purchased steel stock and I store it labeled.
You could anneal a pice of the file and then try to harden it. If it stays soft, its mild steel.

Best regards

Rolfkt

northmn:
Another way to tell is by brand.  Nicholson files are over 100 points carbon.  As stated if you heat it, and it gets soft its a cheap one.  As I understand it file knives were common.  I think maybe some of those big wheel foot grinders might make pretty short work of one as will a GOOD best sander. 

DP

J.D.:
File  steel was a precious commodity on the fronter, so knives made from worn files were few and far between. IMHO, knives made from files were a rather late phenomenon.

That said, a file needs to fully annealed by evenly and slowly heating it to critical temp, to the point that a magnet will not stick. It then needs to be put in a bucket of lime or hardwood ashes that has been preheated by placing a red hot bar into the ashes. The file needs to be covered by about 6 inches of ash so's it cools slowly. The steel should still be slightly warm to the touch, the next morning.

At that point, the annealed file will be easy to grind or file. The knife blank will need to be re hardened in light oil and tempered  once the knife is profiled and the edge ground.

Dphariss:

--- Quote from: J.D. on August 18, 2008, 04:15:39 AM ---File  steel was a precious commodity on the fronter, so knives made from worn files were few and far between. IMHO, knives made from files were a rather late phenomenon.

<snip>

--- End quote ---

This is something that is impossible to accurately comment on.
I suspect that files, used up or otherwise, were used where ever carbon steel was needed. Knifes may not have been a high priority item since knives were such a common trade item. But stating knifes made from files are only from a later date is simply not provable. If neatly done there would be know way to know if it started as a file or not.

Dan

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