Are these good files to make a knife?

martinjj

Well-Known Member
I was given a bunch of files from a friend and most of them are Black Diamond Mill @@@@@@@ files that I know are good for making knives out of. I also have one stamped with a big diamond on it and made in china, probably not a keeper but I really like the file pattern on it! I also have one that is stamped Hindusthan India with the image of pliers on it. Looked on line and found a Hindustan(spelling without an h) file company but nothing for Hundusthan files.
Thanks,
Martin
 
I can't remember where I read this, but heat up tang of the file. Air cool , then put the tang in a vice. Bend back on the file. If it bends the steel is no good, but if it snaps at the tang it will make a good blade. Hope I got this right, my memory is getting worse everyday:rolleyes:
 
No, file tangs are soft, and files are not of air hardening steel. The tang should bend whether heated and air cooled, or as is. You would have to heat and quench to see what you have. One is much ahead to buy a known steel as to try and heat treat file blades anyway. Even good ones are problematic to heat treat well.
 
I remember reading, some time ago, that Black Diamond files were typically made from W1 or W2. I few years ago, I made a knife using one of these files and it ended up a rather nice knife. Good luck.
 
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