Steel
for farrier knives
I have made several for myself over the years I have a large section of sawmill Band-saw blade I call it L6 , but who knows and saying that can start a discussion or two.
IT holds an edge ( farrier knives have to be flexible , are subject to being used in dirt mud ( wet dirt -
) and be run into rocks and bits of remaining nails.
You can buy A2 in the width and thickness you need it's fairly easy to use.
No mater what steel you use you will have to sharpen several times a day.
It's a tool -sharp knives make your life easer provide less wear and tear on your wrists . Kind of like a breaker bar- in reverse The sole is the force your wrist is the nut.
The bit about A2 is because I held a clinic for a world Champ Farrier and he had the attendees making knives out of it - He also makes/made knives
for sale to farrier suppliers.
The thing about being flexible is very important the last thing You want is for a knife to fail while you are pulling on it.
Farriers Have to ignore Moms warning about never cutting towards our selves. Thats the thing that causes stitches in us or the horse - we can recover from a slash. Horse owners will never let you recover from slashing a horses tendon.
In my opinion keep the blade as short as possible and the handle as close to the blade as you can. all the force required to make the knife work is provided by your wrist The longer the blade is from that pivot point the more work it takes - and the job is hard enough as it is.
I have been teaching Farriers for almost 20 years and I see all kinds of knives used by the now almost 2000 that I have taught.
I believe that the foot is like really hard Ice Cream no point having a big spoon since you can only get a small bit loose at a time. ( at least here in CA in the summer when the sole is as hard as glass.)
The L6 (?) I have I harden in oil.
Jarred IF you contact me I will plasma out a piece for you to try.
Email me OR PM ( I dont always check here for PM's )
Chuck
nails@unlimited.net
Rasps; Good ones all but Buffalo ( Bad bad ) are I believe 1095 they are hard and sharp will snap at the least provocation and NEVER bend .
No knife is abused like the little edges of a hoof rasp . The points are very small if they could not hold an edge we would be in real trouble. These rasps have several lives : first as a "Floor" Rasp - used only to trim hoof ;
as a "finnish" rasp to clean up the foot and nail clinches After the shoe is on; and a a "hot " rasp to clean up shoes, Removing Frog eyes, safeing and boxing the edges.
Knives made from them will hold an edge if hardened like the rasp they are made from - BUT that knife is as brittle as the original rasp . To make a using knife you have to soften the temper .
Hardening in oil will help
Everything is a compromise once softened it wont hold an edge as long
But hey You already Paid $20 for the steel might as well use it.
Chuck
http://www.farrierschool.com/