mystery steel and return on investment?

J

jkf96a

Well-Known Member
About a year into making knives, so about 6 years ago, I was in the stage where I was scrounging around for "free" "knife" steel. One of the things I found was a tooth off of an old drag harrow from my great grandfather's farm. Thinking it was cool to have steel that worked the ground on my family farm, I took it and added it to my pile. I didn't have but a pile of bricks and charcoal, nor a suitable anvil, so it sat on my bench. Fast forward to last November... I had finally built a forge, finally got an anvil, so I forged a blade from the harrow tooth. I have forged maybe 15 knives at this point, tops. I heat treated it and got it to 58 RC. It's finish ground and ready for polishing, sort of a long hunter/small fighter shape. Here's my dilemma. I can make a good knife out of this blade. It's hard enough, ground well, will finish nicely, etc. On the other hand, it's a drag harrow tooth, not 1084, 1095, etc. I'm having a heck of a time deciding what to do for the handle. Part of me thinks I ought to just put a single guard and handle on it and keep it simple, a $275 or so knife. The other part of me wants to do an oval guard, fluted spacers, stag, and a fileworked butt cap, somewhere around a $500-600 knife in terms of parts and labor. I'm having a hard time convincing myself to go large, because of the provenance of the steel. What are your thoughts? Any suggestions?

I also forged a blade in the same session out of a piece of 1958 Ford truck leaf spring, just a simple drop point hunter. I went simple on that one, just a guard and a couple of spacers and a wood handle.
 
Jason,
You are doing so well for only making knives for what, 18 months? I am feeling old! LOL. My two cents on your question is to make something fun and usable out of this mystery steel for yourself since it has your family mixed with it and to save fancy for your known steel blades that you wish to sell to customers.
 
No, been at it nearly 7 years. Made around 350 knives so far, but only 15 forged blades. It's all grinding in the end, and I can make this one into just about whatever I can scheme up. I have some earlier knives made from family stuff as well, so I'm not too hung up on keeping this one.
 
Got a few pics on my phone, but none uploaded anywhere. Not much to see yet anyhow, just a 5 1/2 clip point blade about 1" deep and maybe 5/32 thick with distal taper.
 
Just me, but I'd like to think your great grandfather had many dozens of descendants on more than one branch of the family tree. I wonder if you have a relative that this would mean a lot to, maybe even a relative you don't know that well. I get sentimental about stuff like this and hate to think something family related got away.

But, design wise. Farming, plows, great gramps generation... none of that sound fancy. I think with the farming story and the age of the material, a plainer knife would make sense to me, reflection of simpler times.
 
Self Made Knives said:
Just me, but I'd like to think your great grandfather had many dozens of descendants on more than one branch of the family tree. I wonder if you have a relative that this would mean a lot to, maybe even a relative you don't know that well. I get sentimental about stuff like this and hate to think something family related got away.

But, design wise. Farming, plows, great gramps generation... none of that sound fancy. I think with the farming story and the age of the material, a plainer knife would make sense to me, reflection of simpler times.
Click to expand...

This is exactly my view on family. If it came off the family farm it should stay in the family. I,d put it in a shadow box on the wall with a nice story attached. Find a piece of wood from the barn for a handle.
 
Jason, I bet half the knives I have made have been out of so called mystery steel. Lots out of leaf springs, farming attachments, lumber mill saw blades, and my favorite mystery steel of all, 60 grade rebar: http://www.bladegallery.com/shopexd.asp?id=2750 Several have won best of show for what ever category I entered them in. 2012 I entered a knife from a Studebaker leaf spring that Wayne Goddard had given me and it won best of show in Washington. A collector couldn't wait to buy it even after I told him what the steel was. As long as the steel is carbon steel its not that difficult to figure out the heat treat. From time to time I will get some feedback like, I can't believe how well that rebar will hold an edge.
 
Thanks, guys, especially Raymond. Ray, your long-and-pointies were one of my early inspirations. I've long known that you in particular used found steel, but I figured that's because you were Raymond Richard and could get away with it. I suppose some day there'll be another young man come along and say that Jason Fry could get away with it. I don't anticipate moving full on away from my 1084, W2, CM154, and D2, but every once in a while there's just some "thing" that's begging to be made into a knife.
 
Now for the rest of the story...
Now that we're into March, I finally have the blade finished out. I figured with the rustic background of the steel, I should go with a complete rustic theme, and since it was family steel, I'd use family wood. We had our hardwood floors in our house refinished in January, and this material is some of the red oak floor boards. They were stamped on the backs as harvested in 1955 and milled in Gilmer, TX. A wrought iron guard, fluted ferrule, and fileworked finial finish out the package. This knife was built takedown, but is now glued. The right hand sheath is tooled with an oak leaf theme, to match the traditional "vibe" and the handle material. The steel is unknown, but tests at RC 58. The knife has a 600 grit hand finish and a convexed edge grind. Oal is 10 1/2" with a 5 3/8" blade. The blade is about 1/8" thick at the ricasso, with distal taper. Already sold it, $450 :) Guess you guys were right to encourage me to swing for the fence.
100_6477.jpg
Mark side
100_6480.jpg
Back side
 
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