Posted by Jeff in Buffalo [67.240.133.10] on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 23:15:48 :
In Reply to: Drill bits ?? posted by The Dodge Boys [64.121.152.7] on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 21:32:58 :
I got into knife making a while back (made one so far, plan to start another after I find a better belt grinder). I used a leaf spring, which was semi-easy to drill through using a cobalt drill bit (before heat treatment). Having tried to drill hardened steel, good luck. The best thing to do is anneal it first before doing ANY work if it is hardened - shaping and beveling will be much easier. If trying to use modern saw blades (i.e. circular saw blades), keep in mind that the bodies are sometimes mild steel with carbide tips (so if you make a knife with it, it will not harden much with heat treatment). As a side note, everyone recommends making knives from old files - from my reading I wouldn't bother unless he likes the look of the cut marks - they are very hard and some modern ones use powder technology. An old leaf spring worked well for me (5160 was a common leaf spring material on old cars and is also a common carbon steel used for knives), but try to find thinner ones.
Jeff in Buffalo
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