Hello everybody.
The boys and I were talking about wanting to make some knives, so wife got me a propane fired forge for Father's Day.
The only thing that I had on hand when she gave it to me was a piece of who knows what round bar. So I heated it up, chopped off a piece, got out some hammers, and commenced to pounding. I used a piece of Cedar left over from a tree that we removed in the spring for the handles.
It's ugly and I made a few mistakes, but I learned alot along the way.
I ordered up a few different steels to try next and got some 5160 spring steel, 52100 bearing steel, 1080 and 1084. I have since been told that I should stick to one metal until I learn it, then move on to another one.
For the second knife, I used the 52100 and went with stock removal instead of forging.
The handles are black micarta. I made a few less mistakes on this one.
I shifted gears and tried to make a pairing knife for the wife as her birthday is coming up.
The blade is 52100 and I found some buffalo horn for the handles.
I'm getting closer, but still have a ways to go yet.
What would be a good steel to start with for a hunting knife that will be used for gutting, skinning, cleaning, and be resilient enough to cut through the brisket of an Elk? 5160?