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There's something about a file knife. So here's the file capers I've been working on. Pretty handy little knives. 6 3/4 long with a 3 1/8 blade. Trust me that file steel is screaming sharp!
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I really like the looks of a file knife but really wouldn't want to have to clean the gunk out of the file portion. Blood, fat, hair, food particles, and whatever in those fine grooves have to be a pain in the rear to clean all the time.
Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.
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yeah I know but if you grind all the coolness off of it, it's just a bar of steel...
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If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Beautiful work there. I’ve made my share of file knives myself, with two on my bench currently. You did a great job on those.
You only live once, but...if you do it right, once is enough.
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Love those knives, great work
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Great looking knives. Files are kind of brittle, do you temper them ?
Clean a file with a file card, you could clean these the same way...
Last edited by old_boots; 08/12/23.
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I very much dig those! The shape and the looks! Very well done!
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Have two that Dan made for me 7 or 8 years ago with 100+ year old ARCADE harrier rasps.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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Great looking knives. Files are kind of brittle, do you temper them ?
Clean a file with a file card, you could clean these the same way... You anneal them, then profile and grind. Afterwards, the blades are re-heat treated, tempered, then ground to final dimensions. Prior to all this, a section of the file is tested to see IF the file steel is suitable (will harden correctly). If so, then proceed with annealing-> finished product. Many current production files are only surface hardened….not suitable. I only use old, vintage files, for that reason. They almost always are suitable for bladework. Again, beautiful work OP.
Last edited by Godogs57; 08/12/23.
You only live once, but...if you do it right, once is enough.
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Those are very nice knives.
Don't see many file knives that clean up that well.
Just because you're offended doesn't mean your right.
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I personally love the look of a file knife. Something old school, rugged and basic about it that works for me!
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Yours look good. I don't fool with them forging because simple steel is so cheap There's no need to fool with testing the steel to see if it will work. Old files were mostly good steel but who knows what kinds of additives are in today's files.
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Great looking knives. Files are kind of brittle, do you temper them ?
Clean a file with a file card, you could clean these the same way... You anneal them, then profile and grind. Afterwards, the blades are re-heat treated, tempered, then ground to final dimensions. Prior to all this, a section of the file is tested to see IF the file steel is suitable (will harden correctly). If so, then proceed with annealing-> finished product. Many current production files are only surface hardened….not suitable. I only use old, vintage files, for that reason. They almost always are suitable for bladework. Again, beautiful work OP. Used to buy scores of older files for this purpose at the flea market. Vintage American made Nicholson, Heller, Hays and Arcade files are excellent. Arcade files with the Horseshoe Trademark were always a personal favorite. Newer production steel files that are made in China, Taiwan or Pakistan don’t work.
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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Great looking knives. Files are kind of brittle, do you temper them ?
Clean a file with a file card, you could clean these the same way... You anneal them, then profile and grind. Afterwards, the blades are re-heat treated, tempered, then ground to final dimensions. Prior to all this, a section of the file is tested to see IF the file steel is suitable (will harden correctly). If so, then proceed with annealing-> finished product. Many current production files are only surface hardened….not suitable. I only use old, vintage files, for that reason. They almost always are suitable for bladework. Again, beautiful work OP. Used to buy scores of older files for this purpose at the flea market. Vintage American made Nicholson, Heller, Hays and Arcade files are excellent. Arcade files with the Horseshoe Trademark were always a personal favorite. Newer production steel files that are made in China, Taiwan or Pakistan don’t work. Exactly! That’s what I use. I also stay away from Belotta horseshoe rasps. Made in Brazil. Work fine for horses….very questionable for a blade.
You only live once, but...if you do it right, once is enough.
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The old American files are high carbon steel
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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Well all I can say is I've never had a flat file that failed to fully harden. I quench in Parks50 abd have my heat treat numbers down, so maybe that helps. As for horse rasps, I've had a few Nicholsons fail to harden but then I've had some Belotas harden and make great knives. I make file knives because I think they are cool. Kinda neat to make something out of grandpa's old tool from the 30's. My hunting knife when I elk hunt is a Nicholson file. Skinned many an elk with that so I know it's good steel.
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Well all I can say is I've never had a flat file that failed to fully harden. I quench in Parks50 abd have my heat treat numbers down, so maybe that helps. As for horse rasps, I've had a few Nicholsons fail to harden but then I've had some Belotas harden and make great knives. I make file knives because I think they are cool. Kinda neat to make something out of grandpa's old tool from the 30's. My hunting knife when I elk hunt is a Nicholson file. Skinned many an elk with that so I know it's good steel. That’s the one that you made for me Dan!
"When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." Hunter S. Thompson
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that's one of my all time favorites.
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Well all I can say is I've never had a flat file that failed to fully harden. I quench in Parks50 abd have my heat treat numbers down, so maybe that helps. As for horse rasps, I've had a few Nicholsons fail to harden but then I've had some Belotas harden and make great knives. I make file knives because I think they are cool. Kinda neat to make something out of grandpa's old tool from the 30's. My hunting knife when I elk hunt is a Nicholson file. Skinned many an elk with that so I know it's good steel. Nice!
If you take the time it takes, it takes less time. --Pat Parelli
American by birth; Alaskan by choice. --ironbender
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Well all I can say is I've never had a flat file that failed to fully harden. I quench in Parks50 abd have my heat treat numbers down, so maybe that helps. As for horse rasps, I've had a few Nicholsons fail to harden but then I've had some Belotas harden and make great knives. I make file knives because I think they are cool. Kinda neat to make something out of grandpa's old tool from the 30's. My hunting knife when I elk hunt is a Nicholson file. Skinned many an elk with that so I know it's good steel. Wow! I really like the shape and look of that! Well done.
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I've never been intrigued by a file knife. I think these 2 just changed my mind.
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Stunning knives. Thanks for sharing.
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Good looking knives Dan! I'd love to see those blades with about 15 years of use on them. The patina a carbon steel knife gains through normal use and age is a big plus to me. I made some file knives when I was forging blades just because the steel was good and it was also free. I don't think I've ever made one using the stock removal method.
Harry
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I've never been intrigued by a file knife. I think these 2 just changed my mind. I’ll be honest here and say I never understood how a file could be tempered/retempered to be a true contender with other steels. Thanks for the educating comments! PS - those are as beautiful as any of your other knives!
Bob Enjoy life now -- it has an expiration date. ~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~
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