Finally completed is the sloyd knife for my father.  The blade in the previous post actually cracked due to mistreatment while still brittle hard.  I cut out another from the same saw blade.  Only about an hour lost.

The blade was heated to orange and quenched in oil to harden.  I shined it up and reheated it to bring out the temper colors.  When the right colors appeared, I quenched the blade in water. The cherry handle was epoxied on, then shaped with rasps and files.  The wood was sanded with progressively finer paper then buffed with beeswax for the finish.  It just melts into your palm.

Well, Dad hasn't named anything he wants for Christmas, so I'm making him a knife.  The basic shape I took from the book The Complete Modern Blacksmith.  Its known as a sloyd knife.

The blade came from an old circular saw blade which had lost most of its carbide teeth.  They are made of excellent steel, although perhaps a bit thin.  Its probably 3/32."

I believe this piece of wood will make a beautiful handle.  I'll use either brass or steel rivets to join the handle sides.

The faint straw yellow color is sort of visible towards the blade.  After cutting out the shape, I heated the whole piece of steel to orange hot and quenched it to harden it.  Then I put the handle back in and let the heat seep back through to temper the blade end.

This is really a quick project so far.  Just draw the outline and cut it out with and angle grinder.  I used the grinding wheels to smooth the shape out.  Shaping the handle will take the most time.  I hope to have it complete with more pictures by next week.


Bill