Forged knife blade from a file. A rusty, crusty piece of steel, that’s been used and abused. Personally, I can say that I have used a file for jobs other than what it’s intended for. For instance, I have used it for a scraper, prybar, and even a chisel. Files are made from tough tool steel, and they can be turned into strong knives if heat treated properly. The file that I used for this knife measured about 3/16” thick, and I cut it off to make a 5” blade. This is a hidden tang knife, with a brass finger guard for safety. The brass is soft, so usually when the tang is close to size, it can be gently tapped into position. The epoxy from the handle will make sure of it.

When hammering the steel, it’s important to keep it red hot. Forging at a lower temperature could cause stress cracks in the steel. Finding just the right tongs is another important step. If your tongs don’t fit the blade correctly, it could come loose while hammering. The jaw of the tongs should be parallel with the thickness of the blade. There are specific tongs that are made specifically for blade making. They work great but are expensive. Vise grips should never be used to hold hot steel. The clamping mechanism in the vise grips removes the ability to feel how much squeeze you have. Therefore, your hot steel could be almost lost, and you don’t even know it.

A file knife could be made without a forge, but you still need a way to anneal (soften) it before grinding. A file that is still hard will ruin your abrasive belts. I have always preferred the forged method of knife making instead of stock removal.  A forged blade adds so many qualities that I love. Including nostalgia, freedom of design, and much less cutting and grinding. Not to mention heat treating temperature is right at your fingertips.

I have made several knives in the past that did not have a finger guard, and now I much prefer to have one. They are easily purchased from eBay and are of decent quality. I love the look of the polished brass between the hammered steel and the handle material. Brass is soft, so if your hidden tang is not perfectly flat, the brass usually can still be tapped into place. I have used a worn-out adjustable wrench that acks as a tool for hammering down the polished guard.

Here I have used the cage method for my knife handle. It consists of a three-piece design, with the middle section cut to the shape of the tang. The two outer pieces of handle, are then epoxied to each side. This method removes the task of deep drilling in a solid handle. A real pain in the butt.

A simple metal coffee can has always served me well as a quench tank. A piece of sheet metal that fit over the top should be kept handy in case of flare ups. It’s best to have a plan to extinguish the fire, even if you never need it.