I'm making my first knife from an old Nicholson file and looking for some ideas on an inexpensive way to heat treat the blade.  I have a propane torch, but it doesn't seem to get hot enough to bring the whole blade up to a consistent temperature.  

I've seen people use small Weber grills and charcoal on other sites to heat treat.  Will this work well?  Does anyone have other ideas for a homemade/inexpensive forge?

Tim,
      You could get a lot of opinions about this. Most of them are likely to not work with your available materials. I recommend you do a search on the web and find something close to what your materials and situation will allow and go from there. Your point, of course, is to not be lead down dead end trails to get a usable forge.

You have to ask yourself "will I be making more knives or is this the only one?" That will influence which direction you take.

Tim, Google Ron Riel. He has a wonderful web site on building home brew forges. I built the "Freon tank forge" for little money and this thing will get hot enough to weld. Also a lot of other good information. Dan

You can make a small forge out of a soft fire brick and heat it with your propane torch.  It'll get it plenty hot enough to heat treat the blade.  Linn's question is a very valid one, though.  Do you plan on making more knives?  If so, you're probably going to want something else eventually.

Will I make more knives?  Well, I guess it depends on how the first one turns out!  So far, it has been a lot of fun.  I just don't want to spend more time building a forge than it takes to build my first knife.  Thanks for the suggestions.

Where do you find fire bricks?

Okay, so I just found this:   http://www.woodsmonkey.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=233:mini-forge&catid=41:how-to-articles&Itemid=63

What do you guys think?

that forge will work fine for heat treating smaller blades
the bricks can be purchased from ellis custom knife supply for about $30 for 3 shipped
the last time i checked
i started with a similar forge and forged this tomahawk

kevin

You do realize, of course, that the file is already hard?
What would be your process of "heat treat"?

Yeah, i annealed it with the torch prior to grinding the bevels.

A point to consider as you assemble/buy your forge is that it's pretty easy to get something hot.  It's another thing to be able to control the temperature and achieve an even heat distribution.

But, I say get started somewhere, somehow!  

Well, here's where I'm at as of tonight.  I've got a little ways to go, but I'm getting there.  As you can see, the handle is going to be a hidden tang, antler crown from a small mule deer shed.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/58432606@N06/sets/72157628832592065/with/6682417275/

Very nice!