knife blade material

[geno]

I was told by a couple of knifemakers at mojam that a piece of steel I wanted to use was to old and I need "teen age steel". I went through the scrap pile today.Any of this look good to forge with? I dont think any of this use to be cadillacs.
G

[sticshooter]

geno you can make a knife from any steel. If you are making your first knife use what ever ya have on hand. PRACTICE and hen when ya make it and get the hang you can worry about good steel.and making another and another Practice makes perfect. IMO<><

[STOBBER]

I'm guesing the old file and the hay forks would be good choices. Both are very hard .The Hay forks are spring steel...i think !

[hickstick]

easiest way to tell if a piece is worth trying to make a knife out of is the hardening test. take a small piece of it & heat it until a magnet wont stick to it and get it just a little bit hotter, then quench it quickly in the largest vat of oil you got on hand (one of those disposable alum. turkey roasting pans with a few inches of canola, used motor oil, tranny fluid, etc.)  once completely cooled. then don all yer safety gear (eye protection-full face sheild, heavy gloves, etc.)  clamp the end of it in vise and whack the other end with a hammer.  

if it snaps cleanly or shatters, it hardened well and is worth trying.  if it simply bends over, then you gotta try another heat and using a faster quench like water (but only after doing the oil test first....some oil quenching steels will rip themselves apart violently if quenched in water)...still not hard?...then make something else outta it  

[2 dogs]

rail road spike not to good hay forks 5160 spring steel real good.old files good. i have been playin with old steelor free steel all summer.

[JEFF B]

hey its all good any steel will do untill ya get good at it  

[tippit]

To me, nothing worse than spending time working up a blade from poor quality/low carbon steel that won't hold a edge...seems like a waste of time!  Like hichstick said, you have to have hardened steel to be able to temper it (soften it so it holds the edge).  Low carbon iron will never get hard enough to effectively hold an edge.  What the blade looks like doesn't matter if it's usable.  Might as well start with something that will make a cutting edge...JMHO  Doc