All About Pocket Knives

I got ahold of a few old blades "carbon steel blanks" from the late 1800's early 1900's.
Kitchen cutlery Sabatier knives.
The blades look to be maybe cast not forged.
They are fully shaped with no blade edge yet.
They just need minor final shaping and an edge put on plus handles.
Were these blades fully shaped with an edge on them before or after heat treatment?
Any other way to test to see if these were already heat treated other than a file test?
I don't want to have to go through the treatment if I don't have to.
I want to do these knives up for my own use.
I can't stand stainless steel knives in the Kitchen.
I CAN NEVER GET THEM SHARP ENOUGH FOR MY LIKING.........

I know this isn't much help, but I have friend with a lot of old knife parts. He told me that on backsprings if they have holes in them it means they have already been heat treated. If they haven't been drilled yet it means they haven't been heat treated yet. He has a lot of both kinds. I would guess that if your knife doesn't have a cutting edge it hasn't been heat treated. Also in the Loveless book they show cutting and filing blade tapers before heat treating.

I've been doing filing and shaping with a sander on this knife.
It is a big old heavy French Chef's knife. Ten inch blade and about a pound in weight.
The knife has been ground somewhat by the factory already.
It is already tapered and roughly shaped with no edge when I received it.
This metal is very tough.
Probably the hardest I've sanded including known heat treated knives I have worked on.
The holes for the pins are already drilled also.
I think it was treated . We will see as I am going to use it without handles when I'm done the finish and see how the razor sharp edge I put on it holds up.

Can you post a picture of the knife?
I have some Schrade French Chef knives with 8" blades that are partially ground.
I think they are heat treated. Mine have full tang and take slab handles, (not stick tang).

I was told by a Company that heat treats custom knives that to try and drill a inconspicuous hole with a sharp bit in the tang where the scales will cover.
If it is hard to drill and skids around the knife was most likely treated.
If it is very easy and the bit grabs right away the knife needs treatment.
I used a new bit and it was difficult to drill and dulled the bit quickly.
In my opinion this knife was treated and is hard enough for use in my Kitchen.

:BEFORE: :AFTER SOME FINISHING:
"I put a convex edge on it"

knives-are-quiet wrote: I used a new bit and it was difficult to drill and dulled the bit quickly.
In my opinion this knife was treated and is hard enough for use in my Kitchen.

I think that is a very safe assumption!
That is much older than the Schrade blanks I have and it sure 'nuff looks like a Sabatier.
If you ever want to trade one of those Sabatier blanks, I have a lot of blanks to trade!

Well I ended up getting real busy.
For almost a year!!!...BUSY...... and never got back to this knife or any other since.
Now that I stopped working for awhile to take full time care of My Father I'm finding a little time to create knives again.
This knife sure comes in handy now that I'm Chief cook and bottle washer around here too.
I have been using the knife for a month or so and it's been sharpened only once but I give it a few strokes on the steel before using every night.
Razor sharp...............always~

Old World carbon steel with giraffe bone scales and white nylon liners attached with hand peened brass pins.
(no epoxy this time)

After the initial blade grinding everything was done by hand with files and sanding blocks.
"Same approach with the scales after peening" Too stinky of a substance to use a sander.
Just a coping saw, files and block.
I didn't go too crazy with the finish as the knife will see constant use.
I was a little worried about the tang as it had a slight bend in it.
But my assumptions were right that installing the scales would pull out the bend.
$75.00 dollars in materials including the 20 buck price for the blade blank.
Plus many nights filing and sanding here and there while watching TV over the last few months.

I guess the knife could be called an "antique factory custom kitchen cutlery knife".

"She's a keeper"................