All About Pocket Knives

i am attempting my first built from scratch folder(nothing fancy) and could use a little guidance as far as materials are concerned. whats the best and easiest material to work with for blades and backsprings? what about tempering?Any advice is appreciated.

knifer-one,

Your talking about a pretty long tutorial here, maybe one of the guys will accommodate you it's hard to say. I suggest a couple of good DVDs and or books......................because purchasing the material is just the beginning.

Anyhow...........good luck on your new hobby! I hope someone comes along with better advice.

Wow. Um.... A good answer to your question would be an encyclopedia of opinions and speculation. I will tell you that I started with fixed blades, because folders are not easy in the least... and O1 steel, as it's easy enough to work with on your own (heat treating and tempering included) without much more than a simple MAPP torch and a mini-forge. The end result is a workable blade that has some very nice properties, and isn't a "throwaway" if it comes out all right.

Unless you want to invest loads of cash up front, Stainless steels are not for the beginner (specialized environment for tempering/high levels of heat, very picky). 1095, just because of it's purity can be tricky to work with as well. O1 gives you that little bit of wiggle room to be spot on without being perfect IMO.

Since this is your first, there are probably more answers here http://gbrannon.bizhat.com/ than you have questions at this point. I know I'm still running into stuff I don't know there. Good luck!