If you are new at this or just a hobbyist blacksmith, you must spend a lot of time looking for scrap metals you can practice with. It’s easy to just take anything that remotely looks like metal and expect it to suit your job. But finding the best scrap steel for knife making can be a real deal.
Sometimes, you may be unlucky and go home with a bag full of alloy steels. While these have their uses, they are much harder to use and are more prone to damages by overheating.
They can also leave your work with traits you do not want in your finished work. So when looking for the best scrap steel for knife making, here are the best ones to look out for:
1. Wrought Iron
This is the the best scrap steel for knife making if you can find them. That’s a big ‘if’ because they would be long gone before you got there and you would most likely not find any. Many people find them before you and want to sell them to you at high prices. That defeats the purpose of finding scrap metals, right? Yes, it sure does suck!
2. Mild steel
Most people use this. It’s readily available and it gets the job done. Of course, it is not wrought iron, but it will do. It has higher carbon content than wrought iron, so it’s harder when you heat it, and is more difficult to weld under the hammer. If you are using electric welding, then this will work well for you. But this material might not be the best scrap steel for knife making.
3. Copper
This is a pure metal, which is very ductile. It is great for making architectural ornaments and decorative ornaments; especially when combined with steel. It can be forged and then used for whatever you have in mind.
All in all, most scrap metals are great. Some of them can serve as the best scrap steel for knife making. You can source for small knives, old files, old wagon tires, lawn mower blades, braided cables, leaf springs, etc. Furthermore, most steels will work, depending on what you are trying to do. When you find steel, take them and keep them, you will use it very soon. Be careful when scrapping though, think about your storage space because you do not want to turn your shop into a junkyard now, do you?