Best Scrap Metal for Knife Making At Home

All of us love to go for ready-made products. But some people always try to use their techniques for building the items in their style. If we talk about making a knife, it is such a tool that demands effort and time to be manufactured. Still, some knife lovers create the tool in their homes as it offers some advantages as well.

If you are also the one who is interested in making knives, you are at the right place because we will cover top scrap metal that can be used in the blade. After reading this article, you will have enough idea about the best scrap metal for knife making and how you can use it for manufacturing a knife. 

Best Scrap Metal for Knife Making – List for Knife Enthusiasts

1. Carbon Steel

Those knife lovers who love to keep hard and strong knives for heavy duties should prefer carbon steel as it can fulfill both the desired characteristics. You have to ensure that the steel must be treated properly or it could break if it becomes too hard or soft. It all depends upon the heat you are giving to the metal. Moreover, if the metal becomes too soft, it will not become sharp as per your need.

Other than that, you also have to take care of the carbon steel as it can get rusted if not maintained properly. The most popular carbon steel that you can use for knife blades includes C1090, C1045, and C1075. The best thing about carbon steel is that you can find it quite easily even from your junkyard or from metal depots.

2. Stainless Steel

Stainless steel is one of the best metals for making knives as it includes multiple alloys that also include chromium and prevent the steel from corrosion. So, the lifetime of the blade also gets increased because of this element. If you are looking for rigid stainless steel that is also corrosion resistant, you should pick up 17-7 PH grade stainless steel.

Most people use 316-grade steel for making knives as it is quite sharp. However, this metal is thin so there is no guarantee of rigidness using steel. Similarly, 304L is also used for this purpose as it is honed and rust-resistant but this metal has the same issues as it is not that hard to be used for heavy duties.

Stainless steel can be easily found in hardware stores and metal shops. Moreover, you can also get all the categories of scrap metal quite easily.

3. Steel Cables

You may be wondering how steel cable can be useful for making knives. This may be tricky but quite interesting as the cables are simply plaited steel. Steel cables are highly coated with carbon. So, you can manufacture a strong knife quite easily that could be used for demanding tasks.

One thing that you have to make sure of using this material is that the metal can get oxidized. So you need to take great care of it. This kind of cable can be easily availed from the construction areas. Other than that, you can also buy it from any hardware store.

4. Tool Steel

Most of the tool steels that you see are carbon steels and alloy added in it that enhances the quality of the metal and makes it corrosion resistant. So, knife lovers who want a quality blade can have a good choice here. Among the top-quality tool steels, A2 is the best option because of its rigidness. This kind of metal is also very sharp in its work.

If you are looking for a rigid material that could be used for slicing thick items, M2 is a good option as it is quite hard. Moreover, some people are also focused on the rust factor so they can use D2 tool steel as it is rust-resistant.

5. Railroad Spears

Railroad spikes are also a good option for making a knife and it could be because of multiple reasons. The most important among them is the hardness of the metal. The spikes are already in the shape of knife blades so it is quite convenient to work with this kind of steel. That means you can easily set the shape of the knife and flatten it to make the blade sharp.

Once you are done with making the blade of the spike, the rest of the material can be used as a handle. The best thing about railroad spikes is that they are highly durable because of the high carbon in the steel. So, using the knife blade of this knife, you will never get disappointed in your lifespan because of its reliability.

Finding railroad spikes is not difficult at all. You can get it from junkyards and dumpsters.

6. Saw Blades

Want to do a fun experiment? You need to pick a saw blade as it is also a good option for manufacturing a high-quality sharp knife. Since the saw blades are already honed so you don’t have to work on the sharpness. Just cut the piece of the blade from the saw and use it in your knife.

Moreover, you also should try to use the old saw blades as they are rigid and can be useful for a longer time. The reason is that new blades may be sharper but are not strong enough to complete heavy duties.

Final Thoughts

If you are a knife enthusiast and want to make a customized knife, you need to choose the right steel for the blade. We have talked about the best scrap metal for knife making that can be helpful in this regard.

For those individuals who want a hard and rigid knife for heavy operations should use carbon steel as it is thick and stiff. However, this type of knife needs proper care or it gets rusted.

But overall, the best material that you will get for the knife is stainless steel and railroad spears as they are quite sharp and also resist corrosion.

Tool steel is also a good option for making knives as it is tough and straight so you don’t have to put a lot of effort while making this knife.