jrrdw wrote:inonickname wrote:That steel is crap, you won't be able to get it sharp (if you think it's sharp, you don't know sharp) and it can't be treated. Just use it as practice stock and leave the knife as a practice or display piece.
Bro I have to step in here because if you are using the proper methode you can put a straight razors fin on just about anything including wood!
Well, you could get close. But it would still be harder to put an edge on than a good hard steel, and it wouldn't hold the edge once you've tried cutting anything much harder than butter.
And BTW, not all materials are made equal. Obsidian can be sharpened (well, knapped) to a MUCH finer, and thus sharper edge than any steel, to the point of being atoms thick. Same goes for a good, treated steel vs. what he's using.
If you want to get an idea of what I mean, go get a chunk of hardwood and try split it. I've split through a dozen or so 12" x 5" round jarrah scraps with my bowie I made from spring steel, and the edge is still solid.
Anyway, moot point, seen as it's a display piece.
If you have heavy cutting/grinding gear in the future you could try using a leaf spring for a heavy duty knife (it will have to be curved unless you heat and beat it flat), or failing that, an old file works. Work slowly so you don't knock the hardness out of the steel and once it's done pop it in the oven at around 200 celsius (IIRC) while mums out shopping.
My mom caught me grinding away at one of her old kitchen knife's that was broken in half and all hell broke loose 
