# Steel types and thickness?



## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2015)

Wondering what type of steel would be best for making filet knives and drop points. I saw some steel that I liked but had no idea how to read the information. 15N 20 and cpm m4. Any advice? Also ideal thickness of steel would be useful.


----------



## Molokai (Aug 22, 2015)

15n20 is mainly used for making damascus steel with some other steel. Cpm m4 is very good steel.
I never made fillet knives but for any other knife i suggest anything thicker 3mm.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 2


----------



## Schroedc (Aug 22, 2015)

I don't know beans about steel for knives but a local blacksmith has been making his filet knives out of sections of 8 inch wide bandsaw blades from a local sawmill.....


----------



## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2015)

Schroedc said:


> I don't know beans about steel for knives but a local blacksmith has been making his filet knives out of sections of 8 inch wide bandsaw blades from a local sawmill.....


I could just use up the pile of circular saw blades I have lying around...


----------



## ClintW (Aug 22, 2015)

From what I have read, I agree 15N20 is normally used for damascus. But also I would imagine the 15N20 would perform well enough alone. If properly heat treated.
15N20 is what I have used to make carving knives. Seems to hold an edge well and be somewhat flexible.

Industrial bandsaw blades I believe are 15N20 or a very similar steel.


----------



## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2015)

ClintW said:


> From what I have read, I agree 15N20 is normally used for damascus. But also I would imagine the 15N20 would perform well enough alone. If properly heat treated.
> 15N20 is what I have used to make carving knives. Seems to hold an edge well and be somewhat flexible.
> 
> Industrial bandsaw blades I believe are 15N20 or a very similar steel.


And where can I send blades to be heat treated? Do I need to do anything special to my circular saw blades to prep them for cutting into blades?


----------



## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2015)

Reading old posts, it looks like admiral steel and pops knives are the places to go for cpm m54. Seems to be the favorite among many knife makers but quite pricy. Gonna wait on that for a bit I think.


----------



## ClintW (Aug 22, 2015)

I believe there are several places to send blades to heat treat. A search on some of the k ifemaking websites will probably get you to the most popular ones. If you have simple steels and want to experiment you can do it on your own. Circular saw blades will be heat treated, so after you but out your profile it may be easier to anneal the blank to make shaping easier. Just my thoughts though.


----------



## Foot Patrol (Aug 22, 2015)

1084 is what you need for a beginner knife maker. This will make a good drop point.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## norman vandyke (Aug 22, 2015)

Foot Patrol said:


> 1084 is what you need for a beginner knife maker. This will make a good drop point.


From my research, 1084 is also one if the less expensive ones, so that's a plus right now. Lol


----------



## robert flynt (Aug 23, 2015)

norman vandyke said:


> Wondering what type of steel would be best for making filet knives and drop points. I saw some steel that I liked but had no idea how to read the information. 15N 20 and cpm m4. Any advice? Also ideal thickness of steel would be useful.


Stainless steel is your best bet because of the low maintenance, cpm154cm, cpm s30v and VG 10 are three stainless steels which have long edge holding capabilities but there a host of other s/s out there. 15n20 is used a great deal as one of the steel in damascus and is used some for folders but have not heard of it of it being used for filet knives. CPM M4 is a non stainless tool steel noted for its toughness, edge holding ability and can be ground very thin but the heat treat might be a problem unless you send it to Peters or some other heat treat company. It is rarely used in any thing but cutting compitition knives. Honestly If it were me, I would use a better steel for your purposes. 1/16 to 3/32" according to how stiff you want it, for the fillet and 1/8 to 5/32" for the drop point will be fine.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Great Post 1


----------

