You can buy a fine knife from any of the links on our knife page or you can make a good knife yourself. A knife is one of the most important tools an outdoorsman carries, and serious consideration must be given to what you carry. If you have the time, patience, and a few tools, you can make a good quality knife at home. We will endeavour to build one good knife on these pages while learning some knifemaking basics. First we need a piece of steel to make the knife from.
Files are popular, have a high carbon content, and are very hard to work with.
The files are very hard and brittle to begin with. Some knife makers use the water cooling method. While grinding the shape and edge, the files are frequently dipped in a water bath to maintain a low temperature and prevent the hardness of the steel from changing. When you are done you have a knife that has a very hard edge that is almost impossible to sharpen and is very brittle throughout. The steel is high carbon and contains some chromium so it takes a nice finish.