Knife - a faithful companion of man for many years. Of course, today in most cases people are no longer faced with the question of survival, but the desire to provide themselves with a high-quality and reliable tool has not disappeared.
Such is a knife from a drill, the manufacturing process of which we will consider today. The process is not so complicated, but almost any person who can hold a hammer in his hands copes with the simplest forging. Yes, it is with forging (hot). Stories about the manufacture of such knives, when unknown authors guarantee a positive result after simple flattening of the metal, are ineffective. So, what kind of tools as a result of work will give us a knife from a drill?
What is required?
- Two hammers (three to four kilograms and one kilogram).
- Pliers (and preferably special tongs) without insulation or winding on the handles.
- Vise and anvil.
- Grinder and oven.
Testing a drill
If you are a little versed in metallurgy and are interested in engineering issues, you probably know that only high-quality steel surfaces are made from drills made of high-quality alloy steel . The shank is made of conventional alloys.
To determine the boundary between them as accurately as possible, you can try to slightly sharpen the tool. At the location of ordinary steel, a bright sheaf of yellow-red sparks will appear, while the alloyed areas will respond with thin sheafs of blue-blue hue.
Work
We immediately warn you: when making a knife from a drill, some operations must be performed as quickly as possible, otherwise you can spoil the workpiece!
Firstly, the source material is placed in a furnace and brought to a temperature of over 1000 degrees. Note that with such heat it will even be dark on a sunny day. You can even use an old vacuum cleaner to inflate the hearth.
After that, the workpiece is pulled out with tongs, quickly (!) Clamping its shank in a vise, and then grasping the top with an adjustable wrench, actively unwinding the drill bit to a state of a relatively flat metal plate. This is not a knife from the drill, but its initial preparation. The result of all further work depends on its quality, and therefore try not to be mistaken!
Forging
Further it is easier. Having captured the future knife from the drill with the same forceps, with quick and accurate movements, we begin to forge it along its entire length. As a result, a strip of metal should remain on your hands, the thickness of which will be about five millimeters.
Important! As soon as the metal begins to take on a cherry color, quickly put it back into the oven. The fact is that at this temperature you can easily split the workpiece, as the material loses its ductility.
Further manufacturing of the knife from the drill involves forming the blade. The job is to pull out the edge of the workpiece you need with neat, but quick movements, preserving its thickness.
Having heated the workpiece again to the desired temperature, we begin to forge the blade. This is where the kilogram hammer that we mentioned at the very beginning of our story comes in handy. To do this, apply accurate and not too strong blows from about the middle of the plate, making the blade thin and narrow.
After that, a shank is forged. It all depends on your preferences. Since making a knife from a drill may not work right the first time, you should not despair in case of failure!