I’ve got a bit of steel to make a basic knife/machete type thing.

However, I guess I’ve got to temper the blade when the knife is almost complete.

So, I got the old flymo blade to from a local flytip. Kept seeing it every time I rode by.

But the forge is a problem. I have a Propane burner

By the side of the tip was a burnt out moped from long ago and the stainless exhaust pipe looks in good nick and I was wondering if this could be tweaked and used as temporary forge ? Cut the ends of and insert burner from a hole in the side kind of affair 🙂

Any thoughts… I guess the pipe will give off a load of toxic fumes and a no goer.?

Exhaust pic here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/58162507@N07/30691300274/

Any thoughts on the above or a better suggestion on the cheap.

I know it’s probably easier to buy a blade (and cheaper), but I quite like the thought of making one.

Thanks.

Fire up the barby and liberate you other halfs hairdrier

BBQ and bit of pipe to blow through 🙂

Or that^

Are you making the blade from the old mower blade then?
If it’s definitely made of a steel with a high enough carbon content you’ll need to get it red hot – properly glowing red and the quench it in some oil. You can get oil specifically for this, but I guess any oil will do as all you’re trying to do is cool it down quickly. That will harden the steel.
The next step is the tempering. Depending on how hard you want it to be you’ll need to heat it until it is a pale straw through to blue colour, straw coloured will leave it harder than pale blue, darker blue will be softer still. This will make it less likey to crack.
In terms of your forge you’ll need a good strong blue flame, and you could easily cobble together a structure to help stop the heat escaping using some hearth bricks, heatproof bricks or asbestos (!!!) This part is quite important as you’ll really struggle to get the steel red hot in open air- you want a small enclosed space around the part you are trying to heat to enable you to heat it quicker.
For the flame, I don’t know much about the gases but I’m sure you’d normally use oxy-acetylene, but perhaps propane would be enough to heat a thin blade.
Good luck, sounds like a fun project!

easiest way to get the correct temp is to use a bit of tube into a charcoal bbq with an air source. get the steel to a cherry red colour and if you have a magnet handy test it against the cutting edge, as soon as it is nonmagnetic (dose not work on some stainless) quench in oil… then clean up the blade and temper in an oven at 230 ish degrees till a straw colour can be seen across the steel. far easier to get right than using a torch to temper

Daftvader to the forum!
Daftvader to the forum!

Edit – creepy…..!