I am planning for a sheep hunt this fall and was contemplating a couple of ultralight knifes. I am fairly limited in my shop equipment - 1x30 grinder and a coffee can forge, so am only working with 1084 steel at this point. My hunting partner has shown me his Kestrel blades. not sure if he bought their titanium, or one of the CPM steels... either way, I don't have the equipment and skills to heat treat those steels. I have only worked with 1/8th thickness thus far. So my questions are... will 1084 steel in 1/16th thickness be manageable? Should drill holes or go full skeletonized? and if I do the lightening before heat treat, will I have bad warping issues? Maybe I get some CPM and send it out for heat treat after shaping and grinding? Thanks!
welcome to the form. I started with a 1x30 and a coffee can forge as well. I think 1084 will work fine for this project. If I was experimenting with this design I would use the 1/8 round the tang off, work toward a feel comfortable enough using no scales, and go full skeletonized . Can't get any lighter then that. I don't think warping will be an issue I've done several skeletonized knives in 1084, 80CRV2, and damascus in the old coffee can with no problems. have fun
