Crescent knife

S

SHC286

Member
My boss requested this and donated the adjustable crescent wrench. He wanted a simple, unpolished drop point with “crescent” clearly visible. I told him it would be slightly disproportionate, but it was less so than I feared it would be. I think it turned out pretty decent. He loves it, I reckon that’s what counts.
Not a good picture. I actually didn’t take a picture, my oldest son took this.
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I'm thinking they're in the railroad spike range? As said, a struggle to get a shaving edge, and they don't hold an edge with use. Good display pieces.
 
It was actually hard to hone because it was hard. Spark testing was similar to 1085, which was unexpected. I’m reading that wrenches are normally a medium carbon steel, just a little better than RR spikes. I normalized it then quenched it in cold ATF. Cold being about 45 degrees, from a dull cherry red.
I am not really a knife maker, I’m leaning more towards tools and fixtures. I’m certainly no metallurgist, I mostly work with mild steel from tractor supply and scrap metals.
But I used each of my diamond “stones”, from extra coarse to extra fine and it took hours. Then I stropped it for a little while. That’s after getting it just slightly sharper than a butter knife on my belt grinder.
I do hope it holds an edge at least long enough to be satisfactory. My boss also knows how to sharpen a knife, so at least there’s that.

It’s actually surprising how many people I know who have no clue how to sharpen a knife. I have a friend who likes to just take his pocketknife to a bench grinder and leans into it until it turns purple. Gets it about as sharp as a putty knife and calls it good. Blows my mind.
 
I was thinking wrenches were in the .40% range of carbon while RR spikes run in the .25% to .35% carbon? Even that range would put it more than RR spikes in carbon. There I've fixed my post. Darn it Ted, you had to go and quote it and I can't fix that :)
 
KenH said:
I was thinking wrenches were in the .40% range of carbon while RR spikes run in the .25% to .35% carbon? Even that range would put it more than RR spikes in carbon. There I've fixed my post. Darn it Ted, you had to go and quote it and I can't fix that :)
Click to expand...

That’s in line with some of what I’ve read. That’s also why I was surprised with the sparks. The shower was pretty brilliant compared to what I expected.

Do you think age would have anything to do with it? Maybe they used higher carbon steel in the past? Because this wrench was pretty old and pretty much near the end of its useful life. The worm gear had actually been replaced with one from a no name adjustable wrench with what looked like chrome plating, and the slots on the sliding jaw were well worn. The jaw had about 1/8” of slack in it and wobbled pretty horribly.
 
Looking up pics, this was an “old” crescent wrench, but not early twentieth century high carbon old. The reinforced ring on the end is the tell. I found an approximate date when that was introduced but I’ve already forgotten it. But it was well after they switched to a steel type other than “high carbon”. And I haven’t found reference to what they considered high carbon. I’ve read that “high carbon” RR spikes is a relative term. Higher than most spikes, but still not good knife steel.
They’ve had so many design changes it’s unreal. While looking up pics I found pictures of new ones too. I didn’t recognize them. Then again I use Duralast wrenches. They’re what craftsman used to be, good, affordable, made in USA and no questions asked warranty.

I told my boss I didn’t have a clue if it would be any good but he told me this morning that he dressed a deer with it last night and it still shaves, so I’m pretty curious now.
 
I have a couple scrap A-2 blades floating around the shop...un-heat-treated...I use them for various stupid things...amazing how well they hold up...
 
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