Survival Knife

For the past few weeks I have been working on a Post-Apocalyptic Survival Knife. I wanted to create a survival piece which would be practically indestructible and would outlast me. The inspiration came from the cable TV series the Walking Dead on AMC.

Construction

I hand forged this knife from a 3" wide 1/4" thick blank of 1084 High Carbon Steel which I heat treated and then quenched in heated oil to harden the metal. High carbon steel is far stronger than most steel and makes for a better knife because it has a better edge retention. The only drawback with this type of alloy is that it will rust and definitely stain. In order to protect the blade I force a patina with an acid etch which gives it a great worn look effect.