very creative! :D I like it!

does it stay sharp?

Thanks! I'm not so sure about this knife in particular; I think I made a bit of a mess of the heat treatment. I may take another crack at it next week, though, in which case it should hold an edge better than most commercial knives (hypothetically).

ah ok ^_^ I'd love to see more!! thats a novelty that many would find neat! its the first time I've heard of a rail spike knife :D

nice, you should make a bunch of them (if possible) to sell sharp objects

I'd certainly like to, if I can find the clientele. I'd like to be a full-time cutler some day; I like 'sharp things' too, and want to see how creative I can get without breaking the 'form follows function' rule.

hmm, you could put stuff into the hilt, designs, and some kind of design engraved into the blade , then it can still be used as it should be.. :)
id buy one :)

You may need to wait a decade or so; I own a khukri with some forge engraving, and not to put too fine a point on it the knife was made by the second in line to the Nepalese royal cutler. I could be wrong, but I think it looks like pretty advanced stuff for my skill level.

That looks really neat. :D

Thanks!

Wow. I'd love to have such a knife for my walls :3

I'm afraid this particular knife... well, it didn't harden well, so I decided to give it another shot. I was sharing the forge with another volunteer who realllly likes the bellows, and when I turned my back for a moment his enthusiasm melted about a third of the blade. I do have my own forge now, though, and a modest supply of rail spikes. Give me a shout if you're interested. Either way, thanks!

Yes I am. Also for custom stuff if you do those ^^

I'm very happy to do custom work within my competencies; my blade making skills have come a long way recently, and I'm confident in my ability to gauge whether or not I'm up to a given project. Any time you like, just let me know what you're thinking.

before you make a knife from a spike, check the head and only use the ones stamped HC, then when you're done quench at non magnetic in clear water. i've made a couple of these and a lot of tomahawks from spikes.
Good luck sir, and nice work! (:

Thanks! I have a suspicion that Canadian rail spikes might be a bit different from American rail spikes, or else I've just never found a high carbon one. They all seem to be in the medium carbon range with noticeable variance; recycled scrap, maybe. A rail spike will never make a top quality knife, even if it is high carbon, because they're heavier than sin with the bulk of the balance towards the pommel, and the mass of steel in the handle will sap all the heat out of your hand in cold or miserable weather. They do look nifty, though, and are a damned sight finer than the jokes coming out of Pakistan and China. I've tried two or three tomahawks, but I think I have a ways to go before I'm any good at drifting the hole. I was told to start with a square punch offset by 45 degrees (diamond rather than square), but it just looks like it's going to end up cutting through the sides of the tomahawk. I've been thinking that a teardrop shaped punch might open the hole without thinning the sides much further, but I'm not sure. Do you have any suggestions?

use a chisel instead of a punch. measure the perimeter of your finishes eye, subtract1/2 inch, and devide by 2. that is the length of chisel to slit the eye with. then drift and fonish the eye. good luck.

Great, thank you!

yep, any time!

Nice, I was just about to ask if you did any blade work. :Ð

I'm pretty new to it, but very keen on learning. I've made a few knives previously, some more successful than others. Thanks for your interest!

Hmm... I haven't posted any other knives here yet. Dunno why. I'd better go change that.