# Using cable to make a knife?



## jim p (Oct 29, 2003)

I saw a knife made from cable. The cable is the type that is used in logging and crane type applications. 

Does anyone know if the steel in these cables is good quality for making a knife? I don't have a clue as to what type steel is used in cable.

My friend is a amateur blacksmith and he said that we could heat the cable and put it in boron and then hammer it into a solid blade. I don't have a clue how much hammering we are talking about. It might be a 30 minute job or an all day affair for all I know.

Have any of you fellows made any cable knives?


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## TorqueFlip (Nov 4, 2010)

jim p said:


> ...an all day affair for all I know.


Indeed.


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## jrr051468 (Oct 14, 2011)

I once looked into having a custom katana made this way. It is a long and tedious process. The steel is very good and makes a beautiful blade. It is strong and resisiliant and takes a great edge when properly heat treated. There is a lot of info about it on the web.


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## MoNofletch (Jul 28, 2003)

I have heard of leave springs...railroad spikes and some other odd items, but never a cable! Sounds interesting.


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## boulevard (Jul 15, 2010)

I have seen cable done, as stated above makes a wonderful blade (possibily the best) and to do it properly, it wont be an all day affair, it will be an all week affair at best but well worth the effort. I have some laying around in hopes of getting to this project someday (but will make some leaf spring knives first)

Awesome, 45 posts on here


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## Captain Anvil (Dec 7, 2011)

This looks very similar to forging a damascus blade. With damascus, multiple layers (in this case, cable strands) of a metal are heated and pounded together, which welds them together. The borax is added as a flux to lower the melting point of the iron oxide, allowing it to runoff and keeping the steel. Once pounded flat, the metal is folded and pounded flat again, then repeated many more times. Damascus has a very unique and beautiful pattern, and is extremely strong. The Japanese samurai swords are made from damascus steel. As you can imagine, damascus is very time consuming to make, and very expensive to buy. Folding and pounding flat again is an extremely tedious and time consuming process, but with an auto-hammer, this is a MUCH easier and quicker process. Chances are your friend does not have an auto hammer being an amateur blacksmith. 

For this to be effective, you would need stainless steel cable, galvanized will not work. Galvanized has a zinc coating protecting the steel, and the zinc vaporizes at a much lower temperature than the steel melts, so it releases zinc fumes. The fumes are non-toxic and have no long term effects, but will make you feel very sick. I've heard guys say to chug as much milk as possible if you accidentally inhale the zinc fumes. Or just wear a respirator to start off with. 

High carbon steel and stainless steel are two very common steels used for knife blades. High carbon is very hard, but brittle too. Stainless is a little softer, but a little easier to work with. Either high carbon or stainless will make a good blade and I think most of those logging/rigging cables are stainless, but I could be wrong.


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## placek05 (Oct 10, 2011)

This is a form of damascus. It is commonly called Cable Damascus, for the obvious reasons. Anyone wanting to learn more, please check out this site below. I am also an amature blacksmith / bladesmith and have learned more from these guys then you can imagine. The work is incredible and they are very helpful. Enjoy.

http://paleoplanet69529.yuku.com/forums/28/t/Bladesmithing-Knifemaking.html


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## rww7c9 (Oct 12, 2010)

Captain Anvil said:


> For this to be effective, you would need stainless steel cable, galvanized will not work. Galvanized has a zinc coating protecting the steel, and the zinc vaporizes at a much lower temperature than the steel melts, so it releases zinc fumes. The fumes are non-toxic and have no long term effects, but will make you feel very sick. I've heard guys say to chug as much milk as possible if you accidentally inhale the zinc fumes. Or just wear a respirator to start off with.


I wouldn't have guessed that the fumes could make you sick. I have always heard that the guys who do galvanizing for us never get sick because they are around zinc all the time. Zinc is what's in chicken noodle soup that helps you recover from a cold. It's also in a lot of daily supplements people take to stay healthy. It must just be the huge quantity all at once.


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## TradArcher1 (Nov 29, 2011)

My grandfahter made a blade that way and it is extremely strong. He left the handle as the wrapped cable and melted it at the end so it wouldn't unravel. It turned out to be a great knife.


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## Pierre Couture (Oct 28, 2004)




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## finnbear (Oct 6, 2009)

i have made three billets out of one inch cable that i found in the woods behind the house, and can tell you it takes alot of practice to get them perfect. it tookme about three hours to make a billet 1/4 inch thick 2w and 8 inches long. im in the process of turning one of the billets into a blade so i cant say how good of an edge they hold yet other than what i hear and read they do very well...its awesome to see what kind of pattern the cable makes, everyone is different. good luck


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## jrr051468 (Oct 14, 2011)

Captain Anvil said:


> For this to be effective, you would need stainless steel cable, galvanized will not work. Galvanized has a zinc coating protecting the steel, and the zinc vaporizes at a much lower temperature than the steel melts, so it releases zinc fumes. The fumes are non-toxic and have no long term effects, but will make you feel very sick. I've heard guys say to chug as much milk as possible if you accidentally inhale the zinc fumes. Or just wear a respirator to start off with.
> 
> High carbon steel and stainless steel are two very common steels used for knife blades. High carbon is very hard, but brittle too. Stainless is a little softer, but a little easier to work with. Either high carbon or stainless will make a good blade and I think most of those logging/rigging cables are stainless, but I could be wrong.


Stainless steel cable? You're kidding right?


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## Captain Anvil (Dec 7, 2011)

jrr051468 said:


> Stainless steel cable? You're kidding right?


It's what a lot of airplane and rigging cables are made of, but I was wrong, it won't work for damascus.


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## super* (Jan 26, 2008)

so like more work then what it is worth to me.


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## jim p (Oct 29, 2003)

I stuck the cable in just a fire and put some borax on it. It glowed but when I hit it no welding took place. I guess that I will have to make a small forge and use some forced air. 

It was fun whacking on the cable a few times.


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## kralkralu (Dec 14, 2014)

*Dangerous Idea*

It took some effort to get to this site,so please READ THIS:before You start using any zinc coated wire,cable or any other zinc galvanized steel.You mast have a well ventilated fan exhaust hood under which You can heat that item.By default,all Zinc coated metals will contain Cadmium which accumulates in Your body with deadly result.No amount of milk will work as antidote to Cadmium poisoning.
Reader


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## Bowpro-295 (Jul 30, 2013)

Any one know some one that could make me one?


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## David W. Johnso (Sep 23, 2013)

I studied and taught Japanese swordsmanship for a time. My studies yielded some information on forging and such. Welded cable like this is not uncommon for swords and knives. It gives a result that many people like. Cable, however, is not usually of a carbon content used for swords, so knives are more common. The welding process will require a forge and you can expect to need to experiment with the process some. Whether the end result is brittle or not will depend largely on the heat treat you use at the end. 

You should be able to find loads of information on this process and expected results. There are many smiths who do great work, but it is not cheap.

David


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## 4 Fletch (Jan 25, 2014)

rww7c9 said:


> I wouldn't have guessed that the fumes could make you sick. I have always heard that the guys who do galvanizing for us never get sick because they are around zinc all the time. Zinc is what's in chicken noodle soup that helps you recover from a cold. It's also in a lot of daily supplements people take to stay healthy. It must just be the huge quantity all at once.


Wrong

This...


kralkralu said:


> It took some effort to get to this site,so please READ THIS:before You start using any zinc coated wire,cable or any other zinc galvanized steel.You mast have a well ventilated fan exhaust hood under which You can heat that item.By default,all Zinc coated metals will contain Cadmium which accumulates in Your body with deadly result.No amount of milk will work as antidote to Cadmium poisoning.
> Reader


I can tell you about a close call when welding galvanized pipe up on a scaffold, without a breather -- if they existed back then -- or even a mask, and zero ventilation. It was a good thing I was sitting on top of the scaffold platform (plywood), because had I been standing I'd have fallen a lot farther than I did. Fumes had me lying down up there for a while. 

And I've a friend who was off work for days when burning thru something and hit a batch of galvanized. Yeah, drink milk, sure... seems like a placebo to me.


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## OzArcher1 (May 25, 2007)

I have a book that I bought from Amazon that has a decent section on making knives from cable. It's called Wayne Goddard's $50 Knife Shop (that's $50 shop not $50 knife). It may be worthwhile seeing if you can find a copy


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## PaulME (Jun 11, 2014)

As others have stated be careful with the fumes. A good wake up can be found on the anvilfire site http://www.anvilfire.com/iForge/tutor.php?lesson=safety3/demo
If the link does not work the story is "SAFETY - III : A Case study Death by Metal Fume Fever"

If you know what you are doing - fine, but do your research and careful of inputs that are along the lines of I've done this all my life with no problems. Just because things have been done in the past with no immediate attributable downside does not mean it is a smart thing to continue to do.

Paul


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