Well, a while back I made a sgian dubh. The carving on the butt of the handle I liked. The blade was off a boot knife, and the hilt had to accommodate the existing sheath.

It works out fine enough in biker boots, but it's a bit bulky for kilt hose. It was time for a new one. But this time, I started from a rougher point. Specifically I started with an old file that I had kicking around. I'm not sure how old it is, but from the quality I'm betting at least 30 years old.

Now, I don't have access to a proper forge. I do have an oxyacetylene torch, a large ball pien hammer and a good sized chunk of I-beam to hammer on.
So, heat the file...

Get it nice and glowing hot, just before it starts sparking. Lay on I-beam and hammer away.

If you angle your strikes you can stretch the steel and thin it out.
Here it had a standard point, but I didn't like it so I hammered it more to a drop point.


It has a crude surface and little flaws. There are places it almost has a fish scale pattern from the original teeth of the file. All these things endear it to me and make it more mine.