That's brilliant. The file-ness of it is actually for function and not just a decorative element like they often are.

Doesn't look like it was heat-treated. Won't it be brittle? I have seen files breakjust by dropping on the floor.

Doesn't look like it was heat-treated. Won't it be brittle? I have seen files breakjust by dropping on the floor.

It was very unlikely that it wasn't annealed before shaping and finishing. That would leave it dead soft and would make it near useless as a blade. I suspect it was heat treated but was then bead blasted or wire wheeled to make it look more file like. 

Files are usually annealed before working them. The metal burns too easy on a hardened file, at least in my experience.

The colour is that of hardened metal. Probably brushed and actually beautiful.

The "monolithic" design is very interesting as well. I would have expected a skeleton design.

If the hardening was done correct, it should keep a very fine edge.

Have a look at this guy, he works only on files:

https://anzaknives.com/

He started of with old files more than thirty years ago. The demand got so big that he started ordering new files.

Here is the explanation from the maker of the knife

Thanks, everyone for the comments and encouragement, these files are very simple to make just soften them in the forge that way I can do the initial cuts with the saw and chews up far fewer belts on the grinder, once its profiled it gets put on the grinder and 99 per cent finished then back in the forge and heated to non-magnetic dipped in canola oil (I have also been told to use water instead of oil for files ) use a wire wheel in the grinder to remove the scale than in the oven to temper twice at 200* for 2 hours then finish off any grinding scale with 120-240 then a scotchbrite belt easy peasy mate, I would love a bead blaster and is something I have thought about but finding a good small one is the hard part as they only really start to get good at the industrial size have found.