I picked up an old rusty/pitted railroad spike. I really like old pitted springs especially old buggy springs because of the contrast of pulling out a shinny blade from junk. Even though railroad spikes are much lower in carbon, I liked how worn & pitted this one was. Plus it's a good exercise in forging. Anyway that's what I told myself.
I quenched it but didn't temper it because I could only get it a bit hard. It does hold an edge OK though. I didn't bother hand finishing the blade just used a satin Scotch Guard belt finish...tippit