I'm sure this question has been asked before, but I'm contemplating learning to make knives (I guess I don't have enough aggravation in my life as it is). I'm planning to order a kit from Kitknives.com - one of the fixed blade knives to start with - but I'd really like to progress to making my own blades. In the beginning I plan to stick with fixed blades and stock removal - though I'd like to learn to forge blades eventually. As this is planned as a hobby versus a career I'd like to keep things really simple until I determine if this is something I'll stick with. Can any of you recommend a bare bones list of equipment to use in making a few trial knives and just as importantly, a couple of really good books or videos for a beginner. Appreciate any info.
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Advice for a beginner
- Thread starter destmiker
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RHINOKNIVES
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Custom Knifemaking by Tim McCreight
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Goddard's $50 Knifeshop is a good one, barebones knifemaking, probably one of Tim Lively's Neotribal videos. That's about as barebones as you can get. 
Are you wanting to use power tools or hand files?
some bacis power tools would be:
a belt sander
bench grinder
some type of drill weather it be a bench press or hand drill
a hand grinder
then you would also need some way of tempering and heat treating the blade
you can heat treat most in a house hold oven but dont try to oil quench in your house that would be very smoky
and you can use 2 ton epoxy for glueing the handles to the knife
some bacis power tools would be:
a belt sander
bench grinder
some type of drill weather it be a bench press or hand drill
a hand grinder
then you would also need some way of tempering and heat treating the blade
you can heat treat most in a house hold oven but dont try to oil quench in your house that would be very smoky
and you can use 2 ton epoxy for glueing the handles to the knife
for hand tools:
hack saw
some knind of vice and a sturdy table to mount it on
lots of different files like a triangles, flats, round, and some with safe edges
you will still need a drill weather it be an old hand drill or an electric
lots of various grits in sand paper like 50,150,220,360,400,600
you can draw your patterns on some paper and then glue sone thin cardboard to the back and cut it out and use a sharpy to trace the pattern on your steel the best steel of choice would be some d2 or 01 those should be easy to cut by hand
after the first day of hack sawing youll probable wnt to get a hand grinder to cut the patterns out faster and less strenouse on your arms
you can get one pretty resonable for about 25 to 40 dollars frome any store like homedepo, lowes, or atwoods
hack saw
some knind of vice and a sturdy table to mount it on
lots of different files like a triangles, flats, round, and some with safe edges
you will still need a drill weather it be an old hand drill or an electric
lots of various grits in sand paper like 50,150,220,360,400,600
you can draw your patterns on some paper and then glue sone thin cardboard to the back and cut it out and use a sharpy to trace the pattern on your steel the best steel of choice would be some d2 or 01 those should be easy to cut by hand
after the first day of hack sawing youll probable wnt to get a hand grinder to cut the patterns out faster and less strenouse on your arms
you can get one pretty resonable for about 25 to 40 dollars frome any store like homedepo, lowes, or atwoods
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Hi destmiker, I decided about two or three months ago that I wanted to make a blade. I hung around here "part-time" and then went for it. Somehow I failed to learn about annealing and heat treating until the very last minute...I still don't know allot.
Anyway,if possible, cool your jets for the time being and follow some of the pros in action here and ask some more questions.You'll do less frantic running around later on. My first blade is coming along nicely, but I could have waited and learned a little more. Good Luck...it's allot of fun
Anyway,if possible, cool your jets for the time being and follow some of the pros in action here and ask some more questions.You'll do less frantic running around later on. My first blade is coming along nicely, but I could have waited and learned a little more. Good Luck...it's allot of fun