Advice For A Junior Knifemaker??

B

Boonhoward

Joined
Nov 3, 2005
Messages
4
All,

My oldest son (15) has taken up knifemaking on his own: works to buy his own tools/materials. Candidly, the boy has talent - the knives he's made to date are really good. He sold one a few weeks ago for $80.00. I don't make knives and I don't know where he picked up the interest but I think he has a gift. Okay, so I'm A Dad and I would like to help him gather information on the Internet but it's kinda like taking your son to a job site: "look, you're gonna meet all kinds on this job - remember what we've taught you and don't repeat at home what you hear here". So, what advice do you guys have for a good kid who wants to make superior quality knives? I'll sort through the replies that come in this weekend. He's attending a college football game this week with his Granddad. As always, thank you in advance. BH Sr.
 
I learned here (right where you posted your question). A whole lot depends on how well you can work on your own but here, right here - BF and specifically this Shop Talk section, is where you can learn to become the best at what you do (knife making, that is). Send your boy here and he will, if in his heart, become good or better than.

RL
 
just read this place everyday................he aint got a chance, once he does that. The Bug will haev bitten him BIG TIME :)
Good to hear he'll be around!
Where is he located?
 
It's great to hear that someone young is having an interest in this craft.
In the area you live there could be all kinds of classes that would benifit a knife maker...blacksmith classes...metal smithing ...jewlery making....tool making...and so forth. The internet and these forums are a great place to pick things up, so are hammer-ins(they happen all over the place). There may even be a maker near you that would be wlling to help out!

It's great to hear a father that wants to encourage his kid...in anything...:D :thumbup: .

The "$50.00 knife shop is a good book to pick up.
Lots of cheep ways to set up a shop.
Good luck, and let us know how things work out... there is always someone here to help out too.
Mace
 
Make sure the kid goes to college or a trade school and learns a real profession. Keep knifemaking as a hobby. That way maybe he will help support you in your old age! :)
 
Buy him four good knife making books for Christmas/Hanukkah . 1) The $50 knife shop - Goddard ; 2)The Complete Bladesmith - Hrisoulas ; 2) Step by Step knifemaking - Boye ; 4)How to make knives - Barney and Loveless.
He needs to read these to know most of what he will want to do.They will prove to be invaluable reference books on steel,temperatures,techniques, nomenclature ,etc. They are readily available on Half.com and other sites. Down the road a ways,if he is taking this hobby seriously,you could get him a GOOD grinder (KMG,Bader B3).My dad gave me a good radial arm saw for my 16th birthday,I still have it today (that was 40 years ago). Dad is gone, but every time I turn the switch on,his foresight for getting me a good tool lives.
Stacy
 
All,

Thank you very much for taking the time to reply. He's pretty serious about knifemaking already. Our conversations often include 01 steel, hidden tangs, spacers, rivets, and bluing. He even sews his own sheaths!! A local saddle maker provides leather scraps for free. The high-end tools and books are great recommendations. BTW, he is college bound, and aspires to conduct Special Ops (earn the Ranger & Special Forces tabs). In preparation he just earned a varsity letter (cross country) as a sophomore and we expect a second letter for wrestling later this year. Again, thank you for the advice.
 
I am always the wet blanket and mention the obvious. Safety gear. Make sure he uses saftey glasses ear muffs and dust removal and dust mask.

I am pleased to see your taking an intrest. If he stays with stock removal knives for a while it will reduce the amount of equipment. I stock removal and also forge.

The forge and anvil are an uneccessary expence in the early days.

Will Hurley and a couple of others on the forum have hosted a set of free templates for stock removal knives. They were designs of Lloyd Harding.

I scanned then from his work bench drawings left when he died. His sone was keen for his work to be shared. No patent or royalties just free to who ever
was interested. His style may not be to your sons liking but worth a look.
I lost the names of the other sites when my hard drive died but you may be able to find the thread in the archives here if you have the required membership. I am a cheap bum and normally find I can't access the old threads. Look up wil Hurley or will he has a site.
 
It's great to hear of your son's enthusiasm. Don't let anyone discourage him because of his age. I was only about 16 when one of my little knives won an award at a local knife show. Granted, there were only a couple other entries in that category, but I'm kinda proud that the other guys had probably been making knives for longer than I'd been alive.

Besides everything you read here, attitude will be the biggest factor. Don't get too hung up on getting all the best equipment to start. I made my first little knives with an old stone wheeled bench grinder and files. I made my first big knife with a hand held angle grinder and an old wood sander (handheld electric belt sander) fixed in a vise upside down. Just encourage him to start working and grinding with whatever he's got. Flat grinds and convex grinds will probably be easier to learn with simple tools, and also make great knives. Don't feel like he needs an expensive belt grinder so he can master hollow grinding. Don't get too hung up on steel types and heat treatment, either. You can spend years researching and asking opinions, and if you get hung up on it, this will kill his motivation and waste time. Any of the steels these guys are recommending will still be better than 99% of what you can buy in Wal-Mart or most sporting goods stores. His tastes will probably change over time anyway.

Heat treatment is one of the most important aspects of making a good performing knife, and it takes a lot of experience, skill, and metalurgical knowledge to do a great job. So I'd recommend sending his blades out to be heat treated by a professional, at least at first. This way he will gain confidence from knives that truly are good, and once he's got a couple under his belt, he can take the time learning and experimenting on his own with the steel of his choice.

The other important thing to study is design. With time and practice, his skills will grow beyond the ability to just shape the metal. Perfect fit and finish don't mean much if the design itself is not suited to the jobs he wants his knives to accomplish. He needs to spend time cutting things. Use a wide range of factory knives that you probably already have on hand, so he can learn about the subtleties of edge geometry, grinds, blade shape, handle shape, etc. These things are hard to convey over the internet, so testing out all kinds of various designs will give him a base of reference and allow him to pose more informed questions.
 
Boonhoward,

Please have your son contact us.

Sorry to send this publicly. You have e-mails turned off.
 
Boonhoward,
Sounds like you have a son with direction and some ideals, knifemaking just being a part of it. I wish I had had as much direction at that age.

Good for you for supporting him and screening things like the Forum for him.

What Reg says about the safety thing, essential! Especially about the eyes,
Soldiers and knifemakers need good eyes!!:D

As for this Forum, I have 47 years behind me and I consider myself a newbie to knifemaking even though I have been messing with it for a few years.
I only joined the Forum 2 months ago and I have asked many questions and have always received many good replies and points of view. The points of view are as important as the advice and your son would do well to note that with an open mind. It is essential to consider everything and then decide what will work best for him.

Regarding the guys that started out with little more than files, enthusiasm and guts, I tip my hat to them,they are the true artists.
I built a grinder before I attempted my first knife, but then, I have a trade behind me and I knew that a piece of fast moving, machine driven sandpaper requires far less effort than the files!!:D :D ;):foot: Sadly, mistakes happen at a much faster speed too.:)

There are many fine gentlemen here that just cannot wait to help new guys. I have found this place to be like a beacon of hope to a ship in a storm, I was ready to give up!
You and your son are in good company.

Good luck to you both.

Sincerely,
Mike
 
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