Another nut planning on making a knife

n2wilderness

n2wilderness

Joined
Sep 6, 2010
Messages
706
I haven't found my way over in these parts of BF very often but plan on changing that this year. One of my goals for this year is to build another knife. In the past I have helped out while a knife maker friend of mine did most of the work on a forged fixed blade (pic below)...next I designed a fixed blade and had him do all the work (2nd pic)...now I want to do all the work. My friend is going to be able to help me and Andy at Fiddleback has offered to give me a shop tour :thumbup: :thumbup: but I'll still be coming to this forum with the hopes of learning from all you experts.

The main drive behind wanting to do this is that my eyes seem to glance more and more at the custom section of the site and a lot of the knives I am interested in are so expensive and have such a long waiting period. I also have 2 young boys and want them to learn how to be able to use their hands on more than just the Wii and Nintendo DSi.

I basically have no equipment and plan on starting with purchasing a Grizzly G1015 which seems to be the best cost effective option. I'm not sure which press to get but I want it to have the versatility to cut out a titanium frame-lock (is that possible??). After that it's getting some of the other important accessories. Is it realistic for me to budget $1K for a decent set up?

Thank you for your help and for the wealth of information you have stored in this forum!

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n2wilderness said:
Is it realistic for me to budget $1K for a decent set up?
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Yes! Counting the Grizzly, that will leave you in the neighborhood of $400 for a basic drill press and various handtools and consumable stuff like belts, sandpaper and whatnot. Of course, you can spend as much as you want if you have it, but people have made plenty of good knives with a lot less.
 
Is the Grizzly G7945 5 Speed Bench-Top Radial Drill Press what I would need (or similar to it) if I wanted to have something to cut out a frame/liner lock?
 
Buy a metal cutting band saw. It will save loads of time over drilling lots of holes and using a chisel to connect the dots.
 
Speaking in general terms, drill presses aren't recommended for milling operations because their bearings and chucks aren't built to handle the sideload. Someone with experience in milling and making folders (I don't know doodly about either topic) will provide a better answer, I'm sure.

Both of my drill presses (Ryobi and B&D) retail for less than $150 and have made many dozen, maybe hundreds of holes in steel, wood, G10, etc. For me, good quality bits are a better investment than a really awesome DP.

tryppyr said:
Buy a metal cutting band saw. It will save loads of time over drilling lots of holes and using a chisel to connect the dots.
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That's probably true, I can't say for sure.
 
I learned a good lesson buying a hacksaw. I got a frame for $5 and a free blade. In hindsight, I should have looked for a free frame and $5 blade. The same likely applies to drill presses. That blade wouldn't even cut 3/16 mild steel. I got 2 good blades for $5 and I'm still on the first.
 
Hand hacksaws can cut faster than a power saw in many cases. The biggest thing is the type of saw frame.

Get a High Tension saw frame. They cost about $20-25 . They use a standard blade. The blades you want are Bi-metal blades with 32TPI. This will cut steel well and fast.
Try not to "saw" back and forth. Cut in clean down strokes, and lift off the pressure on the return stroke. This will prevent ruining the teeth .

The other part of using a hand hacksaw is that the work needs to be firmly clamped or screwed down. Your foot on the bar/sheet will not work.
 
Disclaimer: I haven't actually made a frame lock.

I am planning to at some point and as my access to tools is limited my plan is to use a drill press, a jewelers saw and a dremel the remove the material on the cutout.

Good luck.

I'd put a few fixed blades under the belt first. I started with balisongs and had two flops before I got something close to good.
 
Ryanol said:
I'd put a few fixed blades under the belt first.
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That's the plan. I am working on a few designs that will be fixed blades first. Want to make sure I can get the grinds I'm happy with in the steel I want before undertaking a framelock. Just wanted to make sure I bought the right equipment upfront. It sounds like the hack saw is the way to go. We have a water jet place not to far from me so I may check into their prices.
 
The list so far has definitely creeped over $1000. Can you tell me if there is something that it totally unnecessary to get started (or at least need within my first year)?

Belt Grinder- Grizzly G1015- $575
Respirator + Cartridges- $22
10 Pk Belts (60, 80, 100, 120, 150, 220)- $74
Porter-Cable 8-Amp 12-Speed Drill Press- $279
Nicholson 9 Piece Hand File Set w/Handles- $91
Dewalt 12” high tension hack saw + 18 Bades $22 + $16
Dremel 4000- $76
Dremel Work Station- $41
Bessey 5” multipurpose vise- $80
Neiko Caliper- $16
Digital Angle Guide- $29

$1322
 
n2wilderness said:
The list so far has definitely creeped over $1000. Can you tell me if there is something that it totally unnecessary to get started (or at least need within my first year)?
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I would skip these grits
10 Pk Belts (80, 100, 150,)

I think everyone needs a Dremel, I think i have three..
but I'd skip it for now

I guess it depends on what you have.
Things like a center punch - to mark your hole location for drilling - that sort of thing
Twist drills

If you have no small wheel on the Grizzly grinder for handle shaping, you may need large round rasps and big say 10" half round files in coarse and fine
 
You can save an easy $100-150 by going with a cheaper drill press. I used a $99 Ryobi for 5 years and I just gave it to my brother in law still in great condition. Don't forget about sand paper for hand sanding. What are your plans for heat treating?
 
rocketmann said:
You can save an easy $100-150 by going with a cheaper drill press. I used a $99 Ryobi for 5 years and I just gave it to my brother in law still in great condition. Don't forget about sand paper for hand sanding. What are your plans for heat treating?
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I did see a Ryobi drill press at Lowes today that was on clearance for $161. It has mixed reviews but it seems like it could work just fine for my purposes. Do you agree?

I plan on sending blades to Peter or Bos for HT.
 
sounds good! I wish I could get a set up like that. Be careful though don't expect to spend all this now and be done, as you get more familiar with the process you will see what you need, and expendables like belts, drill bits, sandpaper, materials cost and heat treating add up quickly as well. Materials cost is what gets me I have a thing for high performance materials, especially blade metals.
 
The Wixey digital angle gauge is of little use in beginning knife making. It can be used to set up jigs and things for more advanced projects later, though.

I would buy at least twice as many belts as you planned on. I would recommend a minimum of five belts each in four grit sizes, roughly doubling each grit - 60,120,220, 400. If possible, get the blue Zirconium belts.
You also will need a stack of Wet-or-Dry Silicon carbide sanding sheets in 220,400,800,1500,2500 grit. Get at least five sheets each to start with.

I agree that a Dremel is a good tool, but it is limited in beginning knifemaking use. It can mess up a lot more than it helps.
If you can afford it, the Porter-Cable drill press is nice, but a $99 HF drill press will drill tang holes all day long for many years.
 
bladsmth said:
The Wixey digital angle gauge is of little use in beginning knife making. It can be used to set up jigs and things for more advanced projects later, though.

I would buy at least twice as many belts as you planned on. I would recommend a minimum of five belts each in four grit sizes, roughly doubling each grit - 60,120,220, 400. If possible, get the blue Zirconium belts.
You also will need a stack of Wet-or-Dry Silicon carbide sanding sheets in 220,400,800,1500,2500 grit. Get at least five sheets each to start with.

I agree that a Dremel is a good tool, but it is limited in beginning knifemaking use. It can mess up a lot more than it helps.
If you can afford it, the Porter-Cable drill press is nice, but a $99 HF drill press will drill tang holes all day long for many years.
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On your new years resolution, I have to say you are being very nice and patient with a newbie...so thanks! I agree on the angle gauge and dremel. I've modified my list since I posted yesterday. The belts I have listed come in packs of 10 so I think that meets the amount you mention. Here's the updated list:

Belt Grinder- Grizzly G1015- $575
Respirator + Cartridges- $22
10 Pk Belts (60, 100, 150, 220)- $49
Porter-Cable 8-Amp 12-Speed Drill Press- $279
Bosch Bit Assortment- $53
Nicholson 9 Piece Hand File Set w/Handles- $91
Bessey 5” multipurpose vise- $80
Wet/Dry Silicon Sanding Sheets (220,400,800,1500,2500) $25

Total- $1199 If I go with the Ryobi drill press at HD that will bring me to $1065.
 
Your budget for sandpaper is too low. ;)

If you are buying small quantities, you'll pay more per sheet. Cheap brands (made in India, for example) are unlikely to give you you abrasive wear you need. Better brands often go at a premium (e.g. 3M premium paper goes at 3 sheets for $5).

If balancing the budget is important to you, I'd suggest focusing the sandpaper budget on the lower numbered grits. For example, I think you'll find you use a LOT less of the 2500 grit paper than you do the 220 grit paper. I do almost all of my work by hand, and I can tell you I burn through more of the lower grit stuff transitioning from file work to paper work, and again after heat treatment trying to cut through the decarb. By contrast, the high grits run pretty smoothly because, if you do things correctly, at each grit you will simply be removing the marks from the previous grit... a job that gets easier as the numbers get higher... for me, at any rate.
 
tryppyr said:
Your budget for sandpaper is too low. ;)

If you are buying small quantities, you'll pay more per sheet. Cheap brands (made in India, for example) are unlikely to give you you abrasive wear you need. Better brands often go at a premium (e.g. 3M premium paper goes at 3 sheets for $5).

If balancing the budget is important to you, I'd suggest focusing the sandpaper budget on the lower numbered grits. For example, I think you'll find you use a LOT less of the 2500 grit paper than you do the 220 grit paper. I do almost all of my work by hand, and I can tell you I burn through more of the lower grit stuff transitioning from file work to paper work, and again after heat treatment trying to cut through the decarb. By contrast, the high grits run pretty smoothly because, if you do things correctly, at each grit you will simply be removing the marks from the previous grit... a job that gets easier as the numbers get higher... for me, at any rate.
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I have a Woodcraft about 15 minutes from me that sells NORTON Wet Sand Sheets (5 pk for $5) from 220 up to 2000 grit. I'll plan on buying more of the lower grit like you said. Do you have any experience with NORTON?
 
The only Norton I have used is the 2000 grit black ice. I love that stuff. Good on ya! Carry on.
 
I haven't drilled a ton of holes < 300, but the 79 harbor freight is chugging along, just fine and appears to still be pretty true.

Also I had a higher end dremel, it burned out after about three years (mostly household/craft use not knifemaking) and I replaced it with a cheapo -19 bucks at menards, it hasn't failed me yet although the chuck does need to be tightened more often.

If you have a costco membership - they have one with about a hundred bits for around 30 bucks I think.

I've bought most of my files at flea markets, but newer ones would probably cut better.

If your willing to scour some markets and second hand sites like craigslist you'll find better (pre everything made in china) drill presses for less money quite often.

Good luck.
 
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