Anyone make their own "survival" knife?

D

diletante

Joined
Mar 20, 2002
Messages
389
Eventually, I will post something in Shop Talk, but I thought I'd post the following question here, first.

I'm thinking about assembling a knife or two for outdoor/survival purposes. I like the idea of the Scandinavian V-grind but I don't like the Scandinavian handles. As a result, I'm thinking of getting a Leuku blade and Puukko or Mora blade and some Micarta or G10 and assembling my own knife. Then I'd get the benefits of the Scandinavian V-grind and a handle made for my hand from modern materials. I know it would be cheaper and easier just to buy a Leuko and a Puuko or Mora, but I think it would be a fun project and I might have a couple really cool tools when I am done. What do you think?
 
IMHO, Go For It!!!

By coincidence I picked up a 0.080" sheet of titanium approximately 1'x2' at an surplus yard this afternoon. Monday I & a friend will start trying our hand at machining it into a few rudimentary knives for fun. A quick test this afternoon illustrated that titanium:
1. is quite hard
2. gets hot really easily & fast
3. loss of temper is quite localised when overheated
4. is machinable using regular files, carbide cutters, sanding belts/discs, etc, albeit somewhat slower than steel ;)

So yeah, go have some fun and, as you say, you may well come out of the process with some very personalized "really cool tools" to use in your outdoor adventures. :D
 
You know, I think Columbia River Knife & Tool could sell a lot of Ti Stiff Kisses to weight conscious hikers--or someone else could sell a lot of something similar. The only similar knife I've seen out there is the Mission MPU.

Speaking of Ti, the guy who runs www.thru-hiker.com has plans on his site for a Ti Esbit wing stove that weighs 1.5 oz!
 
Thats a great idea, I am doing the same. Mine is pretty much a copy of Ray Mears woodlore knife. I have the blade ground out of 01 ready for heat treat, and am very pleased with it so far. I have not sent it for heat treat yet as I am trying to make 2 more for friends, but can't seam to replicate the first one (I think I got very lucky with that one:) ).

If you don't fancy going to the trouble of grinding your own, Frosts mora now make a range called the laplander, they have full width tangs and can be bought as a kit, though I am not sure where in the US. I would suggest e-mailing Frosts direct and asking for a US dealer, thats how I located a UK one.

Good Luck and show us some pics if it works out:)

Will
 
The first one I made:

mike_knife.gif


Ugly, works "OK." Since it's the first one I made, I didn't want to try to fix it up. It's my benchmark for future knives.

I no longer have this one:
knife2.gif


How I did it details are on my web site. I got a lot of information right here on BFC.

Mike
 
I bought a Helle 4" blade from ragweedforge (whom I highly recommend) and made my own handle and sheath. It is a Scandanavian style V grind with a laminated stainless steel blade. I had never before owned a knife with such high quality steel and I was amazed. It is now my favorite camp knife.

Making your own handle and sheath is also a fun and not-too-difficult project. I like the traditional look so I used maple, two colors of stain, and some Danish oil for the handle and leather for the sheath. This way I could also size the handle to exacly fit my hand.
 
The Leuku/Puukko set in Backpacker's "I finally found the right combination" thread got me thinking about this. The Leuku/Puuko set on the Finish Knives page at www.ragweedforge.com looks really nice, but--as I said above--the handles don't appeal to me much and I think putting my own handles on would be a fun project.

Ragweed sells a 60RC carbon steel Leuku blade for $20 as well as a bunch of suitable shorter blades of the same material LINK (Scroll down to "Swedish Knife Blades from Eriksson") Here's what they say about the Leuku: 7 1/4" Leukko style blade, length overall is 12", thickness is .126" (3.25mm), $20

I'll also look into the Frosts with the full-width tangs for the shorter knife. If I recall correctly, though, they have an integral guard. I prefer the edge access of the traditional knives for food prep. I guess I could always grind material off the tang to suit my preferences. The narrow tang knives would allow me to grind out a finger groove like my 806D2's which would increase retention without compromising edge access.

Ragweed Forge has some instructions on mounting handles. I think the instructions for antler would work for G10 ROD. Drill a hole, shape the handle and then Epoxy the blade into the handle.

I could also take two quarter-inch thick pieces of G10 plate, carve recesses in them for the tang, epoxy the scales and the blase together and then shape the handle.

Finally, someone over in Shop Talk suggested stacking G10 plates to make a stacked G10 handle--maybe with some brass washers for decoration.
 
Hmmm . . . I can not find the full-width tang Frosts blades anywhere online (I'm usually pretty good at finding stuff). I sent them an inquiry through their site.

If I can't find them I might use the last of the Erikkson blades in the list I linked above: 3 1/4" blade with 4 3/4" wide tang, .065" (1.6mm) thick. This would be a good base for a full tang knife, or can be used as it is for a flat, easy to pack, knife. $12 With the proper tools and some patience, it would be easy enough to shape the tang if I wanted to do so.
 
I've been thinking along the same lines too. I have a half dozen blade blanks I've been practicing grinding on, worked on one blank with a file, etc. I'm getting better but I'm not putting in the time I would like to. I'm wanting a woodlore style knife as well. One of the main differences is that my knife will have a exposed rear tang.

I've been playing around with 5/32 A2 but I also have some O1 and 154CM in 1/8" that I'm going to work with.

Personally, I think my 1/8" thick Grohmann Boat Knife and Camper are up to the chore. The Boat knife is carbon, the Camper is stainless. Both are flat ground. Do a little profiling on the edges and these knives will whittle like Moras. I also think the flat grind on 1/8" stock will give you a great slicer but you can still have both a primary and secondary edge. The full V grind is prone to chipping (not my words--straight from Ray Mears' new book, Bushcraft but I've found it to be true as well) and with a slight primary edge, I think overall it's more robust at the edge. Slicing improves if you smooth the edges of the primary grind but at this point it's a tradeoff, the more you smooth the better it will carve wood, but the more fragile it becomes.

I have one of the full tang Mora blanks. I will search around and find the information on how I got it. Essentially I ordered it from Frosts USA. All you have to do is put some slabs on it and you are in business. Even though the blank is designed to have bolsters, you don't have to put them on.
 
Thanks Hoodoo! I'll file that e-mail address for future reference.

I think this will be a fun project. I'm also thinking about a Lumileds Luxeon Star conversion of my Petzl Zoom. I've seen some amazing 3D Maglite conversions over at www.candlepowerforums.com. I don't know which project I'll do first.
 
Don't tell anybody, but between Blade Forums and Candlepower...I haven't had this much fun buying and/or making gear since Summer Camp in Boy Scouts back when dinosaurs ruled the earth. Whoo Hooo!
 
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