Anyone want to online mentor me?

I think what I'm going to do is buy the bandsaw, and just use files to grind the blades for a while, and then build a belt sander with a contact wheel later.
 
go-mike
Your profile states that you are a student ( but not your age,BTW). Being a student means studying and learning about a skill before you start it. Would you be happy with a doctor who said he had a scalpel and some sutures, and he was pretty sure he could cut you open, but wasn't too sure about what to do next?

Getting a band saw and a grinder are all things you will need to do eventually, but I am going to suggest something that the others haven't.
Read up on knifemaking first. Get a good book on the subject, and read it cover to cover,.... twice. There is a good list in the Newbie Stickys at the top of the forum.

When you understand how a blade is profiled, and how the bevels are made, then you will be better able to decide where your equipment needs lie.

This forum is a great place to get started, but many posters are quick to answer a question based on their perspective, and not from the questioner's. We all had to get started sometime, and the learning curve is much faster with good equipment and good advise about how to use it.............but that equipment and advise will only be of use if you fully understand the principles involved. Read up for a while...get a piece of known steel and some Nicholson files ( you will need them anyway), and make your first knife by hand filing and hand sanding. You will be way ahead in the long run.

All the best,
Stacy
 
I already made a throwing knife out of some menards quality steel, a hacksaw, sandpaper, and files. What I believe would help me make knives with more precision is using a bandsaw. Later, I will decide what to do about sanders, but because I have files now, I should be okay.

Edit: And, since I will probably want a bandsaw later, I can get it for $160 only today and tomorrow, which may be the only time I can get that price for a long long time.
 
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go mike said:
I already made a throwing knife out of some menards quality steel, a hacksaw, sandpaper, and files. What I believe would help me make knives with more precision is using a bandsaw. Later, I will decide what to do about sanders, but because I have files now, I should be okay.

Edit: And, since I will probably want a bandsaw later, I can get it for $160 only today and tomorrow, which may be the only time I can get that price for a long long time.
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hmmmmmmmm...Menards Quality Steel? I'm not sure what that is. Menards is a hardware store. I'm guessing it's mild steel.

Go through the newbie links. There are sources for steel listed there, such as 1084 which is a great starter steel. 1084 is easy to work and heat treat and will make one heck of a good knife.
 
Yeah, the mild steel was just for practicing. I might buy some 1095 steel from jantzsupply, or some 1084 from other sites, depending on the rates and feedback on them.
 
Hi mike you said your like 15 right im near 50 and i read all the threads and the most important tools are saftey tools buy a good set of anti fogging googles get a breathing mask a good one starts at 30 bucks and go into the hundreds but if you get a carbon filter that will protect you from toxic fumes and toxic gas and dust released off the steel from chemicals and treated woods even the dust from various woods can kill you.Alot of these guys run ventalation while knife making and then may only need a small dust mask. I was seriously poisioned and was lucky i never died once from h2s4 gas i breathed in mild doces for 12 hours one day and gave me chemical phnumonia i permanently lost 17% of the volume of my lungs as a result.I am also new at knife making but satey is the most important tools . I dont have a band saw and wont i have a good grinder and bought a small 1inch x20 belt with the 5 inch disc on the side, i use both all the time mild profiles and wood for handles.I just talked to a top Canadian knife maker he said its a was of money to have a band saw and a waste of money buying blades and a waste of time his words.He says its cheaper to have a person with a water jet cut his blades out with minimal waste on full sheets of material.He also said every time you break a band saw blade there goes the profit from 2 knives maybee 3. Get some good grinding wheels youll be better off. SAFTEY FIRST Kellyw
 
Fumes come from everything..... grinding, shaping, cutting, forging (very deadly without proper ventilation), buffing, sanding, gluing and of course the most dangerous of all fumes..... from the maker himself :p
 
Would a product like the ionic breeze eliminate bad fumes, or would I just need a fan to outside going?
 
Mike,
I know you don't want to hear this, but your last several postings are proof of why I suggested you read up first.
Making knives isn't the same as making plastic models. Safety is a big issue.
I really think you should get some books and read them before ordering any steel or tools.
Stacy
 
I know why you say that, and I agree that I should. I'll check to see if my library has any information... It's a weird library.
 
If/when I get to the point where I start heat treating blades, would a good forge be to have a housing of fire bricks, and have charcoal as the heat source? I have read good things about charcoal (easy to get, burns pretty well), and what kind of thermometer should I get that can measure up to approx. 1700º F ? I will probably start heat treating any blades I have starting in April or May depending on the weather.
 
mike you need to listen to us i know crap about knife making but i know alot about saftey i have been a OHSC for alot of years saftey rep and saftey is #1 listen to me and will and anyone else you this is real dangerous. Here is a good example im near 50 years old I welded up a forge the other day got all the pipes bought a torch to run it but decided to wait till i watch a few people first before i do it myself with out help and proper guidance . The dam tank could explode cuzz you did something wrong and could kill you.I saw a video from work where a rail way tank car full of propane exploded the car was 100 feet long and found just over a mile away from the tracks after exploding it weighed 200 plus thousand pounds. Read some books go to YOU TUBE there lots of makers there showing stuff .Type in knife makers. that will keep you going for a week. lol but first go get the saftey stuff needed. kellyw
 
go mike said:
If/when I get to the point where I start heat treating blades, would a good forge be to have a housing of fire bricks, and have charcoal as the heat source? I have read good things about charcoal (easy to get, burns pretty well), and what kind of thermometer should I get that can measure up to approx. 1700º F ? I will probably start heat treating any blades I have starting in April or May depending on the weather.
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The fact that you asked this question means that you haven't read the stickies yet. All of the questions that you're asking are already answered in the stickies. Read first, do second!!
 
scottickes said:
The fact that you asked this question means that you haven't read the stickies yet. All of the questions that you're asking are already answered in the stickies. Read first, do second!!
Click to expand...

ahh... I've read through 60% of them! I guess I'll read through them all before asking any more questions
 
Mike,
I know that we sound like a bunch of grouchy old men.... some of us are old... all of us are grouchy about safety. There's so much to go horribly wrong if you aren't educated to the dangers. Knifemaking is painful enough at times without causing yourself pain through improper safety precautions. An example of ignorance and fumes; when I was your age I used to work in a model airplane shop, a friend from the neighborhood started flying also. Everything was fine during the Summer and Fall, one cool Monday morning his parents came to wake him up from school but he apparently died during the night from fumes from the cleaning agents he used on the airplane. There weren't problems until he shut his bedroom window when it was cold.

Read the stickies, read through about 20 pages of the forum, then you'll know what you're getting into (sort of :p). Knifemaking is a great craft but it's not something to rush headlong into without educating yourself.
 
I really can't find most of my answers through looking through the newbie links, but I'm starting to find some from googling *topic piece* site:bladeforums.com
 
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