Aspiring Knife Maker With a Couple Questions

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marcusthemonkey

Joined
Oct 30, 2009
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I have been interested in trying my hand a knife making for a while, but have not had the space or tools necessary. I am getting close to being able to pick up a band saw and 2x72 belt grinder, but it is not likely I will be able to to my own heat treating or forge work in the forseeable future. If I end up producing some good pieces, I will likely ship these to Paul Bos or someone for heat treating.

Basically, I will be cutting and profiling the knife out of some barstock and bringing it to the point where the blade is ready for sharpening, then shipping it off for heat treating. Once they are returned, I will buff and sharpen (making an effort not to heat the knives in the process).

I realize that I am over simplifying this, but I am wondering if there are any other steps that I should be concerned with? I am thinking about working with A2 and O-1. I know the A2 will require patience, but are there any other concerns with these metals? I ask because as I have not purchased any tools yet (apartment life), I want to make sure that I am not leaving anything out when I prioritze my purchases.

Thanks in advance,
Marcus
 
There will probably be a fair amount of finishing after heat treat. Depending on the metal, of course. You'll needs lots of very fine sandpaper for post HT finishing. Also, there's the whole issue of handles. Lots of scales, pins, corby bolts, epoxies, and liners. Don't overlook the value of a few good files. I was against them when I started 6 months ago, now I realize how absolutely necessary they are for certain tasks, like cutting a notch in a guard, making a spacer .01" shorter, etc. Files can give that nice, sharp corner that sanding/grinding just can't.

As for the heat treating. . . .I priced what it was going to cost to have a set of kitchen knives heat treated and I found that I could get a cheap used kiln for just a little more. Plus, it would let me anneal metals and harden them in a pinch if needed. Also, it's takes a fair amount of time to pack, ship, and wait for the metal to get HT. I found a small kiln for $100 on eBay that didn't sell. I really wish I had bought it!

You will also need a drill press. That seems to be 3rd on most peoples lists behind grinder and bandsaw.
 
Note that Paul does not HT 01, but A2 is good to go. Most outside HT providers only deal with air hardening steel, there have been some places posted that will do a oil quench. My personal opinion is stick with A2 grind to 0.02 edge and sand to 400 send to paul, it comes back really clean. PS get all your pin holes drill first as well.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone!

Patrickknives said:
Note that Paul does not HT 01, but A2 is good to go. Most outside HT providers only deal with air hardening steel, there have been some places posted that will do a oil quench. My personal opinion is stick with A2 grind to 0.02 edge and sand to 400 send to paul, it comes back really clean. PS get all your pin holes drill first as well.
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This is great information. I will probably just stick with A2. I realize this is a difficult steel to cut and grind. Any tips on particular saw blades I should watch out for? I am willing to be super patient with the process, as I am not planning on selling bulk or anything!
 
I have not noticed that it is difficult to work with, I think people who can judge materials and their properties more closely will know a difference but cutting, grinding, drilling, filing and sanding all seem to work with no trouble. I do suggest you pay a couple extra $ and get precision ground, nice not having to deal with mill scale and rounded edges. Be sure its annealed.
 
I will definietly trying to find my steel annealed from the supplier. A drill press will definitely be in the works, however, I think I will try to get by with a hand drill until I can afford one. Then again, these days you can find table top drill presses for faily cheap. How effective they are with metal is something I am unsure of...
 
A hand held is fine but the real trick is speed control, metal is drilled really slow, this helps it cut and prevents burning of the bit. Alpha suppy will sell small pieces of A2 if you need to order.

Good Luck
 
marcusthemonkey said:
I will definietly trying to find my steel annealed from the supplier. A drill press will definitely be in the works, however, I think I will try to get by with a hand drill until I can afford one. Then again, these days you can find table top drill presses for faily cheap. How effective they are with metal is something I am unsure of...
Click to expand...

Make sure the drill press you buy will go down to a slow enough speed--the ultra-cheap 5 or 6 speed ones only seem to go down to 650 +/- RPMs--way too fast for anything much over 1/8"-1/4" (at least that is my experiance trying to drill larger holes in soft 1084 with cobalt bits). About the cheapest one I've seen is a table top from HF that goes down to 250 RPMs for $129.00 or so.
 
I would get the drill press before the band saw.Even the cheap one from harbor Frieght is way better than trying to hand drill straight and square holes.
Stan
 
Drill press gets my vote too, since I'm in the position right now of not having one, I know there's no way I'll get the holes in the scales perfectly straight with no wobble, which means I have to drill them undersized a bit more than I'd like to avoid obvious space around any pin or corby.
 
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