Books on knife making.

paranoidsentry

paranoidsentry

Joined
Apr 1, 2010
Messages
261
I have decided that this year is going to be the year I stop dreaming about knife make while I spend my money buying productions knives. To get started I think the first step is to do some good solid research, instead or just picking things up here and there. Sadly I don't have a smith to learn from so I am going to have to learn from books and the internet, probably getting very frustrated as I learn by trial and error. What I would like to know is: What would be the best three or four books to read, that would take me through the entire knife forging process?

Thanks in advance.
 
You might want to start hanging out in shop talk, I post this a couple of times a week there.

You have great books, videos and web based tutorials available.



Have you seen this ?

The Standard Reply to Newbies v11

The answer to a 13 year old student is different than to a 40 year old engineer.
We may recommend a local supplier, or you may have a helpful neighbour; but that depends on where you are.
Fill out your profile with your location (Country and State at least), age, education, employment.

Look at the threads stickied at the top; many are expired, but not all.

The basic process in the simplest terms

Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Printable PDF
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Website


Web Tutorials
Detailed instructions by Stacy E.Apelt

The Things I Advise New Knife Makers Against-Printable PDF

Handle Tutorial - Nick Wheeler-Website



Books

A list of books and videos on the KnifeDogs Forum
http://www.knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=5285

BladeForums - E-books or Google books
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203

I like:
David Boye-Step by Step Knifemaking
Tim McCreight-Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman
These are clear, well organized, widely available and inexpensive too.

Knife Design:
On the Google books thread, you can find
Lloyd Harding drawings
and
the Loveless book with large variety of proven classic styles.
Google books thread


Forging Books:
Lorelei Sims-The Backyard Blacksmith
An excellent modern book with colour photos for forging in general - no knifemaking.

Jim Hrisoulas- has 3 books on forging knives. Check for the cheaper paperback editions.
The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection
The Pattern-Welded Blade: Artistry in Iron
The Master Bladesmith: Advanced Studies in Steel

Machine Shop Basics -Books:
Elementary Machine Shop Practice-Printable PDF

Machine Shop Tools-Printable PDF

The Complete Practical Machinist-Printable PDF


The $50 knife Shop
It confused me for a long time.
Forging is NOT necessary; you can just file and grind to create a knife (stock removal)

The goop quench is total Bull, commercial quench oils are available, even grocery store canola oil works much better.

Junkyard steels require skill and experience to identify the steel and heat treat it properly.
You can buy proper steel like 1084FG from Aldo very cheaply.

I like cable damascus, but that is an advanced project that has no place in a beginners book.

The home built grinders are the best thing about this book, but there is now a huge amount of info for 2x72” belt grinders on the web, including free plans.


Videos

Heat Treating Basics Video-downloadable
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4

Many specific how to knifemaking videos are available, some are better than others.

The best overall Knifemaking video I have seen is
“Steve Johnson-Making a Sub-Hilt Fighter”

The best video on leather sheath making I have seen is
“Custom Knife Sheaths -Chuck Burrows - Wild Rose”
-(Paul Long has 2 new videos, his sheath work is fantastic. I hope the videos are too)

You can see a list of videos and reviews at this rental company; some are worth buying, some renting…
They are slow to get new titles and wait times are measured in months,
http://smartflix.com/store/category/9/Knifemaking

Green Pete's Free Video
Making a Mora bushcraft knife, stock removal, hand tools, neo tribal / unplugged heat treat.
"Green Pete" posted it free using torrent files.

Greenpete Knifemaking Basics-on TPB
You can also find it on YouTube broken into 4 parts.

Draw Filing Demonstration
YouTube video -Draw Filing-for a flat finish

Steel
The “welding steel” at Home Depot / Lowes… is useless for knives.
If you send out for heat treating, you can use A2, CM154, ATS34, s30v, 440C, plus many others.

If you heat treat yourself, find some 1070, 1080, 1084,
1084 FG sold by Aldo Bruno is formulated just for knifemaking.

You can find a list of suppliers here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736

Aldo is highly rated.
http://njsteelbaron.com/


Heat Treating
You can send blades out for heat treating at $10 or $15 per blade for perfect results, and avoid buying the equipment.

This PDF brochure gives a good overview
http://www.buckknives.com/resources/pdf/Paul_Bos_Brochure.pdf

http://www.petersheattreat.com/
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/about_us.php
http://www.knifemaker.ca/ (Canadian)


Grinder / Tools

Hand Tools
You can do it all by hand with files and abrasive cloth like the Green Pete video.

Photo of a nice bevel filing jig .
http://www.flemingknives.com/imagesPrime/FileStation/KPicB007.jpg

Entry Level Grinders
Many makers start with the Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921513000P?prdNo=3

Commercial Production 2 x 72” Belt Grinders
http://www.prometheanknives.com/shop-techniques-3/grinders

Mapp arm – Grinder Toolrest
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466024


DIY 2 x 72” Belt Grinders

KMG Clone
Free Plans
http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf

NWG No Weld Grinder
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/plans-for-the-no-weld-grinder-sander-nearly-50-pages-p-723.html

EERF Grinder (EERF =“Free” backwards)
Free plans
http://wilmontgrinders.com/EERFGrinder.aspx
http://blindhogg.com/blueprints.html

Buy the kit
http://polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html


Safety Equipment

Respirators

bladsmth said:
Those paper paint masks are about as effective as using a sock for a condom.
Click to expand...

The minimum I would consider are the 3M and North silicone half masks;
even better are the powered positive pressure fresh air systems.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=788837
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=726309
 
Thank you, I have looked through the stickies here and in shop talk (Which is where I probably should have put this thread), and there is a lot that will help me there. My location is Anchorage AK(this is in my profile) for all intensive purposes. Education in regards to knife making is only what I have picked up form bladeforums, knife magazines and knife company's web sights. But I do learn quickly and am smart enough to learn many things on my own, even if it does take me a little while.
 
good for you!
there are a number of excellent bladesmiths in Alaska, and you might even be able to borrow the odd book here and there, should you befriend any.
Welcome to the customs forum, looking forward to seeing your first knife making efforts here dude.
 
you need;

a carbide tip scribe
black permanent markers
hacksaw, 24 and 36 tooth blades
a big ass half round mill bastard file and an assortment of smaller files
a file card
sandpaper starting at 120 grit and in increments up to 400 or 600 grit
a sturdy bench, attached to a wall or the floor
a vise, 6" will do
a drill

add blood, sweat, tears and flame to the equation and you might end up with a knife.
 
Since you asked about books, check this thread out...

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203

It is included in The Counts "Standard Reply to Newbies" but I found that to be a rather large resource to pick through, especially if you have no idea what to look for. You can download these books for free and if you like them, you can go buy yourself a hard copy.


Still a newb myself-

-Xander
 
A basic book available free on the internet is David Boye-Step by Step Knifemaking. Many knifemakers have started with this classic, particularly if you are rich in time and poor in equipment, materials and money.
 
The one book I always recommend is Wayne Goddard's book The $50 Knife Shop. You can get it directly from Wayne or at many of the knife suppliers and Krause publications. I covers low tech making methods with minimal and homemade tools. Great reference book for beginners and seasoned makers alike.
 
if you are interested, pm me your address and I'll send one of my books to you to borrow. It's the Boye book and really does cover almost everything you need to get started on the cheap.
 
I also recommend the $50 Knife Shop as well as How to Make Knives by Barney/Loveless. Both books are good reads as well as easy to find and inexpensive.
 
Lorien said:
if you are interested, pm me your address and I'll send one of my books to you to borrow. It's the Boye book and really does cover almost everything you need to get started on the cheap.
Click to expand...

That would be great except I don't like to borrow others books, just something I don't like to do, a couple times I wasn't able to get them back to them for a long while, and once failed to return it at all. Made me feel really guilty when I was unable to return it. Thank you very much for offering though.

To everyone else: Thank you, sadly though training is ramping up and I will be moving soon so I won't be getting to try my hand at knife making. Not for a little while anyway. I will see if I can find the time to at least study theory.
 
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