Christmas Presents and Knifemaking

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I have seen a lot of references to "Making a knife/sword/etc. for someone for Christmas. Unfortunately, may of these forks are just starting to look for the steel, and have little or no experience.

Knifemaking is like any other skilled craft. You have to learn the craft, then practice it, and then when you have gained the skill and had enough practice, you will be able to make a gift that is worthy of the recipient. But, do yourself a favor, and don't decide to take up knifemaking on Nov 27th and expect to have a gift ready Dec 24th.

If you want to give gifts of handmade knives...start now for next Christmas.

Other comments on gift knives.
1) Workmanship - They should be the best of your abilities, not the rejects from ones you planed on selling. Spend the time needed to sand out all scratches, finish the handle properly, and sharpen the knife to a truly sharp edge.
2) Materials - Gift knives aren't where you save a dollar by using old mattress frames. Buy a known steel that you can work with and make a quality knife. The steel rarely runs more than $5-8 per knife anyway.
3) Methods and Styles - For gifts, try to stay within your comfort zone. Make knives that you know how to make. This isn't where you go out on a limb and say, "I have never made an XYZ knife, I think I'll make one for dad this Christmas." If you are good at using a file and a block of wood to wrap sandpaper on, use that method. If you don't engrave well ( or at all), working on a Christmas gift isn't when you start to learn that skill. If you have never made a dagger, start working on one in January, not now.
4) Embellishment - We all want our gifts to be really great. And in many cases we go all out to embellish them. This may be good for some things, but on a knife it can either be unnecessary, or counterproductive to the reason you gave the gift. If Mom needs a good chefs knife, make her one she will use every day and treat like a kitchen tool. While ivory and damascus with engraved bolsters is stunning, she will likely set it in a drawer and never use "such a pretty knife". Make one in AEBL/S35VN, W2/etc. and use African blackwood or maple, and she will set it on the back of the sink and use it every time she needs to cut something. Also, gift time is not the time to try and fancy up the item with personalization...unless you are already proficient at that skill. Machine engraving in small letters on the spine area, "Christmas 2013" or "To Dad, Merry Christmas" is great, but don't take your Dremel and try it or decide that now is the time to acid etch a big logo on the knife because you, "Saw someone do it on You-tube".
5) Packaging - A gift should be in a nice box, and if the knife style requires it, have a sheath. Wrapping the knife in newspaper is just not going to reveal the work that went into the gift.


Finally, If you have your heart set on giving Aunt Tilly a knife for Christmas, and it just isn't coming out right, or you waited far too long to start....don't give her a half-a$$ed knife as a gift. Wrap a bar of steel up in a nice box, and give it to her. She will look at you funny, and then you can tell her that the "Wise Men" are bringing her gift, and it may be a few weeks before it gets here.
Personally, I make almost everyone's Christmas gifts in January and February...and I have never had someone complain that they did not like the wait. One year I gave my Brother-in-law a gift card to Home Depot. He gave it back with a big smile and said, "I would rather wait a few months."

 

[i4Marc]

Good points Stacy. The only thing I would add from my perspective is this. Don't waste your time making knives for people who won't appreciate the time and effort it took you to make it. I have made knives for people who "appreciate" the knife but all they do is complain about some detail or another. I have people I would love to make a knife for but who "think my knives are too fat". No more knives for these people. I work too damn hard on my knives to make them the best I can to give them to people who don't understand the creative energy, the time, the cost and the pride that go into any of my knives. On the other hand, even though my Dad says he doesn't have the need to carry the knives I make for him I know he has a genuine interest in what I do and lovingly keeps the ones I give him in his safe. I am making a bowie right now for a friend of mine who I know will love and use it. He is an artist and craftsman as well and will know exactly what went into making it. He will use it often and with pride. I would gladly make knives for people like that. Even if the knives you make aren't the greatest knives you have ever seen, if they are the best you can do at your level of experience don't give them to just anybody. Give them to people who understand that this knife isn't something you ordered out of a catalog, it is a manifestation of your love for them.

 

[Omega Leather Works]

But but but aunt Tilly wants it now!

Good stuff. I hadn't given it much thought, but it's good advice. It also reminds me that I *really* need to finish a bowl that I'm carving for my mil.

 

[Willie71]

I have given knives for Christmas and birthday presents for the past year. Until recently, they have all been late, as I had to fix some sort of problem. No one has complained, an in my family they would . I had to bite the bullit and use stainless. I like hamons, but they don't look good covered in rust and pits. My mother in law has damaged every carbon steel knife she has used. I also recommend a good end grain cutting board if you give a kitchen knife, My mother in law cuts on a glass cutting board.

 

[AVigil]

Better yet start making the knife in January for the next Christmas. Good planning and organization is also a skill people should hone. If I have not finished the project I was going to give as a gift I give something else. Then I give them the project when it is finished for a birthday or next Christmas.

Good planning is an important part of knifemaking as much as anything else.

 

[12345678910]

If you're ordering supplies, you have to allow some weeks for them to arrive.


If you're shipping out for HT, you need to allow some weeks for it to be done and travel time in both directions.


If you're going to screw up, you have to allow time to do some things twice or three times.
and the replacement supplies to arrive.


You have to allow some time for suppliers to be out of stock and refresh their stock, because the whole world is trying to hurry up and get these all done before Christmas.



It's easier to make a few over the year and set them aside in a "Christmas Cache" so if you need a gift, you've got some to choose from.

 

[oic0]

When my friends come over and go "cool, can I make a knife?" I have em make a kiridashi with a wrapped handle. Probably about the only knife you can make without need of practice and skill. Probably why its the only type I can make with zero flaws lol.
Course as neat as a kiridashi is, it's more of a stocking stuffer, not epic gift.

 

[FullyTorque]

I decided to give knives as gifts this year but most of them will be made using premade HT'ed blades. I'm only a few months into knife making and only recently made a stock-removal knife that I think is nice enough to give as a gift.
Using premade blades ensures that I have good steel with proper heat treat. I've used damascus blades from Alabama Damascus and Two Fingers and stainless steel from Texas Supply (because they cryo).
The handles and sheaths are made by me.
Here's a fillet knife I gave to my fiance's father for his birthday. It's a premade blade but I reshaped the tang and made the laminate handles and sheath.

This one I made from Aldo's 1095 and heat treated myself. I'm thinking of giving it as a christmas gift, but I will probably try to make another one since there are a few flaws that are bugging me.

 

[FullyTorque]

Tip: If you give a knife with a Kydex sheath to someone who's never had one before, show them how to remove the knife safely. When Ashley's dad pulled that fillet knife from its sheath he pulled the knife and sheath apart in both hands and when he felt the resistance kinda jerked them apart. He nearly stabbed himself in the arm. I quickly showed him the relief cuts and how to gently push the sheath away with his thumb. But I cringe even now just thinking how close he came to hurting himself the first time he held that knife.