The Count's Standard Reply to New Knifemakers V27
The answer to a 13 year old student is different than to a 40 year old engineer.
We may recommend a local supplier, you may have a helpful neighbour, or local Hammerin; but that depends on where you are. We have members worldwide.
Please fill out your profile with your location (Country, State, City), age, education, employment, hobbies.
Look at the threads stickied not all are expired.
The basics in the simplest terms
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Printable PDF-Right Click and Save
http://www.2shared.com/document/hk4wQruA/Absolute_Cheapskate_Way_to_Sta.html
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Website
http://www.hossom.com/jonesy/
Web Tutorials
Detailed instructions by Stacy E. Apelt
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694673
The Things I Advise New Knife Makers Against-Printable PDF
http://www.mediafire.com/?8og1ix21j9dcz4n
Handle Tutorial - Nick Wheeler-PDF
http://www.mediafire.com/?02ra4do6xyzayeq
Bob Egnath how to's
http://www.engnath.com/manframe.htm
Books
A list of books and videos http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9435307&postcount=43
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
Clear, well organized, widely available and inexpensive too.
Knife Design:
Think thin.
Forget swords, Saw-tooth spines, guthooks, crazy grinds and folders for your first knife.
Start with a drawing.
Show it to us, we love to see and comment on photos.
Then make a cardboard cutout template & draw in handles, pins and such
Then use wood, paint sticks are free & close to the right size.
If it “feels right”. If it feels right it usually “looks right“
How to post a photo on BF
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...AL-Displaying-your-photographs-on-BladeForums
See the Google books thread for Lloyd Harding drawings, the Loveless book & Bob Engnath Patterns.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203
Bob Engnath Patterns compiled into a PDF
http://www.mediafire.com/?qgx7yebn77n77qx
Forging Books:
Lorelei Sims-The Backyard Blacksmith
An excellent modern book with colour photos for forging - no specific knifemaking.
Jim Hrisoulas- has 3 books. 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
http://www.archive.org/download/elementarymachin00palmrich/elementarymachin00palmrich.pdf
The Complete Practical Machinist-Printable -1885-PDF
http://ia700309.us.archive.org/6/items/completepractic00rosegoog/completepractic00rosegoog.pdf
Right Click and save link as.
It’s being reprinted now; you can get it for $20 ish
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)
Forget the Goop Quench.
Use commercial quench oil & match oil speed to the steel type; even grocery store canola oil works much better for some steels.
Junkyard steel requires skill and experience to identify and heat treat it properly.
Forget Lawnmower blades and start with a new known steel type.
Good heat treating needs accurate temperature control and full quench.
You can buy proper steel like 1084FG from Aldo very cheaply.
I like cable damascus, but that advanced project has no place in a beginner’s book.
The grinders are the best thing about this book, but there is a huge amount of info for 2x72” belt grinders on the web, including free plans.
Videos
Don't be this guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEOTtslHARQ
Heat Treating Basics Video-downloadable
Right click and save this. Watch it once a day for 10 days.
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4
Safety-video
Right click and save this. Watch it once a day for 10 days.
http://www.howtomakeaknife.net/FreeStuff/SafetyVideo.wmv
Many knifemaking videos are available, some better than others.
The best overall Knifemaking video I have seen is
“Steve Johnson-Making a Sub-Hilt Fighter”
Basic Bladesmithing
"Ed Caffrey - Basic Bladesmithing-Full DVD-ISO"
The best video on leather sheath making for beginners is
“Custom Knife Sheaths -Chuck Burrows - Wild Rose”
-(Paul Long has 2 videos, his sheath work & videos are fantastic, but more advanced-with inlays, machine stitching)
Green Pete's Free Video
Making a Mora bushcraft knife, stock removal, hand tools, neo tribal / unplugged heat treat.
Use a piece of known steel, not a file. I just post this as an example of doing it by hand with few tools.
"Green Pete" posted it free using torrent files.
Be sure to look at the other titles too. Use the keywords “LurkerLurker torrent” “knifemakerC torrent” and others
Greenpete Knifemaking Basics-on TPB
http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/499...femaking_Basics_-_Make_a_Mora_Bushcraft_Knife
How to download that video
http://www.utorrent.com/help/guides/beginners-guide
See a list of video reviews at this rental company; some are worth buying, some renting…
http://smartflix.com/store/category/9/Knifemaking
Draw Filing Demonstration
YouTube video -Draw Filing-for a flat finish
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dec78RQsokw
Steel
The “welding steel” at Home Depot / Lowes… is useless for knives.
Forget about lawnmower blades ,files and other unknown junkyard steels.
For all the work involved, it is very cheap to buy and use a known good steel.
If you send out for heat treating, you can use
Oil quenched O1, 1095, 1084
Or air quenched A2, CM154, ATS34, CPM154, 440C, plus many others.
For heat treating yourself with minimal equipment, find some Eutectoid steel.
1084FG sold by Aldo Bruno is formulated for Knifemaking, Cheapest & made for DIY heat-treat.
http://njsteelbaron.com/
Phone # 862-203-8160
1095 is a good carbon steel, but a bad choice for a beginner with limited equipment.
1095 is "Hypereutectioid" and needs very precise temperature control and proper fast quench oil Like Parks 50 or Houghton K
Kevin Cashen - 1095 - hypereutectoid steel
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/673173-Working-the-three-steel-types
If you are sending one or 2 knives out for heat treatment, use 154-CM or CPM-154 or CPM-s35vn and ship it out to TKS -Texas Knifemaker Supply
It's the cheapest way to do 1 or 2 because of HT minimum charges.
Suppliers List
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736
Heat Treating
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9143684&postcount=7
You can send blades out for heat treating at $10 or $15 per blade for perfect results, and avoid buying the equipment.
Air Hardening Stainless Steel Only
Buck Pau Bos -Be sure to check the Shipping and Price tabs.
http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=bio.paulBos#
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/privacy.php#services
Oil Hardening Carbon Steels and Air Hardening Stainless Steel
http://www.petersheattreat.com/cutlery.html
http://www.knifemaker.ca/ (Canadian)
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/member.php/246861-darrin-sanders Oil hardening steel onesies
Quenchants for Oil hardening steel
Forget the Goop Quench. Motor oil, it's toxic and doesn't work that well.
Use commercial quench oil & match oil speed to the steel type;
Grocery store canola oil works well enough for your first knife-if you use the right steel.
Brine and water are almost free, and technically correct for W1 and "water hardening" steels but a fast oil like Parks 50 and Houghton Houghto Quench K are less likely to give you broken blades.
If you use water or brine, expect to hear a "tink" and have a cracked or broken blade
Glue – Epoxy
Use a new package of slow setting, high strength epoxy to attach blades to handles and well as seal out moisture.
Surface Prep is vital, drill tang holes/ grind a hollow, roughen the surfaces with abrasive, blasting is best.
Ensure the surface is clean & no oil including fingerprints. Soap, Acetone & Alcohol, Blasting.
Clamp with moderate pressure= avoid a “glue starved joint” when all the adhesive is squeezed out.
These are well proven.
Brownell's Acraglas
West Systems G Flex
JB Weld
Grinder / Tools
In my opinion, variable speed and a small wheel attachment are essential on a good grinder.
You can almost always improve tracking with more belt tension. It needs to be way tighter than you first think.
Hand Tools
You can do it all by hand with files and abrasive cloth like the Green Pete video.
Files can be made from unhardenable steel, or steel similar to 1095 that needs a difficult HT
Just use 1084 instead of a file.
Photo of a nice bevel filing jig
http://www.flemingknives.com/imagesPrime/FileStation/KPicB007.jpg
Entry Level Grinders
A two wheel hard grinding wheel bench grinder is not that useful.
Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921513000P?prdNo=3
Low Speed Modification Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qfYT_m2Tw0
Commercial Production 2 x 72” Belt Grinder Reviews
http://www.prometheanknives.com/shop-techniques-3/grinders
http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCKnifeMakingGrinders.htm
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)
http://wilmontgrinders.com/EERFGrinder.aspx
http://blindhogg.com/blueprints.html
Buy the kit
http://polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html
What Belts to buy?
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/abrasive-belt-basics-what-kind-should-i-buy-p-1393.html
VFD Variable Speed made simple
Simplest, and cheapest are hardly ever the same, but:
Step pulleys are not as cheap as you may think
Maska cast steel pulleys are good and well balanced $75 EACH here plus shaft, bearings, belt
It all adds up to about 1/2 the price of a KBAC-27D
I like direct drive, no belts and a VFD for about $200 over the price of the step pulleys with much finer control.
Yes you can get cheaper NEMA 1 VFD’s and build your own enclosure
Or you may find them cheaper at other retailers, but watch shipping.
Wayne Coe
http://www.waynecoeartistblacksmith.com/Motors___VFDs.html
VFD-
KBAC-27D
Motor
3 phase 220v 1.5 HP motor, TEFC, frame 56 or 56C,
RPM is up to you many are happy with a 1700 RPM running at double speed.
Make sure it has a footed base for the KMG and NWG, or a C flange face mount for Bader and GIB styles.
I get them on ebay, even with paying $80 for shipping to Canada I save $$$ on a used motor.
The 1.5 HP combination is the most common setup, as reported by Rob Frink in some thread somewhere
It allows you to plug into any 110vac, 15 amp outlet.
A 2 HP motor requires a 220vac input.
There are cheaper VFD units like the TECO, but the only VFD I have found that will run a 1.5 HP motor on a 110v 15 amp input is the KBAC27D
It is NEMA4, sealed from metal dust that can burnout the unit.
It has good community and company support, manuals, hook-up diagrams, photos and settings on Rob Frink’s website.
I like the fact that I can buy it from a local distributor in Canada.
Travis W reports running a 2 HP on a 110v circuit, but I haven’t tried it.
Hookup is dead simple
http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/VS-setup.html
Safety Equipment
Protect your -Eyes, Ears, Fingers, and Lungs – remove jewellery and use safety gear.
Respirators
Chronic lung disease and cancer really suck the joy out of life.
Goggle "Ed Caffrey lung cancer"
The minimum I would consider are silicone half masks with a P100 Filter
3M 7500
http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediaw...Ox_Uev7qe17zHvTSevTSeSSSSSS--&fn=CH7500FP.pdf
and North 7700
http://www.amazon.com/North-Safety-770030L-Silicone-Respirator/dp/B002C08YCW
http://www.amazon.com/North-7580P100-P100-Particulate-Cartridge/dp/B000UH6PSE/ref=pd_bxgy_hi_img_b.
Use a VOC & P100 combo cartridge for protection against acetone and solvents.
There are also prefilters that snap over the main filter for longer life.
There are 3 sizes, buy one in person at a safety supplier and get it fitted.
For beards, pick one of these
3M PAPR
Resp-O-Rator
3m Breathe Easy
Trend Airshield Pro
Air Cap II
Searching
Search works for ALL users-Try it.
This Google page searches BF only & works better than the forum search.
http://www.google.com/cse/home?cx=011197018607028182644:qfobr3dlcra
V27 July 30, 2012
Simplified ALL links to avoid the BB software link scramble and trimmed to stay within the 1500 character limit.
