First knife, few questions

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Munky88

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Jun 1, 2008
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Ok, so i have a few questions before i start aquring materials for my first knife. which will probibly be about 4-4.5 inches.

For metal, i found a place to heat treat them. but they only do air quenching. so would A2 be a good choice for a first knife? is it easy enough to work with? I could also just get 1095 and find somewhere else. O1 and heat treating it myself is not an option. could also use cpm3v but that's hard to work, and likes to chip alot right?

for grinding, i would like to do a high sabre, borderline flat grind. but only have files. will this drive me to insanity?

and would you rather have an angle grinder, or a bench grinder and jigsaw? (cant find belt grinders anywhere cheaply)
 
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A lot of guys (including myself) use the craftsman 2" x 42" belt grinder, which is around $130 last time I checked.
 
I will also recomend the craftsman sander, I has one for a while and it is great for learning on. Some people here recommend that you use a hack saw for profiling your blades but I would hack my own arm off, I would recommend an angle grinder form harbor freight, cheep and reliable.

I also recommend reading as much of this as you can http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452465
 
I have read most of that. these are just a few things I couldnt find in there. mostly retaining to how hard aspects of it are.

I'll consider the belt sander. but was trying to find something on craiglist. so would i be able to grind it fine with a file?
 
yes, but you will need to make a file guide. You can probably find plans for one on the internet.
 
I am a new maker myself and started out with minimal tools and budget... I finished my first two knives a few months ago and started some new ones since... My first knives were both A2. It's a good steel to work with IMHO. I think you can really do about anything (well...maybe not hollow grinds) with files. I have a Delta 1x42 I used to shape the blade "blank" but most of the work on the bevels and such was done with files. I can't say it's a quick process, but it does work. I've got 4 new blades (3 of them are also A2) about ready for heat treat (I use TKS for HT btw... air quench only there too). Having just moved, and trying to get my shop and house set up, it's taking me quite a while to wrap this batch up.... one of them was started in April! Anyway, i guess the point to this ramble is that you, and not your tools is what will make the knife you want. Patience, perseverance and humility are all you really need to make a good knife, but you might have to throw a few blades in the bucket before you make one you are happy with.

-Mark
 
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I think that it would be you're best bet to get a half decent angle grinder. They are not very expensive and you can get all kinds of sanding attachments, cutting and grinding discs, etc,... I've made some knives where basically all I used was an angle grinder and some files and sand paper to finish up. If you decide later on you want to get more serious about knife making, look into getting yourself a Delta 1x42 belt sander. As far as I am aware, they don't sell the Craftsman 2x42 in Canada. Sears in the states have them, but they don't ship to Canada. I use 1095 for my knife steel. It is easy to work with and I usually get good results. Don't know about the others, I don't like "fancy" steels and I despise stainless steels. Good luck!
 
When I first started (which was not that long ago so its fresh in memory), I started with files. Luckily I was able to use my father's drill press which allowed me to cut blanks out easier (check out the $50 dollar Knife Shop book). The next tool I bought was the forge, because I wanted to do my own heat treat (I feel that the heat treat is where the knife is made. Therefore if I don't do the heat treat I feel as if I didn't make the knife). I first used O1, but I really wanted to work with 1095, so I quickly moved to 1095. The forge was also used in annealing the steel so that file work was easier. I recommend making at least one knife via file work for anyone since I learned allot through that process and was a small investment.

Wish you lots of luck... I still need it myself. Be careful and go slow. I have been rushing a knife in the last week and due to that I have made too many close calls.
 
A2 makes an excellent blade ! Other air hardening steels typically are stainless and harder to deal with.
 
I also sent my first blade off to someone who only treated air-hardened steels. I chose CPM 154 and I am extremely satisfied with the results. It is without a doubt the highest performing knife I own (until I finish my next knife).
 
for the novice a 1X30, or 1X42 belt grinder works good with a decent assortment of belts 40 or 60 grit zirconium(blue) for major removal, plus a few different grits of aluminum oxide sharpening belts(320-1200)
 
I would like to add to what I said earlier about the angle grinder thing. Yes it definitely is faster cutting than a hacksaw, but in the same regard, it's easier to screw up a blank if you're not really careful. Like I did today...ARGHHHH!!!! Frankly, what I want is to get out of the whole stock removal thing and start forging my own blades, but the place I am living won't allow for it. One thing I would like to recommend to someone beginning is that they start out with thinner steel stock. One problem I had starting out is that the only steel I could find was 1/4" thick or car leaf spring steel. This makes the whole doing it by hand pure hell. As a result the finished knives were always too heavy with extremely thick bevels. So unless you want to spend 6 hours grinding or filing, stick with the thinner stock. I think I am going to go find myself a metal cutting bandsaw tomorrow.
 
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