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softarch66

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Feb 3, 2012
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When I was a lad of about 10 years old I made a knife with my dad, and it was a great experience. My dad was a welder and steel fabricator who spent his life working with metal, so he knew exactly what to do. I don't have the knife any more - I ended up taking it to Tibet with me (long story) where I traded it to one of my Tibetan friends for a yak-wool cloak his mom had made for him, so no regrets on that.
Now my older son is 11 and getting very active in boy scouts, so I want to make a knife (or knives) with him. I remember a lot of what I learned from my dad (and the internet will help me fill in the gaps), but I have no illusion that I will make the perfect knife on my first try. Plus I like experimenting and tinkering. So I bought 3-foot lengths of 1095 steel from Jantz in 3/32, 1/8, 5/32, and 3/16 - that should keep me busy for a while - enough for a couple for me and for my son, plus if all goes well to teach some of the boy scouts if I decide I'm comfortable.
So where to start? My favorite knife right now is my Mora #2 - I'd love to have something like that but with a full width tang and slightly larger handle for my XXL hands. Any advice, pros/cons on embarking on that project? Whaddaya think?
Should I be okay using my jig saw (3.5 amp) with a quality blade for cutting that 1095? It's that or hacksaw right now, but I'm always up for an excuse to buy another tool.

MW
 
Good start on the steel. However, there are a few things that I would mention.
First, welcome to BF. stick around and you will have a great time.
Second, I recently heard of someone who used a jigsaw with a metal cutting blade and said it worked fine. I guess you are fine on that point.
Third, how are you planning to HT it? Unless you are set up with a kiln, I would start thinking about either Peters HT. they are going to be one of the only companies that will do the 1095. However, there are some people on the forum that will do it, too.
Fourth, fill out your profile with AT LEAST your city, state, and a short bio. You never know if there is a Master Smith living next door to you.
Fifth, how are you planning to grind the bevels? What tools do you have?

I appreciate the fact that you are making the knives with your son. I had to find knifemaking on my own, but I have had a wonderfully supportive Dad (Mom too, but to a lesser degree) and it has made the addiction, I mean hobby, that much more fun.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. We are always happy to help. If you need help with handle materials, talk to me. I might be able to set you up.
 
Great points.
1. Thanks for the welcome, and I sure hope to stick around
2. Roger on the jigsaw
3. I'd really like to HT the way I did with my dad - a temporary kiln of kiln bricks and a propane torch, but that might be too aggressive for jumping right into this, so thanks for the tip on Peters.
4. Thanks for the tip on the profile. Got my location up there and I'll circle back to the bio soon
5. Good question on grinding the bevels. Is it out of the question to do them by hand with files? I like to do as much by hand as possible, partly because I take my time and learn more and partly because my carpal tunnel and rotator cuff like it when I get away from the computer and do some manual labor. But I'm not a glutton for punishment, so I'm open to a bench grinder or angle grinder if necessary.

Thanks again.
 
Files are the way that I do them. Now, a few more things.

Do you have a worktable and a way of clamping down the blades?

Finally, The reason that I would recommend peters is becuase 1095 can not be heat treated correctly in a backyard setup. A HT forge will require a significantly larger amount of money that it is worth to do just a few blades. A kiln is even more expensive.
 
I have a workbench with vise in the garage and heavy portable work table in the back yard to take advantage of our nice Socal weather. And lots of c-clamps and bar clamps in all shapes and sizes, so should not be an issue there.

Point noted on HT the 1095, so I'll get in touch with Peters when I'm ready.

Thanks again for your help - I'll pay it forward to others on this forum as I am able.
 
mw%2520knife%252001.jpg

Well, after comparing the handles on every fixed-blade knife I could find in the house - including the kitchen knives, this is what I've come up with for design on my first attempt. I made several cardboard cutouts as I refined it. I'm going for a handle that is comfortable in many different grip positions - like my Mora Classic #2 - so the butt of the handle is unadorned and rounded off with a slight taper. The slight finger guard doesn't interfere with most grip positions I generally use and is something I want to add. The shaded area at the butt next to the lanyard hole is a groove in the scales for a lanyard to lie flush (even thought I probably won't use a lanyard, but just in case).

The goal is a slightly bigger, more robust, full-width tang alternative to my Mora, hopefully without sacrificing too many of the things I like about the Mora in the process. It's an experiment - some influence from the Ray Mears knife in the mix, too (from pictures only - never seen one in person).

The bevel line is just for concept - I didn't take time to calculate where that will end up with a scandi grind on 1/8" steel.

I won't have time to get started cutting steel until next weekend. I think I'll make 2 at the same time so I can make my mistakes on 1 and hopefully get the other the way I want it. If I'm feeling ambitious, I might even heat treat one myself and send the other out so I can compare the results.
I've got a broken hammer handle (walnut EDIT: that should have said hickory) that I might recycle for the scales. I'm sure it's been tried before - anyone got opinions on suitability?

This is my practice round, then we'll work on one for my son.

softarch66
 
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Looks good.
What is the dark hole at the butt?

I have never seen a walnut hammer handle. Most are hickory or ash. I would gladly send you some nicer scales for the knives if you would like. Send me an email - sapelt@cox.net.
 
The dark hole is for a lanyard. And yes, I meant to say hickory but I had just been reading about walnut in another post and got crossed up.
 
Just my opinion, make YOUR knife first so that you'll have a better idea what the kids are going to be up against and can better advise them. I suggest that you reserve the 3/32, 1/8 steel for the kids (less steel to remove), and use the thicker material yourself.

I've never used hickory but the wood of the hammer handle should work fine. You could get some cherry or walnut from most home improvement places that sell lumber. Oak works, but has big pores.

The drawing you made is definitely for XXL hands. For the kids you'll need to scale down the design to better fit their smaller hands. This could probably be done by just scaling the picture smaller. You could print out pictures with handle lengths of 3" going up in 1/4" increments to 4", glue them to cardboard and cut them out and let the kids decide which feels best. Personally I would not make their blades over 3" in length and less than 1" in height. These suggestions are to make it easier for the kids to succeed and not become disillusioned when they don't have a completed zombie chopper after 15 minutes of work.

A small neck-knife could make a good kid project.

Oh, and you better get their parents permission before they make the knives, maybe invite a parent to two to join in also, and keep talking about safety and responsibility. I want you to succeed wildly with this project.

- Paul Meske
 
Paul - I been traveling this week and just saw your reply. I agree with all your points. I'm making 2 knives for myself first (with the design I'm showing). Then I will design one with my son to suit him and we'll make that together. And then - if I'm feeling comfortable with the process - I'll discuss with the scoutmaster whether some boys would be ready to undertake this project and get permission from the parents before proceeding. Honestly, I'm not even sure whether the boys will be interested, so we'll take it as it goes. (These are all boys who already have 1 or more knives and have earned their "totin' chip" which shows they have demonstrated knife safety and are allowed to carry a knife at boy scout functions.)

Thanks for looking out for me!
 
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