help I need a hero

D

demon tessu

Joined
Mar 26, 2004
Messages
270
so I cleaned out the garage ( not a easy thing to do as no one that have ever owned this 94 year old house has ever thrown away any thing)but DAMN IT, ITS DONE
now I got a bad case of " I can do that"
and want to start making knives ,I'm thinking of starting with a stock removal / heat treating method and work up to forging so will the experts here tell me
what do I need ,where can it be found ,and how much is it . yes I'm asking all you guys to Fill my garage

thanks for the help

BTW i love it here , feels good to hang and read threads
 
I'm taking the same path, DT. Equipment brand, model and supplier depends on your budget. Speaking as another beginner, here's my list in order of priority (some items will take me awhile to acquire due to cost)

Just for starters:
Belt grinder
Dremel tool
Drill press

As soon as I can:
Forge w/anvil & accessories
Bandsaw

Someday I'd hope to also add:
Milling machine
HT oven
Hydraulic press

A well known knifemaker advised me that a good way to finance your shop is to start out doing stock removal making batches of 20 knives at a time, have your blades professionally heat treated, sell at shows and use the proceeds to upgrade your shop.

Other ideas:
- Lurk the Shop Talk forum and absorb as much as you can. It's a treasure trove of knifemaking information.
- Find a local 'smith if there's one near you and ask how you can help around his shop.
- Talk to knifemakers online or at shows whenever possible. They're a supportive bunch of people.
- Join the ABS

There's others here with a lot more experience to offer, I'm sure they'll chime in soon.
 
Three good knife-making books (they all discuss the equipment needed):

$50 KNIFE SHOP
by Wayne Goddard

HOW TO MAKE KNIVES
by Bob Loveless and Richard Barney

STEP BY STEP KNIFEMAKING “New Edition”
by David Boye

Regards,
Greg
 
thanks got the Loveless book ordered
( weird I have 3 things Loveless has done and none of them could be confused as a book ) :eek:



does this set up look right ( am I missing any thing ?

COMBINATION 4'' BELT & 6'' DISC SANDER 69.99
HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL METAL CUTTING BANDSAW 169.99
5 SPEED BENCH DRILL PRESS W/ 1/2'' KEYLESS CHUCK 69.99
3/4 HP, 8'' BENCH GRINDER 79.99
OXY-ACETYLENE TORCH KIT 99.99



I also found whats called "DIAMOND PLATED WIRE BLADE " its a wire coated in diamond bits
they say it cuts metal like a scroll saw would any one know about it , info please

thanks
 
does this set up look right ( am I missing any thing ?

COMBINATION 4'' BELT & 6'' DISC SANDER 69.99
HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL METAL CUTTING BANDSAW 169.99
5 SPEED BENCH DRILL PRESS W/ 1/2'' KEYLESS CHUCK 69.99
3/4 HP, 8'' BENCH GRINDER 79.99
OXY-ACETYLENE TORCH KIT 99.99
Click to expand...


COMBINATION 4'' BELT & 6'' DISC SANDER 69.99-
While the 4" belt sander is a useful tool and you can certainly make knives on it; it would not be my first choice for making knives. You can find some useful information about grinders here. I have the Grizzly knife-maker (2" x 72" belt on one side and you can mount sanding drum/buffing wheels on the other side) and have been very pleased with it. Wayne Goddard has a lot of good info on homemade grinders in his book.

HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL METAL CUTTING BANDSAW 169.99-
From what I've read these seem to be a good machine. You'll need a better blade right from the start. There is a lot of good info on the machine here.

5 SPEED BENCH DRILL PRESS W/ 1/2'' KEYLESS CHUCK 69.99-
Get whichever model has the slowest speed. It's best to drill steel at slow speed.

3/4 HP, 8'' BENCH GRINDER 79.99-
Another useful tool, but if I need to grind anything I do it on my belt grinder.
I hardly ever turn my bench grinder on anymore. You might want to look at a buffer instead.

OXY-ACETYLENE TORCH KIT 99.99-
A good tool to have around.

I use simple carbon steel and heat treat with propane. I modified a weed burner and use stacked firebricks for my forge. The most simple forge I've seen is shown here, pretty neat. This nice little mini forge was posted recently.

You are going to need a good assortment of quality files and drill bits.
A good vise is a must and a small anvil is handy.
Lots of sandpaper and safety gear also.

It's addictive :)

Regards,
Greg
 
"doing stock removal making batches of 20 knives at a time, have your blades professionally heat treated, sell at shows and use the proceeds to upgrade your shop." I have a machinist buddy doing it this way.

DT, you might also post this question over at the knifemakers forums. Also Pendentive has a pretty good bead on thsese things as well.

Keith
 
Rip, thanks good info . all stuff I need to know
Isaw that stacked forge on one of the links Kis posted
going that route as well

FW exactly what I want to do
I have a couple designs I want to produce
1. fighting hawk based on my preferences and what I want a combat hawk to do (with utilitarian version as well)
2. a kerambit just like I like em ( my spin on my Sifu's design

I posted this here because the cantina actually answers threads and I feel I already know / trust you guys
and yeah waiting to see what Pen has to say as well (love his stuff)
 
Tis true. I've thrown questions to a few places on BF that "look" like the right place to ask, but in the end the Cantina folk have all the bases covered anyway. (I did not mean to infer that this was the wrong place to post this, forgive me if it came off that way, DT!)

If you're going the blacksmithing route right off, there are some blacksmith guilds all around the US. My buddy is a smith, and I can get some info on the Org he belongs to. They go over all topics, do projects, compare the results, etc. My buddys' apprenticeship involves his master smith giving him pieces to make, showing techniques, and so on.

Remember--don't fire a forge with green coal, you won't like the air quality.:D

Keith
 
COMBINATION 4'' BELT & 6'' DISC SANDER 69.99
- ditch it. Get a 1x42, or if you're serious about knifemakin'....get a grizzly 2x72 ~$300


HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL METAL CUTTING BANDSAW 169.99
- this rates a 10 on the "worth every penny" scale.


5 SPEED BENCH DRILL PRESS W/ 1/2'' KEYLESS CHUCK 69.99
- keyless chuck - gotta love it (mine is wonderful and very heavy-duty). I'd consider upgrading the press, though. My experience is that all the DP's I've seen under $100 were crap...I was so angry with one I bought for $50, I threw it off my balcony...:eek:...wasn't worth the pain of returning it....same with the cheap 4x36 I bought....just tossed it 2 months after I got it.


3/4 HP, 8'' BENCH GRINDER 79.99
- ditch it. Spend the money to upgrade your drill press....that's one tool that will cause you some serious aggravation if you go "cheap" on it....even my $170 press drives me crazy sometimes and sends me searching the grizzly catalogue for a mill/drill...

Take Ripper's advice and get a dual shaft buffer instead. easy to find used - ebay too. But, is it a "necessity"? No.



OXY-ACETYLENE TORCH KIT 99.99
- you'll be able to do your own HT (but only on high carbon blades) with one of these.



What else you got? I know you've got more ideas on what you want....spill the beans...I'll do my best. :D
 
you'll have a heckuva time making a kerambit without forging. Drilling that large a hole involves lots of patience and the right kinds of drill bits ($$$).


A hawkbill is a daunting edge to make. I have one in the works and it can be painful at times...just thinking having to work on it is making me groan...

Go for something a little more straight forward, like a straight-bladed fighter.

Once you get all this equipment, you'll be able to make whatever you want...and you certainly won't stop at just these 2 knives...:D
 
[font=arial,helvetica]HORIZONTAL/VERTICAL METAL CUTTING BANDSAW[/font][font=arial,helvetica]169.99[/font] HF
[size=-1]Knife Belt Sander / Buffer[/size][size=-1]Price: $295.95 grizzly

[/size]Shop Fox Oscillating Drill Press [size=-1]$109.95 grizzly
[/size]
OXY-ACETYLENE TORCH KIT 99.99 HF

and a propane tiger torch about 30$a
along with some fire brick for a stacked forge


what I also want

CNC machine
usb controlled laser cut etcher and a
metal mill but that will have to wait
 
pendentive said:
you'll have a heckuva time making a kerambit without forging. Drilling that large a hole involves lots of patience and the right kinds of drill bits ($$$).


A hawkbill is a daunting edge to make. I have one in the works and it can be painful at times...just thinking having to work on it is making me groan...

:D
Click to expand...
tell me about it the hole is forged ( think a stick tang heated and ponded around a form then welded thas how Sifu made em) and the blade is more a warnclife at a 45degree angle to the hand with only a slight hawk bill type curve about 1 1/2 " to the tip guessing this can be done on a smaller drum sander ?
the hawk I will make one to see how hard it is lots inside curves ( may send out to get these laser cut )and no can;t stop with just two
"must make the perfect FankInknife:

thanks for the imput Pen you are the main inspration for me getting of my arse and starting this endever ( so if it all goes bad I'll be looking for you ) :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top