Hey everyone! New the knife making and a question about waterjetting or laser cutting

Triought

Triought

Joined
Jul 18, 2014
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Hey everyone! I'm new to the forums and I just finished up my first full knife! (Ended up being 3rd blade, broke one in heat treating and another one I just didn't like and ground way too thin.)

Anyways to my question! While I didn't mind hacking sawing out my first few blades, I thought getting someone to water-jet or laser cut out my knife designs it would save some time and make things easier. I called all my local shops I live in a rural town in Missouri and no one around does any kind of work like that. None of the machinist around have a water jet, laser cutter, or anything that would do what I'm asking. So I thought I'd look online and there is places online but I don't know about the quality of work or even who to trust on them giving me the blanks cut out of the metal they say they are cut out of.

Just wondering, should I stick to hacking them out, or is there somewhere online you'd recommend. Or is there another route to cutting out blanks you guys would recommend?

Thanks and sorry for the rambling question!
 
I have to agree, it take quite a bit of time and $$ to mail steel and patterns back and forth to get just a couple of blades waterjet cut, H20 is great if you go that route. A metal cutting bandsaw will cut your time significantly and give you more control of different designs. If you have on you want to make a bunch of then water jet is the way to go. You can purchase steel online and have it shipped directly to H2O for cutting. Saves a bit on shipping as well. Time wise remember it will take about a week to get there, a week to cut and get back into the mail, and a week to get the blanks back, I know they try to turn around the cutting as quickly as possible but it all takes time.
 
Waterjetting becomes efficient when dealing in volume. You're paying for time on the cutting table, and the place I use locally has a $75 minimum just to put the steel on the table. The more complex the shape, the longer it will take to cut, the more each cut will cost. The more pieces you have cut, the less each piece will cost. The faster you cut, the less clean the edge will be and the more cleanup you'll need to do on your own, but the less each piece will cost. The ABS tomahawk trainers I have cut take less time than the steel blanks of the real 'hawks, so their cost per cut is about half.

And then there's the cost of having CAD files built if you can't do them yourself.

So, if you've just finished knife number 1, I'd look into more efficient means of cutting them out yourself for a while. The Harbor Freight bandsaw is not a bad way to go, for example. Here's mine I modified.



That being said, Aldo Bruno, the New Jersey Steel Baron, does waterjetting now.
 
Thanks for the information guys! I appreciate it. My next few knives are going to be some old old old files that I found. Then I'll get back to hacking away and will look into the portable band saw. I saw it at harbor freight and I thought hand cutting would be a chore still. I like the modification you did. I'll look into that. Truly appreciate the help!
 
A throwaway angle grinder from Harbor Freight and some cutoff disks will go a lot faster than the hacksaw.
 
It is a safety issue. A fellow fabricator whose name will not be mentioned lost his eye to this. Trying to stay straight in just cut, he was looking down the disc, moved a slight angle and the disc broke. Through his full face shield, through safety glasses into his eye. Motorcycles were his passion. He can build still, but can't ride one legally.

That said, most people using any cut-off type tool run this risk. You be the judge.
 
If you order your steel from Aldo he can also waterjet your blanks as well. Give him a call.(973) 949-4140
 
I love my plasma cutter. I can't get terribly close to my lines and the cut edges can be hardened a bit but I can blow off the bulk of the material in a few seconds. Costs for a unit are about that of the cheap band saws and they are great fun :)

-Sandow
 
Chris Lambeth said:
It is a safety issue. A fellow fabricator whose name will not be mentioned lost his eye to this. Trying to stay straight in just cut, he was looking down the disc, moved a slight angle and the disc broke. Through his full face shield, through safety glasses into his eye. Motorcycles were his passion. He can build still, but can't ride one legally.

That said, most people using any cut-off type tool run this risk. You be the judge.
Click to expand...
Sorry for your friend, but sounds like inadequate/improper PPE in addition to poor handling of the grinder...

-Eric
 
Appreciate it. He's okay now, but eyes are good to have. Since his accident I can't bring myself to cut with a 4.5" grinder with a cutting wheel installed. I've broken several and never thought twice. Now I just can't. But somehow I still forge in flip flops and shorts.... stupid i know... We all short cut safety somewhere it seems.
 
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