Hi all... thinking of making something...

C

CDiprecision

Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
25
Hello all...I am new here, and have never made a knife(unless you consider stamping dies knives,lol)


A little about me..Im 35, a Toolmaker(Plastic injection molds) and have been into metalwork for 20 years...I have full CNC milling capability and solid modeling at my fingertips.


Im needing a new hobby, and think this may be the ticket..:)

I know that grinding is a major way to shape blades...I was wondering if theres any tutorials on this(the finer points, etc...IE how to get hollow grouind blades, etc)

Has anyone CNC milled the blade shapes?? I was thinking of trying this..;)
 
Hi there-


I went to school to be a mechanical engineer, and did many a project with the software and tools that you have access to.

But as a full-time knifemaker for 5 years, I never used any of that :D In fact, while I pride myself in the precision, fit, and finish of my work, my techniques would be considered quite crude in comparison to what goes on at your workplace.

I start nearly every knife as a hand-drafted sketch with fine detail... but that's it.

There are a few knifemakers that have and use CNC equipment in a very big way in their shops. A few you might look up are Todd Begg, RJ (Randy) Martin, and Neil Blackwood. There are many more, but these are three guys that I know use it to make their work more precise and consistent. RJ even mills the bevels on some of his knives... which creates a very definitive and cool look.

I think more makers would use CNC if they had the acces AND the knowledge to do so.

Personally, I would not, but that's just because I prefer the way I do things (the hard way, lmao ;) ). But also keep in mind, that I am addicted to forging, and hand hammering a knife to shape at the beginning and then moving on the CNC would not exactly be what I call optimal practice.

The one "problem" I see with machinists initial move to knifemaking, is their knives look machined. They typically do not have a graceful flow and lively feel in the hand. This can certainly be overcome though... Todd Begg is an excellent example of this!

Keep us posted on what you come up with!
 
Like Nick, one of the things I like about making knives (I only do pattern welded knives) is the non-repeatability. Of course it's also what I hate about it.

There are CNC hollowgrinding machines and CNC flatgrinding machines out there, but unless you're doing big numbers, you'll likely be learning to cut bevels by hand and/or with some fixturing to help out.

What Nick says about machinists' early knives looking machined is true. One of the reasons is they create their designs on the computer using those line/curve tools. As I mentione in a response to your other post. I'm working on a large (for me) folder project and I was not inclined to comprimise the hand-drawn shape I had settled on. It took my Solid Works guy about 10 hours to capture the shape, and he's fast. I showed up with my portable light table and made sure it was EXACTLY the same. It's a very subtle, straight-forward design which actually makes things more difficult since such designs are all about subtlety.
 
:) I have 3 Axes CNC milling capability, so Im gonna try and see how well I can cut the profiles with that...Im a Mold Maker, and use it for $100 K mold's detail, so these ought to be no trouble...I can set the machine up and let it run overnite..then come in the morning and have a look..:)
 
You might give Neil Blackwood a shout since he lives in Lakeland,not too far from you.Dave:)
 
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