Holy Cow

Z

zipp

Joined
May 3, 2000
Messages
17
I just bought Robert Loveless book, How to make knives. Holy Cow
I see that it aint just grinding on a bench grinder. Does any one have any idea if a knife could be made without a belt grinder.
I hate to buy every thing right off the bat.
IM a millwright at a stell mill, so I have pleanty of time on my hands to do it by hand at work.

 
belt grinders are most popular. they don't heat up the steel as fast as a bench grinder, and it can finish sand, and sand wood, wheel doesn't need to be dressed, and you can do hallow and flat grinds. belt sanders can do many more things than bench grinders.
many guys make them with files though.
 
Remember what I posted about making a knife with a using a file ??? I'm talking about filing the steel to shape, not using the file for your blade stock.

If you bought Loveless's book, there is a Barney knife in there made step by step by hand with minimum power tools.

Read that section. And then go for it.
 
Zipp, get David Boye's book Step By Step Knife Making. In it he has a pic showing him grind a blade on a regular bench grinder with what he calls a pressure plate. The plate just looks like a piece of angle iron bolted to the stock support. You put the blade between it and the rock and twist the blade upward into the wheel. Take care! Michael

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Always think of your fellow knife makers as partners in the search for the perfect blade, not as people trying to compete with you and your work!http://www.nebsnow.com/L6steel
Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms!!!
 
jody sampson used to rough out his grinds with a stone wheel....he learned that trick from mr iron mistress himself....cooper...but the drawbacks are.. first...danger factor....if youve ever been anywhere near an exploding wheel you know what i mean...two....rock wheels do NOT stay round.....if you have used one much you know what i mean...you have to constantly true them up as they constantly wear...and because of this you are really bouncing along instead of grinding....and finally, because of this bouncing along phenomenon.. the wheel is pounding microscopic pieces of stone INTO the steel....which lead to stress fractures in the heat treat and blade failure later on...one mans opinion...

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http://www.mayoknives.com


 
Zipp
About 10 years ago I read Boyes book and thought what the hell. My first knife was made out of a broken section of a military issue machete. The handle was two inleted peices of oak attached by brass bolts. Two or three files, about 50 sheets of SC paper,
five gallons of sweat( thats Canadian gallons) With the help of a tiger tourch and some old furnace brick. Well you get the picture. Its as ugly a sin but I still have it and use it daily in the shop to open packages etc. The next step was power hacksaw blades. They made some great knives.
Start cheap and good luck.

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Robert
Flat Land Knife Works
rdblad@telusplanet.net
http://members.tripod.com/knifeworks/index.html
 
Hey Zipp,
Try forging knives to shape. You don't need a grinder. You don't even need electricity. My entire non-electric shop I use as a professional knifemaker only cost me a few hundred bucks to set up. You can do a fine job with just hand tools. For me it's a lot more enjoyable too. And the knives take on a very unique appearence when you work with only hand tools. http://www.livelyknives.com

[This message has been edited by lively (edited 05-09-2000).]
 
Tim,

Give us a report on how your new setup is working. Having any problems not using electricity? Any bugs that have to be worked out? What are you doing differently that used to require electricity?
How about going step by step thru the making of your first knife in the new shop?

You can post this over on the Neo-Tribal forum.

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http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=126319&a=926274

[This message has been edited by Phillip Jones (edited 05-09-2000).]
 
I thought that the hardest part of making knives with handtools without electricity, gas or epoxy would be not having the grinder anymore. I was having hot and cold flashes when I sold my square wheel but I haven't missed it that much. The hardest thing I have run into is hand drilling through material like solid oosic and filing out the inside to fit a hidden tang. The grinding part isn't needed much because I have forced myself to learn how to forge to shape with minimal stock removal. Then I anneal the blade and file the edge to a rough sharpness. When I heat treat using natural charcoal as fuel the edge doesn't decarb much so I don't have a lot of stock to remove by hand to get it sharp. Filing the blade in the annealed state isn't as hard as it sounds if you use clean sharp black diamond Nickolson files. It's not that hard to make knives without gas, electricity, epoxy and keeping the stock removal down to a bare minimum, it's mostly just a bunch of tinkering. And once you find your rhythum it doesn't take much longer either. It seems to be healthier and less dangerous too. I don't feel my blades are better because I work with only hand tools, I just enjoy it more.
 
I forgot to mention that Hoods Woods is producing a video on our way of primitive knifemaking. Step by step on how to make a knife with handtools. It features Knifemakers Tai Goo, Jeff Sanders and my wife Marian and myself. Two hours of knifemaking instruction for $20. It should be on the market in about a month. http://www.survival.com


[This message has been edited by lively (edited 05-09-2000).]
 
Zipp-
I just finished knife number 3 so I'm just a little ahead of you. I forged the blades and flat ground them on my 35 year old Sears belt sander turned upside down. It works fine- just a little noisy. All I've bought so far is a small gas forge, a cheap cast anvil, a cross-pein hammer and one 30-pound leaf spring. Everything else I had in my woodworking shop already. Total cost about $550. Good luck and go for it.
 
Zipp-
I just finished knife number 3 so I'm just a little ahead of you. I forged the blades and flat ground them on my 35 year old Sears belt sander turned upside down. It works fine- just a little noisy. All I've bought so far is a small gas forge, a cheap cast anvil, a cross-pein hammer and one 30-pound leaf spring. Everything else I had in my woodworking shop already. Total cost about $550. Good luck and go for it.
 
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