How do you make a knife?

I always say we should be called knifefinishers, not knifemakers. A lot of people start their first knife, few FINISH, fewer start a second knife.

Knifemaking is an interesting hobby/avocation.... it's not easy, often it's less than fun (unless you like being frustrated, burned, cut, scraped, slashed, scalded and did I say frustrated.) Except for hammer-ins, shop visits, shows and the forums, knifemaking is a solitary (lonely) pursuit. If you get into making (errrr FINISHING) knives you'll find that 99% of the people around you won't give a flip or understand what you're talking about and you'll have to seek out another maker to share with (probably why forums are so busy.) That being said, most knifemakers are generous to a fault, will either laugh or cry with you because we've been there, give you unblinking critique if you ask for it and in general some of the best people I've had the privilege to be around.

Yes you can make a knife with simple tools like a hacksaw, files and drill.... need to add lots of sandpaper and barrels of elbow grease and desire to the equation. There are makers like Chris Moss that make very high quality blades with only those tools. Lorchner (sic) only uses hand files and sandpaper to make his high end art knives. I usually suggest to people without a lot of tooling on hand to make and FINISH their first knife with these simple tools. If you FINISH the knife, chances are you're the kind of person that will continue on through the struggles of becoming a knife maker, if you give up, chances are that you may need to seek another hobby. No shame in it, it's not for everyone.

It's very hard to make a good knife out of a RR spike without a forge and some very good tongs or a welder to weld a handle onto the spike. They tend to shoot out of normal tongs and it's not much fun to duck and dodge them.

Look at lots of pictures of knives (check out the various galleries and threads here) sketch lots of knives to help develop an eye..... read through all the stickies and go back about 3 months of threads on this forum and read through those. Fill out your profile and maybe there's a maker nearby you can visit. If you are a minor, chances are you're going to have to have a parent or guardian present to visit someone's shop.

Please read through the info mentioned, chances are that 99% of your questions are already answered. Knifemaking isn't like a lot of other hobbies, most people want to know you've put some work into learning.

Good luck and welcome to the craft.
 
Well said Will

As already been said,if you will fill out your profile,you may have a knifemaker ''knifefinisher'' living close to you.

I'll say,if you will pay $10,you will not only help out the forum,you could also do a search.Most of what you are asking,has most likely already been ask.I dont talk much.I try to listen and learn.And these guys have taught me a lot over the last couple years.

Keith
 
If you get into making (errrr FINISHING) knives you'll find that 99% of the people around you won't give a flip or understand what you're talking about and you'll have to seek out another maker to share with (probably why forums are so busy.)


This produces glazed eyes with most people faster than anything I've ever seen. On the other hand, its handy for getting the kids to sleep after nightmares.
 
me2 said:
If you get into making (errrr FINISHING) knives you'll find that 99% of the people around you won't give a flip or understand what you're talking about and you'll have to seek out another maker to share with (probably why forums are so busy.)


This produces glazed eyes with most people faster than anything I've ever seen. On the other hand, its handy for getting the kids to sleep after nightmares.
Click to expand...

It's not the glazed-over eyes that bother me, or even the people who look at you like you must be a violent maniac if you're into knives; it's the folks who say:

A) "Nonsense, my Wally World/Pakistan/whatever knife can do all that and more, I'm not paying for pretty." OR,

B) "What you should do is get you some lawnmower blades/railroad spikes/old wooden shelving and make a knife out of that." I was complaining about problems in the steel industry the other day, and a reasonably bright fellow tried to convince me I'd be better off to build a small foundry in my basement and just make my own steel. :rolleyes:

:D

In light of Will's very true comments about knife finishing, I'd like to repeat my suggestion to start with a kit blade and just build a handle for it. With a little planning it can be a fun, inexpensive one-day project. If a person doesn't have the patience/desire to finish that, there's no way they're going to make a blade from scratch, especially with hand tools. Just my $.02.
 
James_Terrio said:
...or even the people who look at you like you must be a violent maniac if you're into knives
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Funny you should mention that... Just the other week I had a lady at work ask me what I did to my arm, I told her I burnt it in my shop. "Oh, are you a woodworker?" she asked, I told her that I make (and occasionally finish) knives. Her response was "you don't look like the type!"

Seriously though, I agree that many people are perfectly content with trash. Just look at how many people watch MTV... you'll never convince them that it's worth paying more than 20 bucks for a blade of any origin or materials. Just check out the gun show thread from a month or two back.

That being said, in all my 35 years, I've never found myself so challenged, humbled or rewarded in a pursuit. Yes, it's difficult, time consuming and dangerous, but I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I still lack some confidence in my work, but it's growing. The standards that makers set for themselves and expect from their peers is unbelievably high. But it's this attention to detail and quality of design that separates "knife people" from the wally-world bargain hunters.

Give it a shot... read all you can on the subject. After you've exhausted all your resources at hand, then ask questions. You'll know pretty quick if you have the bug. I still have a hard time focusing on my job sometimes.. my mind seems to always wander back to knives. So I've got the bug, and couldn't be happier about it!

Good luck!

Now... don't I have a meeting or something to go to?
 
How do you heat a knife to 1500*F without a fordge? Also I have wondered how would can you put a 1500*F piece of metal into oil without it setting on fire/exploding?
 
If you can spend some time reading the newbies tutorial most of your questions would be self evident and answered through the reads. The tutorials are great sources of knowledge. In you profile "learning" is listed as your occupation, which leads me to believe you are still in secondary or high school. After reading the tutorials your occupation will in deed be more valuable as your learning curve will spiral upwards. I recommend the tutorial highly. After reading them and there are still questions, then post questions. However, spoon feeding is not a great method of education.:thumbdn:
 
I am planning on buying a bar of 1095 steel from admiral steel to make a survival knife. I looked around but couldn't find the difference between HR and CRA. Is there a difference or not?
 
DMH1112 said:
I am planning on buying a bar of 1095 steel from admiral steel to make a survival knife. I looked around but couldn't find the difference between HR and CRA. Is there a difference or not?
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you will likely find that in one of the stickies, you will also find suggestions that 1095 is not the ideal beginner steel.
HR=hot rolled
CRA=cold rolled annealed

read the stickies, i'm putting away my spoon

-page
 
Click on my website below. There is links to most all the knife supplies you will be in need of. From grinders to belts, steel and more. It will help you get started. God bless and have a nice day. :)

Terry
 
Mark Redmon said:
That being said, in all my 35 years, I've never found myself so challenged, humbled or rewarded in a pursuit. Yes, it's difficult, time consuming and dangerous, but I couldn't stop even if I wanted to. I still lack some confidence in my work, but it's growing. The standards that makers set for themselves and expect from their peers is unbelievably high. But it's this attention to detail and quality of design that separates "knife people" from the wally-world bargain hunters.
Click to expand...

I'm 38. Other than that, I agree 100% with every single word and character in your quote. The only other folks I've known personally with as much appreciation for detail and quality and sharing/teaching the craft are guitar players and luthiers... and good gravy, if you think we have some ego's and "personalities" around here, you'd love hanging out with guitar addicts. :D

DMH, do your homework, bud. You won't regret it. Even if you decide not to make a knife at all, you'll understand knives better. :)
 
DMH,
I'm going to guess you're a teenager or younger. It's very obvious that you didn't follow the advice to read, read, read. Let me put this a bit stronger, this isn't a video game or MMORPG, if you want help you have to put some work into this. This means you have to read, read, read. If you don't put some effort into learning, people are going to quickly tire of helping you.
 
Thanks Terry for the link to your website. Also thanks Squawsach for the link on how to make a knife. I have decided to make a knife much like his. I have brainstormed ideas for my second knife and hope that by making any knife will help me in making the next. The only thing still don't know how to do is heat treat without using a fordge. I don't think my oven can reach 1500*F and my iron woodstove wouldn't be able to.
 
DMH1112 said:
Thanks Terry for the link to your website. Also thanks Squawsach for the link on how to make a knife. I have decided to make a knife much like his. I have brainstormed ideas for my second knife and hope that by making any knife will help me in making the next. The only thing still don't know how to do is heat treat without using a fordge. I don't think my oven can reach 1500*F and my iron woodstove wouldn't be able to.
Click to expand...


I'm going to say this one last time.....

1. Read the stickies, that's why we made them.

2. Read back through the last few months.

3. Ask informed questions.

You're still not asking informed questions.
 
Will Leavitt said:
DMH,
I'm going to guess you're a teenager or younger. It's very obvious that you didn't follow the advice to read, read, read. Let me put this a bit stronger, this isn't a video game or MMORPG, if you want help you have to put some work into this. This means you have to read, read, read. If you don't put some effort into learning, people are going to quickly tire of helping you.
Click to expand...

Could not say that better Will . Reminds me of the guy awhile back who said he did not want to take the time to read . Just wanted to be told how to do it .
 
I looked at Admiral steel, Sullivan steel, speedy metals, and texas knifemaker's and couldn't find them selling 10xx steel. Where is it sold?
 
I have read how to heat treat steel and have noticed even if you water quench it the steel will still have to be brought to about 1400*F. Is it possible to harden steel without getting it to those high temperatures?
 
DMH1112 said:
I have read how to heat treat steel and have noticed even if you water quench it the steel will still have to be brought to about 1400*F. Is it possible to harden steel without getting it to those high temperatures?
Click to expand...

Kid, read the stickies.

-Page
 
I read through the stickies and found that you can send your knives in for Paul Bos heat treatments. I have decided I will do that and not do it myself. Should I still start with a beginner steel like 10xx and make a knife for practice or should I use 1095 steel and make a knife I am intending to use? I made a sketch of what I what the knife to look like. It is a mix between the Ka-Bar Heavy Bowie' handle (owned) and the Rat cutlery laser strike's blade.
 
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