I'm Making My First Knife/WIP

Very cool of you to do a personal tutorial, Stacy. I'm looking forward to seeing this thread progress.:thumbup:

Get to it, Brian!:D
 
I haven't been around here too long, and many of you must already feel the same way - But, Stacy, you are the most generous individual I have ever come across on a forum. The time, effort, and expert advice you put in to so many of your replies in order to help someone else is amazing.

Thank you for that.

Erik
 
bladsmth said:
12 pack of Guinness

Tape player with good tunes.

Most of all - HAVE FUN!
Click to expand...

Wise words Stacy. Alcoholic beverages (in moderation) and good music are essential in almost anything you do. Studies show that people actually do work better to music (don't ask me what studies. I just heard it somewhere, ok?).
 
More than a century ago, in the early days of industrial work, companies would hire musicians to play for the workers while they toiled. They found it improved employee moral, despite poor working conditions and low wages. And, it increased productivity.
In the cigar factories in Havana and Miami, they paid orators to read the newspaper and books to the rollers.
 
bladsmth said:
More than a century ago, in the early days of industrial work, companies would hire musicians to play for the workers while they toiled. They found it improved employee moral, despite poor working conditions and low wages. And, it increased productivity.
In the cigar factories in Havana and Miami, they paid orators to read the newspaper and books to the rollers.
Click to expand...

Music played at the right tempo also increases stamina. At nightclubs most songs are played at a specific bpm because it makes you dance longer, making you stay long, making you drink more, making you hand over more money. Also pushes you harder in running/working out. Who knows if it's true, i just heard it somewhere.
 
A bit more on the work arm. Here is how to make a custom arm for the project.

Lay the blade in the center of the 2X4 with the tip just at the end. Drill the 2X4 to match two of the tang holes, and drop two stove bolts through the blade and board. Draw a line around the blade edge, from the tip up to the handle area. Flip the blade over and draw the same line again. Now, if you cut the 2X4 along those lines, you will have the arm so you can simply flip the blade from side to side and file without need of re-positioning the blade to different holes each time. The blade will be supported right up to the edge, and will be easier to sand and file without flexing,too.

This takes all of five minutes to do and makes a nice professional look to your setup.
 
The two main files needed are a mill bastard file, about 10-12" long, and a second cut or a finishing file about 10" long. A half round is a good third file to add. Purchase or make handles for them. If you buy files by the number, the coarse file you want is a number 0 to a number 2 cut and the fine one is a number 4 or 5 cut. They go from #00, which is very coarse, to #8 which is very fine.

File in smooth strokes going only in one direction. Never saw back and for the with a file. It will dull the teeth fast.

You need a file card to regularly clean the file teeth. If you don't, small pieces of steel will catch in the teeth and make HUGE scratches in the blade. Clean very often with a few strokes of the card. Chalking the file with plain chalk can help prevent the steel sticking, and make the teeth easier to clean.

File in smooth and flat strokes. Pretend the file is a plane and you are planing away the steel. Place one hand on the handle and a gloved hand on the end of the file. Some folks wrap a ball of tape on the end to make sort of a second handle. Start a stroke with the file held perpendicular the the blade and just shy of the plunge line ( at the ricasso). As the file moves down the bevel, also move it toward the tip. Try and avoid over filing the tip as this is easy to do. Go slow and let the file cut the steel. Do a few strokes on each side of the file, and card the file. A you file the bevel, slowly move the plunge back to the place where you want it. If you start in the exact spot, it will end up about 1/8" closer to the handle by the time you are done.

Distal taper
Distal taper is the thinning of the blade from the ricasso to the tip. This makes for a lighter and better cutting blade. It also looks better than a sharpened bar of steel.
With a bit of finesse, you can increase the pressure slightly as you move the file toward the tip, and file in the distal taper as you file in the bevel. This takes a bit of practice, and new makers should file in the taper on the flat blank, and then file in the bevels.

Flattening the Tang
Now is the time to flatten the tang. Place a sheet of coarse sandpaper, 100 grit is good, on a flat surface ( surface plate, thick sheet of glass,piece of Corian counter top, etc.) and sand the tang flat. The edges are what you are looking at, not the centers. You want the edges to have a 1/4" flat and parallel rim. If the whole tang is flat, great, but the edge is where the handle and tang meet.Don't go insane at this point,because you will have to do it again after HT, but you want to make sure it is fairly flat to start with.
Now here is a tip from those who do it a lot :
Grind the center of the tang ( in the area under the handle) a bit with a wheel or burr to slightly concave the center. Leave 1/8" to 1/4" around the perimeter to make a surface for the scales to meet the tang. This makes flattening the tang faster and easier to see when it is right. It also guarantees that some epoxy will be between the scales and the tang. If the whole surface is flat... and the scales are flat...and you clamp the handle up when gluing....all the epoxy will get squeezed out and the bond will fail. That is one reason for drilling epoxy holes in the tang. Concaving the center is an important step to me. I automatically do it on any blade I HT for someone after the HT is done.

Edge Thickness
The edge should be filed down to about .030" or about the thickness of a dime. Stainless steels can go a bit thinner, because edge warp is less of a problem with the more controlled HT used. The edge of the blade should be scribed with a center line ( or two parallel lines) after the profile is shaped. This gives you the target to file the bevels down to. Doing this assures that the edge will be straight and centered. You will not get it right by eye without many years of grinding skill.
To scribe the center without a fancy center line scriber ( which is nice to have) just take a drill bit that is the same size as the steel thickness. Lay the drill and the blank down on a flat surface ( a granite surface block is cheap and a real plus in the shop), hold or clamp the bit still, and pull the blade along the tip of the drill. The tip will scribe a line down the blade edge. Don't move the drill, and flip the blade over and repeat the scribe. You may have one or two lines on the blade. This will give you the center reference for filing and sanding. Mark the spine the same way. This will help keep the distal taper straight.
Don't file down to the line all at one time. You will be doing some touching up and then going to the finer file....leave some metal to remove.... or you will end up with a smaller blade than you planned on.

Sanding
After the filing is done, you will sand the blade to a 400 grit surface. Now when we say 400 grit, we mean that all previous grit marks are sanded away, so we are still removing metal. Plan for this in your filing so you don't end up with a sharp blade before HT. If the edge gets too thin ( or sharp) just take a few strokes with the file and thicken it back up. It is better to loose a fraction of an inch in blade width than to have the blade warp severely.
Sand with each grit, and check well before moving on to the next finer grit. Cleaning everything up before starting the next grit can prevent grit from a previous sanding session coming back to haunt you.
Wrap the paper around a hard and flat block of wood or a piece of flat steel. This assures a flat sanding . Folding the paper in quarters, and using your fingers to hold it, will end up in dissaster. Use sandpaper like it was free. Change it as soon as it stops cutting well.

Once the sanding is done, and close inspection shows the surface is smooth, the blade is ready for HT.
 
Last edited:
I think I need a quick clarification.

Talking about using the files to "plane" the steel and the distal taper.

While using the files you start just shy of the plunge line and file perpendicular to the spine of the knife while working towards the tip?

The Distal taper comes by when getting closer to the tip you add more pressure to make the spine taper in the direction of the tip?
 
What I mean by "planing" the steel is making one smooth stroke from one end of the file to the other. The stroke starts at the ricasso, with the file perpendicular to the spine ,and as it go down the file you move toward the tip. I changed that to make the wording clearer.

Filing the distal taper at the same time as the bevel is filed takes some practice. I suggest that new makers first file the taper into flat blank , and then file the bevels. This way you have more control, and can avoid making one side taper off the centerline at the spine. Scribing a centerline on the spine is the way to prevent this problem.
 
Ok, i understand. Scribe the center line first. Then the taper, then when filing the edge use one continuous motion from the ricasso to the tip.
 
I am in now way an expert, and would love any comments on this.

Couldn't you just add a bolt for aesthetics through one of the weight reduction holes?

Ha! Didn't realize I was so late to the party.
 
Not sure what you mean?

The Corby bolts are threaded rivets that go through two of the holes. They will be ground flush and appear as large rivets. They are probably the most secure attachment system,
 
bladsmth said:
Not sure what you mean?

The Corby bolts are threaded rivets that go through two of the holes. They will be ground flush and appear as large rivets. They are probably the most secure attachment system,
Click to expand...

As a completey side question, but since we're discussing rivets/bolts etc. Can thong hole tubing be used as rivets?
 
Does anyone have a picture of a center line scriber and a link to one you can buy on the internet? I want to see what one looks like and how much they are. I'm pretty sure I could make one but why recreate the wheel when I could see what one looks like?

Im going to use the drill bit though, that idea is great!
 
I was also wondering about the thickness of the handles with the scales on the tang. What is a normal thickness? What happens if you want to make the handle thicker? I look at Micarta and I only see 3/8" thick peaces, is there thicker pieces and where?

I suppose you could add spacing material to make the handle thicker but I am pretty sure I have seen knives that don't have spacers and that have handles that are thicker that 1"?
 
I prefer thicker handles due to the fact I have fairly large hands. with how things are set up right now you have two scales that are 3/8" that already puts you at 3/4" with your blade thickness of 1/8" you are just shy of 1" (1/8th less). I don't think you need to go thicker than that. but again it is your knife, do what you like and want... I have seen up to 1/2" scales avail. where are you looking?
 
Oh, not on this knife. I was thinking in general. If I do a good job and I like making knives I would continue. And that is just one of the questions I had. Stacy has been really generous with helping me and I try to think what would I do if I didn't have his help? Where would I buy the materials? So I have been looking around just to see what the prices are and the different options that are available to knife makers. I looked at handle materials and I just don't see micarta (canvas or linen) that is offered bigger that 3/8" thick.

If I continue to try and make knives and I find out that I would like a thicker knife handle, where do I find thicker micarta material? I looked through some of the websites on the suggested ( http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736 )
and 3 or 4 of the catalogues I have and I don't see anything offered over 3/8"

Thanks for all the info and the questions guys. I am have fun doing this so far.
 
TheWeatherman said:
Does anyone have a picture of a center line scriber and a link to one you can buy on the internet? I want to see what one looks like and how much they are. I'm pretty sure I could make one but why recreate the wheel when I could see what one looks like?

Im going to use the drill bit though, that idea is great!
Click to expand...


You can find them at a few different places here's one there are a few on that page. Jantz probably has a few and I believe Tracy over at US knife makers sells a few also. You can also get yourself a height gauge with a carbide tip and use that as well. Something like that you want a good flat surface for like a surface plate or even a granite tile from Home Depot is fine. Basically anything with a nice flat even surface is what you're looking for with the height gauge. I like the height gauge because you can mark center and then scribe a line on either side to know where your final pre HT edge thickness should be.
 
Fletch Helica thanks for those. That give me a least an idea. In my mind I pictured something different. I think I will use the drill bit and then if I do a good job with this knife I will think about getting a scribe if I want to continue.

Thanks again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top