jumped in the deep end

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notDBcooper

Joined
Dec 24, 2024
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Hey everyone, complete beginner here. Decided to try my hand at knife making with almost zero research at all. got some steel and an angle grinder and watched a few youtube videos.

Question: I got the knife shaped out about as good as I can (totally looks like I had no clue what I was doing). But how do you decide where you are going to put your pins and where you want your handle to start?

Thanks for any advice im really enjoying it so far. :)
 
I base those decisions on what the knife is for, the forces the handle will be subject to, how I want it to mate with the sheath, and my aesthetic preferences.
 
Welcome notDBcooper. Fill out your profile so we know where you live and something about you.

Look at a lot of knife photos that are similar in shape to your knife and use them as a guide.
Tere are several areas in Bladeforums for photos. The Knifemaker's gallery would be a good place to start.

For searching topics and things, use the Custom Search Engine in the stickys at the top of the home page.

When asking about a knife project you are working on, posting photos is very helpful for the folks here to give advice.
 
Stacy's recommendation of looking at similar knives is the best place to start. I'm not going to say what you should do but rather what I do. I have used knives I already have as a template of sorts. I've drawn the pins and handle on the blade with a Sharpie to see how I like it. I hold the blade and determine a good handle size keeping in mind other users. As for pins, I put them about 15mm from each end then a 3rd centered. There was a post a few weeks back with pictures showing how one maker did pins and curve of handle at the ricasso. It surprised me to read how many known makers said they just eyeball pin locations. The very best way is to do a few and gain firsthand experience.
 
No fear...you are still in the shallows! :) I imagine you have a knife in your mind or an inspiration knife...try to make it! You will learn volumes.
 
I like my pins equidistant from each other, and centred on the handle
 
Eyeball most everything.....
Been a toolroom machinest most of my life.
With knife making, I enjoy the human, non precise element of it. And I have a pretty good eye for seeing what's right
 
I recommend using an existing/premade template. It gives you a target to shoot for. That includes the blade shape, bevels, and also pin holes. Try to stick to it as close as you can.

Recently I reuploaded Dan Comeau's knife templates, there are plenty to pick from:


Later on you can design your own knives, but at the beginning you will probably not do better than using something that already exists.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Welcome notDBcooper. Fill out your profile so we know where you live and something about you.

Look at a lot of knife photos that are similar in shape to your knife and use them as a guide.
Tere are several areas in Bladeforums for photos. The Knifemaker's gallery would be a good place to start.

For searching topics and things, use the Custom Search Engine in the stickys at the top of the home page.

When asking about a knife project you are working on, posting photos is very helpful for the folks here to give advice.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply Stacy. very helpful information.
 
pafka said:
I recommend using an existing/premade template. It gives you a target to shoot for. That includes the blade shape, bevels, and also pin holes. Try to stick to it as close as you can.

Recently I reuploaded Dan Comeau's knife templates, there are plenty to pick from:


Later on you can design your own knives, but at the beginning you will probably not do better than using something that already exists.
Click to expand...
Yeah i used a template but not until i cut it out did i realize there were templates with pin holes and all of that. the one i used was just a shape. thanks for the help ill look into those templates
 
Something I like to do, after you get the hang of this, and once you make patterns over and over again.... I like to drill the holes First,then cut out the profile....
Having parallel sides, before cutting out the handle shape helps when holding in a vise, making drilling the holes safer
 
I can do it if I have to, but drilling pin holes is not my favorite job. One of a few reasons I get blanks waterjet cut now.
 
When I started the book "How to make knives " was very helpful. There are plenty of others. Some good advice above.
 
The Stickys have a lot of good info in knifemaking. It is a good idea for a new maker to peruse them to see what is there. Some won't be useful yet, but knowing where to find it is always good.

One that I recommend to a first-time maker is my "How to make a knife" article.
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith

Thread 'How to instructions for making a knife'



These are the instructions I use to get someone started with a profiled stainless steel knife blank. I send it to new makers when I send them a blade blank and handle kit.

I thought there might be those who could use the tutorial and pointers. Some details are specific to a particular knife project, but the info is universal. You can start with a bar of any type of steel and shape it to the knife profile you want. 1084 is a good starter carbon steel, and CPM-154 is a good starter stainless steel.



Files needed are a 10-12" mill bastard (or a magic-cut), and a 10" second cut...

The custom search engine (also in the Stickys) is very useful for finding threads on specific topics.
For instance, a search for "pin hole placement" will give many treads and tutorials on how to place and drill pin holes.
 
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