Knife blanks for gifts

I

IronhideDraco

Joined
Oct 18, 2013
Messages
35
Hello all.

Christmas is coming up, and I want to give out some knives that I had a hand in making. Since I posses nothing, materials or skills, to actually forge the knives myself, I've decided to get knife blanks and make my own scales for them. I've attempted this in the past, making Black Locust scales for a simple 440c drop point blank, but I ended up drilling the holes off, and I've never tried the project again until now. This time, however, I'd like to find some blanks that are of a little better quality steel than 440c.

So I did a Google search and looked through Ebay. There are many Damascus knife blanks on Ebay, most supposedly made from 1095 and 15N20, but their prices seem far too good to be true if that is the case. I guess my first question is, does anyone know if those Damascus blanks are legit?

Failing that, are there other places that sell quality knife blanks?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Drako
 
IronhideDraco said:
Hello all.

Christmas is coming up, and I want to give out some knives that I had a hand in making. Since I posses nothing, materials or skills, to actually forge the knives myself, I've decided to get knife blanks and make my own scales for them. I've attempted this in the past, making Black Locust scales for a simple 440c drop point blank, but I ended up drilling the holes off, and I've never tried the project again until now. This time, however, I'd like to find some blanks that are of a little better quality steel than 440c.

So I did a Google search and looked through Ebay. There are many Damascus knife blanks on Ebay, most supposedly made from 1095 and 15N20, but their prices seem far too good to be true if that is the case. I guess my first question is, does anyone know if those Damascus blanks are legit?

Failing that, are there other places that sell quality knife blanks?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Drako
Click to expand...
funny thing, i won a helle blank in a party two christmases ago.
 
look for zhen vg10/damascus clad kitchen knife blanks if you want to go the kitchen knife route, I have done handling of these for friends who really like them.
for other types google "knife blade blank" but use fleabay blanks at your own risk. quality damascus edges (as oppose to cladding) are not cheap to get.
 
Not really looking to make kitchen knives, more along the lines of skinners. And the bit about cladded Damascus is good to know.
 
Saw a site that offers Damascus blades that are hand forged, but with handles welded on. Not sure about this either, should I steer clear? Prices are anywhere from $70 for smaller blades to $200 and above for larger ones.
 
Be careful about buying Damascus online- there is a lot of imported damascus that is not properly heat treated and will not make a good knife. There are US knifemaking supply businesses on the internet that do sell good quality products at reasonable prices. Damascus will be a little more than solid rolled steel but not out of the question depending on your price range. There are knifemakers in the forums here that occasionally sell blanks.
 
I'm probably in a different price range than you are planning but Green River Blades can be gotten quite cheaply and make fantastic skinners.
 
They're not much cheaper than the full knives, but you can get blade blanks for Fallkniven knives separately. If you're into hunting shapes, the H1, S1, and F1 would all be fine choices. The blanks you can buy are full tang, even though Fallkniven knives have slightly cut-down tangs to accommodate their handle material.

Post pics of whatever you make!
 
Gene Martin! His website isn't the best but his blanks are awesome. Grab some of his wife's mosaic pins, which are extremely well made using the regular stuff, but also carbon fiber pins. His wood is great too, but you might find it cheaper elsewhere.

IMAG1470_zps2b3a3a47.jpg


IMAG1477_zps245d2f25.jpg


IMAG1584_zpsdd44a0e9.jpg


IMAG1529_zps5ec9ff73.jpg


It's one of my very favorite knives, the steel is d2 in this case.

His blades come right from the heat treat (if I remember correctly) so there is a bit more to do than with other blanks where you just slap the scales on. For a knife closer to finished I'd look at Enzo knives.

Let me know if you need any help. I have a build-along thread for the knife pictured that goes over every aspect of the build.

Good luck and have fun!

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1092821
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top