Knife design software

trentu

trentu

Joined
Mar 2, 2006
Messages
1,120
Anyone know of a nice design software for just making knife and sheath designs that is really user friendly?
 
I did a tutorial for BFC way back when on How to Design a Knife using Adobe Photoshop, but I don't think the links here are still good. Dan Gray however has included the tutorial on his list of blade making tutorials and you can view it at this link.

http://www.knivesby.com/phill.html

Thanks Dan for keeping it alive. If you have any questions on the tutorial I'm still alive as well. :D

I also have tutorials up on the Gallery forum on How I Photograph and do Image Editing (also using Photoshop).
 
Thanks PhilL!! Just what I was looking for. Much more professional presentation than paper and pencil.
 
I'm an architecture student, and using Autocad allows you to do pretty detailed schematics and drawings of any knife you could ever imagine.
 
Photoshop works great for making knife drawings. :thumbup:

longknife2.jpg


folder-2.jpg
 
does it have to be photoshop 6?
i have basic photoshop 2.0 and don't think i
can do anything like that?
thanks,
jd
 
Photoshop 2 is pretty old. They added layers in version 4, and 6 added a lot of power with styles. If you can get a newer version, you'll be a lot more productive. You can try ebay for something.

If you can't get a newer version or upgrade, you might be able to get by with alternatives, such as Photoshop Elements, Corel PhotoPaint or Paint Shop Pro.
 
i been trying to learn how to use my microsoft paint.
i,and my son have been drawing a few and it has really been fun.
i can't seem to figure out how to detail the blade with grind
marks like in the tutorial though.
i don't think my paint has that many diffrent applications?
that's all i can figure anyway.
i'll try to post what we were able to do from scratch.
here goes,
jd

oh well,i guess i don't have what's needed to post pictures here?
i tried.
 
Hey jdracing, MS Paint is pretty basic. If you're an art wiz, you can probably create masterpieces. However, if you want to try something more powerful, take a look at Paint .Net, Gimp, or Inkscape. All are freely available.
 
hombre,thanks for that info.
i was not aware of such.
tell you the truth,i am pretty computer iliterate so may
or may not be something i can figure out.
i know i tried earlier to post pictures and can't even figure that
one out.
i know i have posted them before,but for the life can't remember how.
i am going to your profile and see if i can send you a couple pictures of
the ones i drew earlier today.
it was actually fun,and pretty easy so far.
let me know if you get them?
jd
 
ok,maybe i have it figured.
been awhile and just gotta get back into things.
here we go,
jd

trapperturqred2bolster2open.jpg
[/IMG]

now this is fun...sure wish making real was as easy.lol.

trapperturqred2bolster2.jpg
[/IMG]

firstbowie.jpg
[/IMG]

ok guys,opinions,laughs,etc....all welocme.
 
Those pics a pretty good for MS Paint. Definitely check out something like Inkscape, or ebay for a used copy of something like Corel Draw or Adobe Illustrator. They're vector illustration programs that allow you to make smooth lines with complex fills to produce some incredible art work.

Paint programs also allow for incredible artwork, but vector illustration is a bit more akin to CAD, so I think it suits the design paradigm a bit better.

Here's a site that can give you some ideas... http://www.techdrawingtools.com/learn.htm
 
You may be interested in paint.net or gimp.
they are free/open-source alternatives to photoshop.
 
I'm a total ignoramus in these things, but I heard of SolidWorks being mentioned onetime (and I really can't remember what knife and forum it was!?!!)
 
It really depends on what you want to design. If you are designing a folding knife, some good modeling software(Pro/E, Solidworks) would be the best. It will allow you to run simulations that you could set up to test various aspects that would allow you to tweak your design(for isntance lock strength).

If you're doing fixed blades, you could get by with a 2d program like Gimp(surprisingly capable and open source) and generate a template that way.

I'm approaching this as if you were planning on producing a knife. If you are just planning on drawing knives, any good drawing software should work.
 
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