Knife forging advice needed

P

PDE

Joined
Nov 7, 2010
Messages
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I am interested in making knives and i need advice as to what supplies to purchase.(tools, steel, etc.) Any tips on forging would be greatly appreciated as well.
 
Probably the easiest/fastest way to see what you'll need, is to find a
bladesmith or two in your area, and ask to visit their shops......or
attend a hammer-in and get some hands on instruction from guys
(or gals) who have been doing it for a while.
You can also learn alot just by "hanging out" on this forum.
 
Have you seen this ?

The Standard Reply to Newbies v8

The answer to a 13 year old student is different than to a 40 year old engineer, and you may have a helpful neighbour.
We can often recommend a local supplier, but that depends on where you are.
Fill out your profile with your location (Country and State at least), age, education, employment.

Look at the stickies at the top, many are expired, but not all.

The basic process in the simplest terms

Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Printable PDF
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Website

This is a very detailed set of instructions by Stacy E.Apelt.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694673


Books

A list of books and videos on the KnifeDogs Forum
http://www.knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=5285

BladeForums - E-books or book previews Google books
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203

I like:
David Boye-Step by Step Knifemaking
Tim McCreight-Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman
These are clear, well organized, widely available and inexpensive too.

Knife Design:
On the Google books thread, you can find
Lloyd Harding drawings
and
the Loveless book with large variety of proven classic styles.

Forging Books:
Lorelei Sims-The Backyard Blacksmith
A modern book with great photos for forging in general - no knifemaking.

Jim Hrisoulas- has 3 books on forging knives. Check for the cheaper paperback editions.
The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way To Perfection
The Pattern-Welded Blade: Artistry in Iron
The Master Bladesmith: Advanced Studies in Steel


The $50 knife shop
It is popular, but it confused me for a long time.
Forging is NOT necessary, you can just file and grind everything away to create a knife (stock removal)

The goop quench is total Bull, commercially made quench oils are cheap and easily available, even grocery store canola oil works much better.

Junkyard steels require the skills of an experienced smith to identify the steel and heat treat it properly.
You can buy proper steel like 1084 very cheaply.
(Mentioned in the new edition)

I like cable damascus, but that is an advanced project for an experienced smith and has no place in a beginners book.

The home built grinders are the best thing about the book, but there is now a huge amount of info on home built 2x72 belt grinders on the web.
The revised edition of this book should have included this.


Videos

Heat Treating Basics Video-downloadable
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4

Many specific how to knifemaking videos are available.
Some are better than others, but all better than nothing.

The best overall Knifemaking video I have seen is
“Steve Johnson-Making a Sub-Hilt Fighter”

The best video on leather sheath making I have seen is
“Custom Knife Sheaths -Chuck Burrows - Wild Rose”

You can see a list of some older videos and their reviews at this rental company.
They are not the quickest on getting new titles, but some videos are worth buying, some are worth renting…
Rental wait times are measured in months, buying is MUCH faster, but more costly.
http://smartflix.com/store/category/9/Knifemaking

Green Pete's Free Video
Making a Mora bushcraft knife, -stock removal, hand tools, and neo tribal / unplugged heat treat.
"Green Pete" posted it free for those who can use torrent files.

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4995247/Greenpete_s__Knifemaking_Basics_-_Make_a_Mora_Bushcraft_Knife
You can also find it on YouTube broken into 4 parts.


Steel
The “welding steel” at Home Depot/Lowes… is useless for knives.
If you want to ship out for heat treating, you can use ATS34, 440C, plus many others.

If you want to heat treat yourself, find some 1070, 1080, 1084,
1084 FG sold by Aldo Bruno is formulated just for knifemaking.

You can find lists of suppliers here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736

Aldo’s website inventory is unreliable, call instead.
http://njsteelbaron.com/


Heat Treating
You do not have to buy a lot of equipment to start with.
You can send out for heat treating, 10 or 15 $ per blade

This is a PDF brochure which gives good general info
http://www.buckknives.com/resources/pdf/Paul_Bos_Brochure.pdf

http://www.petersheattreat.com/
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/about_us.php
http://www.knifemaker.ca/ (Canadian)
and others


Grinder / Tools

Hand Tools
You can do it all by hand with files and abrasive paper.
The Green Pete video does it this way.

Photo of a nice bevel filing jig .
http://www.flemingknives.com/imagesPrime/FileStation/KPicB007.jpg

Entry Level Grinders
Many makers start with the Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder.


Commercial Production 2 x 72” Belt Grinders
http://www.prometheanknives.com/shop-techniques-3/grinders

Mapp arm
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466024


DIY 2 x 72” Belt Grinders

KMG Clone
Free Plans
http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf

NWG No Weld Grinder
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/plans-for-the-no-weld-grinder-sander-nearly-50-pages-p-723.html

EERF Grinder (EERF =“Free” backwards)
Free plans
http://wilmontgrinders.com/EERFGrinder.aspx
http://blindhogg.com/blueprints.html

Buy the kit
http://polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html
 
you have been very helpful thanks so much for replying, ill try out your recommendations and advice
 
I am going to purchase a forge in the next week or so, looking at the chili tabasco. I already know a thing or two and would like to make decent knives. I have a supply of tools that have been collected over the course of thirty years. I do not have a good grinder, and i will need an anvil as well as some other specialty blacksmithing tools that i do not possess. I am sorry if i did not specify my capabilities from the beginning. By the way my name is Damian and i live in South Carolina.
 
Welcome Damian. I hope you get going with limited problems. I would second the advice in going to a blacksmith or better yet a bladesmith and check out their shops and practices. There should be a few in your area though I do not know of any specifically. Make sure you read up on all the books and other resources you can find. When you get stumped come on back and ask your questions. We are happy to assist, this obsession is a long and tedious process for the majority of us so be patient and persistent.
 
Oh do i know it. Most of the blacksmith in my area focus on "old Charleston wrought iron" to go up on "old Charleston buildings." It kinda sucks. No it really sucks, when i come to think about it. Hey the blacksmiths make good money, though in Charleston. I do not know of any blade smiths in my area, either.
 
My first teacher was a blacksmith. He had little idea of how to make a knife but he could swing a mean hammer. He taught me the basics, fire tending, hammer control, and forge welding. The rest I had to scrounge for. I met a great knifemaker at his shop. He taught me how to really think about knives. He also headed up the Neo Tribal movement. Look up Tai Goo sometime. I am surprised he has not chimed in here. he uses minimal tools and can go no tools anytime he desires. Makes some fantastic knives as well.
 
Clile makes a good forge. I have one....a two burner, but have not needed the second burner
even for welding. The newer models can be disassembled for rebuild.

You might also seriously consider a vertical forge...run hotter on less propane, and are
easier to maintain.
 
I dont know. I would really like to see if I could find someone down here who specialized in knives. I know how much I would learn from them, and I could almost apprentice a blade smith, which is ideal.
 
Thanks for the advice Russ, I am pretty much set on a Chili Tabasco and i have read terrific things about them. The tabasco is the single burner one and it will suit all my needs for now, dont know when i will need anything bigger. People say they are not big propane suckers and heat up fast.
 
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