Knife makers in Cincinnati Ohio area

V

Vpetrell

Joined
Jul 14, 2015
Messages
272
Hey everyone! Im new to the knife making world, actually haven't made anything but handles and sheaths yet. I will be having some blanks made for me from a friend using A2 steel, and am in need and someone to Heat treat and temper for me. Does anyone know of a local blacksmith or shop that can help me out with this? Any guidance is appreciated!
 
I'm just south of Cincy. Wish i could help you with heat treat but all I've used so far is 1084 so the heat treat is much easier. If you cant find anyone else on here check out Peter's heat treat. They have an outstanding reputation and are very economical. If you ever need help with anything else let me know.
Josh
 
Thanks so much josh. I will have to check them out. I'm brand new to this hobby and am definitely excited to get my feet wet more( when I have more room)

Thanks for the help!
 
Josh how close are you to Cincinnati? I am looking for help with a hidden tang and am not having luck (due to me only using handtools in my apartment) do you have experience with hidden tang?
 
I don't have permission from BF To send pm's for some reason. Is there a way on the app to do it?
 
Oh, my mistake. I can't either lol. I received an email the other day from someone on here but i think we have to buy a membership (which i plan on doing soon)
I've done a few hidden tangs but as I am still new to this as you are I've been trying to really concentrate on the simpler steel, full tang knife with g10 or micarta scales. They just interest me alot more at the moment. (Plus they're pretty darn easy).
What are you trying to accomplish? There are so many skilled knifemakers on here there's probably nothing that someone hasn't seen.
 
That's what I would have preferred, but the tang was cut to 3.25 inches and a full want is now out of the picture. I am thinking if I do a stag handle, I will drill it out and backfill with epoxy to set it. But I am now limited to what I can do for a handle since it was cut for a hidden tang. I will put up a picture when I get home from work
 
I just recently made a sheath for a guy who owned a custom dagger with an antler and wood handle. He used wood for a bolster or basically to extend the handle. Do you own a file guide?
if you dont have any stabilizes wood, theres a place in Fairfield that sells wood for knife handles in addition to tons of other cool stuff. It's called Woodcraft.
 
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I know it's. Or the best picture for reference but the tang is smaller than I would have wanted for it. But I love the blade and want to make something useful out of it just not sure where to go with it now.
 
I don't have a file guide nor don't know what one is ha. I'm going to check them out on my way home I think. Wood may be my best option to work with. All I need now is a longer drill bit!
 
Ok i was confused, I thought you meant the antler wasn't long enough. That knife looks cool! A file guide haslots of uses but a big one is squaring up the shoulders to get a nice press fit with the guard but looks like you've got the guard fitted already. Wow you took on quite a project. Woodcraft will have the longer bits.
 
I did but I like a challenge. If I can't make blades yet, I'll at least do all that I can. Will stabilized wood be strong enough when using the knife? What would your first choice of material be for a handle. I have some other threads up for advice but haven't gotten any hits yet. Thanks for your help so far
 
My first choice would be koa, but it's expensive. I just love how it looks. Have you looked at the wood suppliers in the exchange? They have sales and a good selection of stuff. Just look at a bunch of the pictures of bowies and see what you prefer.
 
I'll have to check that out. I haven't yet. I got some wood yesterday (forget what it is now) from wood craft. I'll post a picture when I get home of the progress. Shouldn't be as hard as I had thought
 
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Here is what I have so far. Snug fit cut through. And the guard is fitted and shaped. Now all I have to do Is epoxy and pin it then shape the handle......by hand with files

Hopefully it'll all turn out ok.
 
Did you mark an outline of the tang and hole location on the outside of the handle? You may have, just makung sure so you can precisely spot the hole for the pin.
Nick Wheeler has a really good video on this. I'll find it...
https://youtu.be/Km-A8ozFTLU
 
That helped a lot. Gave me some good guidance. Hand tools just make it challenging.

Now that I have these tips I started over and am making the pattern a doing it right
 
You can get a lot done with hand tools, you'd be surprised.
That's how most people start out. If you have ever watched Aaron Gough on youtube, he'll show you how to do a knife from start to finish with basic tools.
I will be more than happy to meet up with you to share whatever I've learned. I just have to wait until summer is over. Im trying to catch up on my house stuff so the wife doesn't kick me out. :grumpy:
 
That would be awesome. I'm slowing making decent progress on it. I have 2 handles in the works now. So we'll see what one turns out better.

I'll check his videos out and see if I can get some more tips

Thanks for the offer man. Let me know when you are available and we can work something out.
 
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