knife making advice-what equipment to buy

J

jrgannon

Joined
Aug 24, 2000
Messages
386
I am a longtime knife collector who has finally decided to try his hand at knife making. I am hoping that my fellow readers on this website would be able to suggest equipment, knife making supplies and suppliers.

Let me outline the type of knives I plan to make and the space constraints of the area I will use as my shop. First of all this will be a part-time weekend endeavor. I plan to make small liner-lock and button-lock gents folders and also try my hand at fixed blade bowie / fighters. Primarily I am interested and will concentrate on making folders. I plan to focus on the stock removal not out of choice but rather out of the constraints of my work space, the fact that I’m making folders and I live in a quite suburban neighborhood in Central New Jersey and would likely encounter problems with noise ordinances if I spend Saturday and Sunday banging away on an anvil in my backyard.

My shop space will be ½ of a two car garage. I am looking at each tool from the perspective of not wanting to replace it anytime in the their near future – i.e. I’ll pay up for quality, reliability and performance even if it means I need to up my budget or buy machinery over time. I am able to spend upwards of $5,000 initially outfitting my shop and buying consumables and knife making supplies – steel, handle material, etc.

So now that I outlined some background – what should I buy – A Grinder, Drill Press, Band Saw, Milling Machine, Vise, Misc. Hand Tools etc?. I would greatly appreciate specific answers including what the readers feel are the best manufacturers, suppliers, should I buy new or used, has anyone ever acquired equipment on ebay or at an auction?, tricks of the trade, etc. to help get me started. One other note, I plan to use high end natural handle material such as ivory, abalone, and black lip mother of pearl. Does any have a good source for this material? Finally, besides eye protection what other safety equipment should I have – respirator, etc. and does anyone know of any knife making classes in New Jersey?

Thank you and regards,

John
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

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jrgannon you remind me of my own situation. I was a long time collector that wanted to start making knives. I started working in 1/2 of a 2 car garage although I have kind of taken over the entire area now. My largest single expense was buying a grinder. I purchase a Burr King which is a great piece of equipment although most everyone here would recommend a KMG which is an excellent grinder and a terrific investment. You will also need to buy a drill press, band saw, buffer, etc. which are not prohibitive for your budget. You will spend quite alot on a large number of smaller tools such as a bench vice, files, dremel, hand tools, etc. and to get started you will spend a bit on steel, brass, nickel silver, spacer, pins, handle material, etc. A small milling machine is a wonderful luxury if you can fit it into your budget. Getting familiar with Harbor Freight is a good place to start for tools. You can always send your blades out for heat treating so you can live without an oven. You should probably begin making fixed blade knives to learn on and evolve into folders as you progress in learning and skill. Check out knifehow.com and google all your questions. Lot's of good books and videos are available for very reasonable prices. Good luck and welcome to a great endeavor.
 
So if I understand your post correctly, you only want to make small folding knives with complicated mechanisms and large fixed blades right? So picking tools should be simple:)

First, start with all the tools you mentioned. Then add in all the other tools that
Diggerdog mentioned as you'll need those too. Don't forget to add a surface grinder and a lathe!

Then you'll have a pretty good start!

I'm still a hobby maker, but as far as I can tell, a knifemaker can't have too many tools. But if you have to start somewhere, a variable speed KMG grinder with some extras, a decent drill press and a vertical bandsaw will give you all the power tools you really need to do some amazing work if you're talented. Those would be considered the basics in a well equipped knife shop IMHO. The rest is just gravy and adds speed and flexability.
 
All the above advice is good. Just remember that thousands of dollars of tools is not an absolute requirement. Just look at my shop... :)

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That being said, I wouldn't mind having your problem! :)
 
Here are some of the tools that I've found indispensible:

-a bench-mount, swivel vice. Mine is a Wilton with 2 tighteners. I like this feature, as it gives a more even tightness on the vice.
-files. Single cut, double cut, half round, full round, triangular, and a set of small hobbyist's files. All are available at Lowe's or Home Depot. I like Nicholson brand.
-a variable speed bandsaw. My own isn't, and I soon learned the problem with that!
-a drill press. Mine is a $100 unit from Lowe's. It has 5 different speeds and gets the job done fine for me.
-a Dremel tool and accessories. Since you have the money, you'd probably do best buying a set. Get one with higher speed/power. If the sets come with different types of attachments, look for one with primarily metal-working bits.
-a quality coping saw. I like this for cutting out wood handles.
-a good grinder. There are a few that are very good, such as the Bader and the KMG. I haven't had the money for a good grinder (yet) and it's pretty darn frustrating without one! This is one of the key units, so you definitely don't want to scrimp on it.

If you were to want to do your own heat treating, I've read good things about the Even-heat ovens, although I've never used one.

Good luck on your endeavor! It can be quite frustrating and also exhilirating!

-Zack
 
Here are a couple of links to check out when you get ready to buy some supplies:

Stuff - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=395503&highlight=suppliers
Cases - http://www.zipcases.com/
Leather - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=394091&highlight=suppliers
Steel - http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=387838&highlight=suppliers

And I can certainly recomment Pop's for your belts, Kelly Cupples for your steel, and Darren Ellis for a lot of little things.

Henry
 
HF bandsaw 200
evenheat kiln 18 inch about 900
HF mini mill works as a drill also, an some tooling and i want /need more 900
leftover motor for a buffing wheel freebe
grinder small what i have:barf: 150
better coot i think like 400
the way to go BIII, KMG and others over 1000 "next on my list"
i think thats a short list of the bigger stuff
you could get alot of stuff done with this list after picking a grinder and so far as the other tools about the only thing i would think to upgrade later might be the mini mill
 
Well, with a decent budget like that and wanting to do folders, if no one said it already, I'd probably skip the drill press and get a good mill. For folders you'll use it constantly. Peter Atwood's folder video is GREAT for doing liner locks, and also check out Chris Crawford's folder videos. He makes it look really easy, which makes you realize it ain't!

Get a good grinder, plenty of nice sharp belts. The Harbor Freight bandsaw and a bimetal blade will be your best friend. Heat treating requires a whole bunch more of stuff. I suggest reading up on some metallurgy and doing it right from the get-go (heat treat oven or controlled salt bath), but caveman setups like mine seem to produce decent blades, too.

I started with files and propane torches and a hacksaw, so it's nice you have a working budget to start with! :D
 
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