I have loved knives for a couple of years and work at a store that sells knives and I sell those knives and when we get new ones in I can't wait to start handling them and looking at them and of course find out what I do and don't like about them. And I think to myself what a wonderful world, oops wrong place. And I think to myself well if I know what I like in a knife then why not just make one myself and there in lies the topic of this thread, how did you makers out there start and why and when and give me some advice on how to get started and keep in mind that I have no current access to grinders or any other materials but I could ask around, working in a sporting goods store there should be some people there that could help me.
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Knife making and getting into it
- Thread starter bitter1
- Start date
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2005
- Messages
- 2,527
Go to the top of this thread and read the sticky "Newbies, good info here"...then read it again....then read it again....absorb as much of the information as you can.
I would suggest you read every thread, even if you don't have the equipment that the thread talks about using. Just because you'll be using different methods, to achieve the same results, doesn't mean the knowledge gained from that thread won't help you.
You don't need a fancy grinding machine to make knives. You don't need a fancy heat treat oven or forge. You need knowledge. Skill helps, but knowledge is the most important.
You can make a knife with a hacksaw, drill and a set of good files. Along with a healthy stack of sandpaper in various grits. Heat treating can be outsourced, but whats really neat, is that by reading the sticky, you'll learn how to make a forge and do you own heat treating for a very small investment. While you're using all that elbow grease to work out your first few knives, just keep thinking to yourself, "if I had a good knife grinding machine, I could f%$* this up a lot quicker!!"
Don't just look for mystery steel at a junk yard, or old files laying around for blade material. Invest about $20 in some good 10xx carbon steel, such as 1084. You'll know what you have, what the heat treat requirements are and it works like butter!!
If you successfully make a knife with those extremely limited tools, think how much better they'll be with better tools later on!!
I would suggest you read every thread, even if you don't have the equipment that the thread talks about using. Just because you'll be using different methods, to achieve the same results, doesn't mean the knowledge gained from that thread won't help you.
You don't need a fancy grinding machine to make knives. You don't need a fancy heat treat oven or forge. You need knowledge. Skill helps, but knowledge is the most important.
You can make a knife with a hacksaw, drill and a set of good files. Along with a healthy stack of sandpaper in various grits. Heat treating can be outsourced, but whats really neat, is that by reading the sticky, you'll learn how to make a forge and do you own heat treating for a very small investment. While you're using all that elbow grease to work out your first few knives, just keep thinking to yourself, "if I had a good knife grinding machine, I could f%$* this up a lot quicker!!"
Don't just look for mystery steel at a junk yard, or old files laying around for blade material. Invest about $20 in some good 10xx carbon steel, such as 1084. You'll know what you have, what the heat treat requirements are and it works like butter!!
If you successfully make a knife with those extremely limited tools, think how much better they'll be with better tools later on!!
- Joined
- Feb 28, 2006
- Messages
- 3,494
Hmmm, how I started, am starting, is my path. Not sure what to say for your path. Sounds like you've been on it for a while, what with selling knives, and all, and over 200 posts on these forums. Not only do I not know what tools you do have, I don't know what skills and hand work experience you have either. Of course, you know, so that's cool. I know a few folks who started with some version of kit knives. Basically the blade is shaped and heat treated and they do the handle and fittings. I understand, you can get just about any shape blade you can imagine. You might want to look into something like that initially? All the best, and keep us posted as to your progress.
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2008
- Messages
- 361
buy a piece of precision ground steel and start with a stock removal blade, i found it MUCH simpler and easier, and indeed safer for limited materials.
You need a big coarse file, a hackwas, a drill, a slightly small finer file and loads of sandpaper, et voila! you can make knives! A few needle files might be useful if you're making stick tang knives too.
a forge can be easily improvised, i have an old saucepan, about 14" round, with a oe inch slot cout from top to bottom on one side, in this slot is a pipe which runs all the way from the front to the back with holes drilled in it (8mm) about every 20mm. This is bedded in with some fireplace cement and then the inside of the pan is layered with fireplace cement to insulate it and to creat a "valley" with the pipe at the bottom, in which the charcoal goes.
Then all you need is some charcoal and a blower of some kind- mine works pretty damn well with just a hairdryer.
and then experiment!
Alternatively, buy a blade and some wood and you can make a knife wiht just sandpaper and a rasp and drill. though a vice helps
You need a big coarse file, a hackwas, a drill, a slightly small finer file and loads of sandpaper, et voila! you can make knives! A few needle files might be useful if you're making stick tang knives too.
a forge can be easily improvised, i have an old saucepan, about 14" round, with a oe inch slot cout from top to bottom on one side, in this slot is a pipe which runs all the way from the front to the back with holes drilled in it (8mm) about every 20mm. This is bedded in with some fireplace cement and then the inside of the pan is layered with fireplace cement to insulate it and to creat a "valley" with the pipe at the bottom, in which the charcoal goes.
Then all you need is some charcoal and a blower of some kind- mine works pretty damn well with just a hairdryer.
and then experiment!
Alternatively, buy a blade and some wood and you can make a knife wiht just sandpaper and a rasp and drill. though a vice helps
- Joined
- Jul 21, 2008
- Messages
- 361
i've heard fantastic things about these knives and DEnnis at Brisa is a great guy to deal with
https://www.brisa.fi/portal/index.php?option=com_oscommerce&osMod=index&cPath=119_112
https://www.brisa.fi/portal/index.php?option=com_oscommerce&osMod=index&cPath=119_112
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2000
- Messages
- 5,179
Aside from collecting the most basic tools and buying a piece of known steel, the only other thing you'll need is patience. But man, I cannot stress that enough: Patience is the knifemaker's primary resource. It goes with the sandpaper! 
Newbie myself. I got started out of my interest in collecting, cleaning up, sometimes restoring old (mostly WW-2) military weapons/equipment. Came into possession of an old very poor condition WW-2 USMC Ka Bar fighting knife. Knife handle material was already gone and blade was in poor enough condition (only 6.5 out of original 7" length left) that a handle restoration wasn't IMO worth the effort. But I've always been a fan of these knives design, steel quality and edge holding capabilities. So I decided to try to make a nice hunting knife out of what I had left. So far about 1/2 finished. And you are correct that it has been a very interesting & enjoyable experience.
While I don't consider my project to be full fledged "Knife Making". I think starting w/a pre-made quality blade and fashioning a guard/handle in a good way to "get your feet wet".
Depending on your preferences, you can buy pre made blades of many styles on several websites. Or perhaps go to ebay and buy a poor condition WW-2 (generally poor handle w/decent blade)fighting knife pretty cheaply as a starting point.
Along w/VERY helpful info gained from the nice folks here, I bought a book that has been very helpful. "Step by Step Knifemaking" by David Boye. Got a good used copy cheap on Ebay as well. Already had a grinder, belt sander and good collection of hand tools. In process of slowly acquiring other needed tools.
I say GO FOR IT! Take your time and research each step of your project as best you can. I've found that in my inexperience, I've had to change or modify several operations I had thought of doing. Good Luck!
While I don't consider my project to be full fledged "Knife Making". I think starting w/a pre-made quality blade and fashioning a guard/handle in a good way to "get your feet wet".
Depending on your preferences, you can buy pre made blades of many styles on several websites. Or perhaps go to ebay and buy a poor condition WW-2 (generally poor handle w/decent blade)fighting knife pretty cheaply as a starting point.
Along w/VERY helpful info gained from the nice folks here, I bought a book that has been very helpful. "Step by Step Knifemaking" by David Boye. Got a good used copy cheap on Ebay as well. Already had a grinder, belt sander and good collection of hand tools. In process of slowly acquiring other needed tools.
I say GO FOR IT! Take your time and research each step of your project as best you can. I've found that in my inexperience, I've had to change or modify several operations I had thought of doing. Good Luck!
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2006
- Messages
- 3,953
I made a few kit blades to see how much I would enjoy it. I made some more knives with a 2x21 craftsman belt sander that was upside down in my bench vice and doing a lot of finish work with sandpaper and sanding blocks. I heat treated in a barbeque grill using a hair dryer as a blower. Those knives paid for better tooling and knives on that better tooling paid for my Burr King.
I've seen very nice knives made with little more than a hand held drill, some files and a LOT of determination.
I've always said this when asked about knifemaking. If you're a knifemaker, you're going to make a knife no matter what you have on hand. Most of us would still heat and beat and file out knives.
Look around your area to see if there's a maker nearby that would let you come by and try your hand at it. That way you'd learn proper techniques and find out how much you want to do it. If you do get a chance to go to a maker's shop I'd recommend either bringing some money or taking him to lunch or dinner to offset the cost of the materials and time.
I've seen very nice knives made with little more than a hand held drill, some files and a LOT of determination.
I've always said this when asked about knifemaking. If you're a knifemaker, you're going to make a knife no matter what you have on hand. Most of us would still heat and beat and file out knives.
Look around your area to see if there's a maker nearby that would let you come by and try your hand at it. That way you'd learn proper techniques and find out how much you want to do it. If you do get a chance to go to a maker's shop I'd recommend either bringing some money or taking him to lunch or dinner to offset the cost of the materials and time.
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2000
- Messages
- 5,179
I'll second that!
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2008
- Messages
- 608
I am still a beginner, but I have made a few blades I'm very proud of.
Here's how I started:
I wanted my first knife to be something I would use every day (and I do). Since I don't carry fixed blades much, I decided on a knife for the kitchen. After some research I decided on CPM 154 as the "ideal" steel for a kitchen blade, and it could be sent out for heat-treat.
I spent a lot of time on the design, making it exactly what I wanted. With the steel and design, I went to work with the drill press, files and hacksaw. I took my time to make the grinds perfect. I tried a lot of techniques and learned what worked and what didn't. I then got out the sandpaper and spent forever on the finish.
Patience is the key. Your fist knife should take a long time. Make the knife as good as you can, then work on speeding up the process.
I ended up with a knife I love and use almost every day. Each knife I make afterward has been going faster, now that I'm perfecting the technique.
Phillip
Here's how I started:
I wanted my first knife to be something I would use every day (and I do). Since I don't carry fixed blades much, I decided on a knife for the kitchen. After some research I decided on CPM 154 as the "ideal" steel for a kitchen blade, and it could be sent out for heat-treat.
I spent a lot of time on the design, making it exactly what I wanted. With the steel and design, I went to work with the drill press, files and hacksaw. I took my time to make the grinds perfect. I tried a lot of techniques and learned what worked and what didn't. I then got out the sandpaper and spent forever on the finish.
Patience is the key. Your fist knife should take a long time. Make the knife as good as you can, then work on speeding up the process.
I ended up with a knife I love and use almost every day. Each knife I make afterward has been going faster, now that I'm perfecting the technique.
Phillip