Knife making on a budget?

C

Crazy ol pootnanny

Joined
Jul 5, 2012
Messages
38
Hey guys, I'm fairly new to knife making and am also jobless, and therefore broke. Any tips on keeping cost down and still making a quality knife?

I have access to some tools, like a grinder, angle grinder, and multiple files. I have basic knowledge of heat treating, but tempering has confused me so bad. :confused:

I'd also like to know your take on making a Scandi grind with those tools.

Thanks in advance! :D
 
I watched a lot of video's and read a lot of tutorials before I started. I started out with basic hand tools. When I finally decided to dive in, it was because of this basic knifemaking tutorial. It's the best tutorial I've found so far for making a knife with basic tools. It gave me the confidence to start and finish that first knife!

As for the Scandi grind question, try these..

File Guides and Jigs

File Guide and Jig Tutorial

I made one when I first started to create sharp facets on my grinds. But it's a real pain doing it this way, but if it's all you got, go for it!
 
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I started to learn to make knives in 2008 when I retired. I had not prepared adequately for retirement and spent hardly anything except to pay bills and buy food. I used files, a vise, clamps, and drill press, all tools I already owned. The main expense was the steel. Pin material was from a bronze welding rod. lanyard hole liners were from copper tubing. Handle material was wood that I found where ever. I learned to keep my eyes open and consider if or how I might use something for making a knife. For instance a pair of Pakistan bookends gave me a nice grained, hard, dark wood for handles. I got this at the Goodwill store. Another time I used some lilac wood that had grown (and died) in my back yard. Epoxy and sandpaper have to be purchased. For heat treating I made a charcoal fired coffee can forge, and made my own charcoal for it from wood scraps. I was CHEAP, and still am.

Rome wasn't built in a day. When you have more time than money then you wait... until you come across some drill bits or files, or whatever, at a rummage sale. Look in dumpsters. Think outside the box to figure out how to accomplish something using the tools you have on hand.

Unless you already have experience shaping steel and wood your first knives will leave you lots of room for improvement. But you learn so much making that first knife even if it turns out less than perfect. That's normal.

I recommend that you get some 1/8 inch 1080/1084 steel and start making a knife with an overall length not greater than 6 inches using the tools you already have. Check out The Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives. I will give you a starting point.

I've not made a knife since last November. I want to down-size and move so I'm trying to sell my house and I needed to de-clutter and clean up. I packed up all my knife making stuff and it's sitting in storage right now. I'm thinking about maybe working on some miniature knives until I can again set up my tools and made some iron filings and wood dust on normal sized knives. Let me see now, where did I pack that steel????...

- Paul Meske
 
Welcome to Shop Talk.

Making knives does not have to be costly. Finding a maker in your area that will help you can also hold down the cost, but it can be done by a person with no experience or help ( other than from the guys here).

A few files, a stack of sandpaper, and a small area to work in ....plus a lot of elbow grease, is all that is needed.
Having access to a drill press is nice, but the holes needed can be drilled by anyone with a hand drill. HT can be farmed out to some of the guys on the forum here. Many of us are glad to help out a new maker.

Make some drawings and come up with a plan on how you intend to make your knife. Post them here and lets see what happens.

The stickies have several tutorials. Here is one that covers the process in detail ,including the work area and supplies needed.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/694673-How-to-instructions-for-making-a-knife
 
My first few knives were made with basic hand tools, borrowed drill press. Got a soft fire brick for a one brick forge, already had a propane torch. Quenched in used oil from the minivan. My tempering oven was a 98 cent garage sale special. Oh yeah the most important thing: Read a lot of stuff here on the forum. biggest investment? buying a piece of steel.

Ric
 
Take bladsmth's advise ! Thats what i did along
With count's and many others here i have a
Similar thread in This sub forum if you want to
Take a look it has alot Of good Info That may
help you ! ... Also post some pics Of the knife
Designs your wanting to make so they can give
You advise On what to do !...
Good luck and have fun

Frank
 
I recently found that ordering an assortiment of sandpaper on ebay is a lot cheaper then buying in a store.
(here in germany but look in to it)
 
Phydeaux is right, your biggest investment is a piece of steel. If you p.m. me I'll send that to you for free too. It's o-1 tool steel, it makes a very good knife, and very forgiving when it comes to heat treat. Get those hand tools togather so you can make your new knife!!
 
Crazy ol pootnanny said:
Hey guys, I'm fairly new to knife making and am also jobless, and therefore broke. Any tips on keeping cost down and still making a quality knife?

I have access to some tools, like a grinder, angle grinder, and multiple files. I have basic knowledge of heat treating, but tempering has confused me so bad. :confused:

I'd also like to know your take on making a Scandi grind with those tools.

Thanks in advance! :D
Click to expand...

I'm in the same boat you are, brother. My budget is slim to none. I have to scrimp and save to get anything. With that, here are a few things I did:

-Hit up your local pawnshops for tools. Go for mostly hand tools though, they can be proud of their power tools at times. I picked up a bunch of good files and hammers from mine.
-Find a Harbor Freight tool store in your area, they are my new favorite place to hangout. Just be sure to research your purchases first, not everything they sell is worth the money. Their 1x30 belt w/ 5" disc sander/grinder works great as a starter. I got mine for 50 bucks when it was on sale and I had a 20% off coupon.
-Talk to anybody you can about any supplies or tools they may have access to. My FIL works at a stagecraft facility and has access to just about anything I might need, except quality steel. My dad had a bench-top drill press and wood-cutting band/scroll saw still in the original boxes. He said if I put them together they were mine to use.
-Get some soft firebricks and build yourself a small forge. I picked up mine here: K23 Insulating Fire Bricks For Sale They are a bit irregularly shaped (trapezoidal) but they work just fine and are a good price.
-Scrounge supplies, especially handle materials, from wherever you can. My first handle was a scrap piece of Aspen that I found in my dad's shed. I'm currently looking at picking up a pallet for the oak slats.
-Lastly, and most importantly, listen to all the advice from these guys. They know what they are talking about.
 
Broomhead said:
I'm in the same boat you are, brother. My budget is slim to none. I have to scrimp and save to get anything. With that, here are a few things I did:

-Hit up your local pawnshops for tools. Go for mostly hand tools though, they can be proud of their power tools at times. I picked up a bunch of good files and hammers from mine.
-Find a Harbor Freight tool store in your area, they are my new favorite place to hangout. Just be sure to research your purchases first, not everything they sell is worth the money. Their 1x30 belt w/ 5" disc sander/grinder works great as a starter. I got mine for 50 bucks when it was on sale and I had a 20% off coupon.
-Talk to anybody you can about any supplies or tools they may have access to. My FIL works at a stagecraft facility and has access to just about anything I might need, except quality steel. My dad had a bench-top drill press and wood-cutting band/scroll saw still in the original boxes. He said if I put them together they were mine to use.
-Get some soft firebricks and build yourself a small forge. I picked up mine here: K23 Insulating Fire Bricks For Sale They are a bit irregularly shaped (trapezoidal) but they work just fine and are a good price.
-Scrounge supplies, especially handle materials, from wherever you can. My first handle was a scrap piece of Aspen that I found in my dad's shed. I'm currently looking at picking up a pallet for the oak slats.
-Lastly, and most importantly, listen to all the advice from these guys. They know what they are talking about.
Click to expand...

Good advice but I would caution you to beware where you get your wood. I love scavenging as well as anyone, but you can get wood that is still green or has excessive moisture. If you don't have a moisture meter or know that it has been seasoned for a year or so (depending on the wood type), wait until you can get some. If you're patient, you can get some plain wood off of ebay for a few bucks.

My first set of scales came from a premium Oak board I bought at Lowes. I think it was either 18" or 24" long and I paid something like 5 bucks or so for it. You can get a few handles out of a 1/2" x 4" x 18" board! Most lumber stores will have at least some premium wood. Who knows, ask if they have any they've scrapped for being crooked or warped.
 
Mudbug007 said:
I watched a lot of video's and read a lot of tutorials before I started. I started out with basic hand tools. When I finally decided to dive in, it was because of this basic knifemaking tutorial. It's the best tutorial I've found so far for making a knife with basic tools. It gave me the confidence to start and finish that first knife!

Mudbug, that tutorial was OUTSTANDING!
I'm seriously thinking of making my first knife...
Thank you for posting that link, i never would have found it otherwise.
Click to expand...
 
I made my first knives with an angle grinder, files and a charcoal and hair dryer forge. They didn't turn out great, but I would have made the same mistakes if I had a 2x72 grinder and a propane forge. Enjoy the process of getting better and of making a hand made piece of art. I look at what great custom/handmade knives were 20-30 years ago and they'd have a lot of fit and finish problems by today's standards, and they're still amazing.

I remember reading a quote about someone that wanted to be a writer and someone said if you want to be a writer you probably won't make it. You need to need to be a writer. I think the same thing might be true about knife making. The plus side of that is if you need to be a knife maker, you will be. Or, if you just like messing around in the shop and this is a fun project, you'll end up with some pretty cool knives and some tools that you might not have had if you wouldn't have taken on this project (my 1x30 belt sander is probably my handiest tool in my shop, even though I have a 2x72 for knife making). Either way, I bet it makes you a better craftsman. :thumbup:

From my experience, you might be surprised at how much work it takes to make a knife without a lot of power tools (I don't know how much experience you have, disregard this if you know what I'm talking about) but in my mind, every finished knife is well worth it.

One of the best pieces of advice I heard about hand sanding is, if it takes you longer than 30 seconds to sand out the last grit, switch to a rougher grit. It's hard to do because you are throwing away everything you just did. I don't follow that rule religiously but it's a good concept to keep in mind. I'm usually way closer to two or three minutes before I follow this rule. Which means I keep wasting over a minute or two of my time trying to not waste a minute of work.

Either way, resist the temptation to dip into the plunge line to clean it up. It will cost you a LOT of time trying to blend it into the rest of the grind, especially if you draw sand/file.. That's cost me the most time by a long shot when I started out making knives.

Good steel is very cheap, belts are expensive, but use sharp, good belts when/if you get a belt grinder. The longer you spend grinding a bevel, the more chance you have of messing it up. Pretend belts and sandpaper (get rhynowet from supergrit) are free.

Don't know if you want tips on sheath making but Chuck Burrows' DVD is excellent for leather. Tandy has the tools you need for pretty cheap. You could make a pretty great sheath with a groover and whatever they call a stiching spacer or something like that (looks like a western spur on a wooden handle) for under $20. They also have leather but if you end up using a lot, check out Wickett and Craig. Kydex is easy and there's a bunch instructions online.

Have fun, and remember every mistake is an extremely valuable lesson :thumbup:
 
My first knife was with a piece of 1" x 1/8 1084 , a angle grinder with a thin disk to cut off a piece, then a thick disk to rough out the shape. Then files and sand paper to do the rest. Leave the heat treat to a professional for the first one unless you want to try the backyard forge and have a very heat treat friendly steel.
 
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