Knife making

D

Danno4017

Joined
Jan 8, 2007
Messages
893
Gentlemen,
I was hoping that some of you experienced fellows may be able to advise me on making my first Knife.
What tools will make the process easier bearing in mind I am on a limited budget?
I have,
Files
Bench Grinder
Linisher
Jigsaw.
What do you recommend?
As far as heat treating will an Oxy/ LP gas generate enough heat or will I need Oxy/ Acetylene?
I do not think I can get steel blanks here locally, what is the best thing to learn with? Leaf springs, files....
Any advise appreciated.
 
Direct action of a torch on steel will not achieve much. You need a forge, i.e. a contained fire that can concentrate and keep heat, so that it will effectively heat steel and not surrounding air.
As first forge, just buy a couple of bernzomatic burners, hose mounted type, and a couple of soft firebricks.
Hollow one out with a lengthwise oval cavity, smooth it with a half round file, and make two holes on the side so that the burners can be inserted at equal distances at a tangent with the cavity, to swirl hot gases inside.
Tie everything with wire to keep it together, as it will crack.
Use the second brick as a stand to insulate the first one, and a third to close the back if you work on short stock.
That's it. You can heat treat about 10 " of steel with that. More than enough for most folders and small to medium sized fixed blades.
 
PS: do some search on the internet for "brick forge", you'll find various designs.
If you have the room, go for a coal forge. Search on amazon for:
The modern blacksmith
Jim Hrisoulas (all his work)
The Backyard Blacksmith
and other titles suggested by Amazon on blacksmithing.
 
You should post where you live. If you live around me, you could come over and we will get you going.:D
 
Thanks for the offer George, I live to far away though mate, Brisbane Australia. Nice thought though.
Cheers
 
pick up the book called $50 knife shop by wayne goddard. great for people on a limited budget. i havent even made a blade yet but i have about $300 invested so far due to the fact that im trying to make things easier on myself.
 
Danno, check out the Australian Knifemakers Guild site and see who you have close by. I can't gurantee it but I recon some of the guys will give you a hand. If you can swing a trip down to Melb. for the guild show(May 5-6) you can get all the advice, books and supplies you need. Good luck with it mate.

Peter.
 
Danno4017 said:
Gentlemen,
I was hoping that some of you experienced fellows may be able to advise me on making my first Knife.
What tools will make the process easier bearing in mind I am on a limited budget?

What do you recommend?

As far as heat treating will an Oxy/ LP gas generate enough heat or will I need Oxy/ Acetylene?

I do not think I can get steel blanks here locally, what is the best thing to learn with? Leaf springs, files....
Any advise appreciated.
Click to expand...

Tools you need?
My advice is that you just GOT to get some type of belt sander.
Even a little 1X30 sander from Sears is a blessing when you try to make a knife. They really help, they are worth their weight in gold.

As for heat treating?
That all is up to what type of steel you use,
BUT if you use springs then all you would need is any type of heat that can get your steel red hot.
A home made BBQ style forge and a hair dryer is what I used for a year at the start.
I only switched to Oxy/ Acetylene when it got too cold outside to make a fire.

What Steel?
I like springs, however you do have to anneal them first. But they are cheap (free) and are handy, and HT nice and easy too...
 
Yeah, I second Alan on that one. Get the belt grinder! I've been working with files since I got started. Good skill to develop, but it just takes too damn long for my liking!
 
My college instructors late father was a knifemaker. SG peters was his name, if anyone has ever heard of him, he made about 500 knives/swords throughout his lifetime.

He did ALL of his grinding work with bench grinders, even the hollow grinds. I guess he used to go across the edge of the wheel to get the concave grind. He would build disks from plywood, spin them with different sandpapers attached on the bench grinder to do polishing etc. I've seen about 10 of his knives, including an awesome kris blade, all of them very well done.

But get the belt sander!
 
Thanks for the advise,
I have a 4x36" belt sander I called it a Linisher (from my old School metal work days I guess)
Great help as always Gents.
Cheers
 
There's a sticky at the top of this forum full of links that were compiled by Mr. Dan Gray. Browse through those and you'll get most of what you need (outside of actual experience). Also, the Bladeforums search engine is wonderful for finding information when it works, so why not give it a try.

Welcome to the addiction :D .
 
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