Knife vise for those on a budget

J.McDonald Knives

J.McDonald Knives

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Jan 28, 2007
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here is a simple and easy and very effective knife vise. i have to give credit to swede2207 for showing me this and giving me the 1/2" one i have.

Parts List:
1/2" or 3/4" Pipe Clamp from Harbor Freight - about $3-$4
6" galvanized nipple of the same size as the pipe clamp - $2
galvanized flange of same size as pipe clamp - $2
scrap leather or micarta for the jaws - $0-$2 (i used 1/8" micarta)

just screw everything together and apply the leather or micarta to the jaws so that it doesnt scratch the blade. on mine i sanded down the corners and edges and face to make it smoother and IMO softer. use epoxy to glue them to the jaws. i also sanded off the paint from the pipe clamp jaws to let the epoxy stick better. heres a few pics so you know how it looks. the first one is my 1/2" vise and the second one is the 3/4" vise that wasnt finished when i took the pics.

KnifeVise2.jpg


KnifeVise1.jpg


if you have any questions about it just let me know. as you can see it can be made for $10 or less.
 
Looks good I see it is also for the knife maker on the go as you have it on the hood of your car. Finally something to do at stop lights just get out and start draw filling. Haha jk It does look better then the one in 50$ knife shop
 
Ok, I'm ticked off. I saw this thread, became inspired, and made the 25 minute drive to Harbor Freight, bought the clamp, then headed to Lowes for the pipe and flange.

I get home, and no dice. The stupid Chinese clamp was so poorly made, there aren't any threads inside of the top piece for the pipe to thread into.

Now I have to spend another hour to drive back and exchange it. Great.

Should have spent the 6 extra bucks and bought the clamp at lowes.

-Parke1
 
Now thats what I'm talking about! Po-Boy style. That there is my mantra!
 
why don't you just buy a 3"-4" bench vise from Lowes or home depot for under $20, mount it on a short piece of 2"x6" so it extends over the edge of your bench a little and just use that. You can clamp a piece of angle iron in the vise to lay a blade flat on and hold it in place with vise grips or just clamp the knife tang in the vise. Then you have something to hold bar stock for slotting and filing, something to hold the blade for soldering or attaching handles and it lets you adjust to all sorts of sizes. I've been using one for years,matter of fact thats all I use. It will hold better then any knife vise I've ever used.

Just wondering.

Bill
 

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I'll bet you get asked a lot of questions about it after you screwed it down to the hood of your truck and drove it around some didn't ya. hhehehheheheh
 
Bill, i posted this becaue its cheaper than buying a vise brand new. i use my knife vise even tho i have a 6" and a 2" vise. i even have leather on the jaws of the 2" but i still use my knife vise.
 
Plain ol Bill said:
I'll bet you get asked a lot of questions about it after you screwed it down to the hood of your truck and drove it around some didn't ya. hhehehheheheh
Click to expand...

the hood of my subaru made it easier to see the vise. if i lived in LA i would have one screwed to the hood of my car so that when im in that bad rush hour traffic i can work on the knife. HEHEHEHE!!!!
 
There was an article in blade magazine in spring or summer of 2005 about making a similar vice. It was a little more complex so you had more holding options but essentially the same idea. The article might have been by Wayne Godard.
 
B . Buxton said:
why don't you just buy a 3"-4" bench vise from Lowes or home depot for under $20, mount it on a short piece of 2"x6" so it extends over the edge of your bench a little and just use that. You can clamp a piece of angle iron in the vise to lay a blade flat on and hold it in place with vise grips or just clamp the knife tang in the vise. Then you have something to hold bar stock for slotting and filing, something to hold the blade for soldering or attaching handles and it lets you adjust to all sorts of sizes. I've been using one for years,matter of fact thats all I use. It will hold better then any knife vise I've ever used.

Just wondering.

Bill
Click to expand...

Bill I use a simular setup as you do. About the only differience is that I let the angle iron come out a bit futher than the point of the knife, so that I don't stab myself (which I've done anyway).
 
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