I post this in
Shoptalk quite often.
I post this quite a bit and it should help you.
IF you look into this info, there is some that applies to you .
The Standard Reply to New Knifemakers v14
The answer to a 13 year old student is different than to a 40 year old engineer.
We may recommend a local supplier, you may have a helpful neighbour, or local Hammerin; but that depends on where you are. We have members worldwide.
Please fill out your profile with your location (Country, State, City), age, education, employment, hobbies.
Look at the threads stickied at the top; many are expired, but not all.
The basic process in the simplest terms
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Printable PDF-Right Click and Save
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Website
Web Tutorials
Detailed instructions by Stacy E.Apelt
The Things I Advise New Knife Makers Against-Printable PDF
Handle Tutorial - Nick Wheeler-Website
http://www.engnath.com/manframe.htm
Books
A list of books and videos
BladeForums - E-books or Google books
I like:
David Boye-Step by Step Knifemaking
Tim McCreight-Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman
These are clear, well organized, widely available and inexpensive too.
Knife Design:
See the Google books thread for Lloyd Harding drawings & the Loveless book.
Google books thread
Forging Books:
Lorelei Sims-The Backyard Blacksmith
An excellent modern book with colour photos for forging in general - no knifemaking.
Jim Hrisoulas- has 3 books on forging knives. Check for the cheaper paperback editions.
The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection
The Pattern-Welded Blade: Artistry in Iron
The Master Bladesmith: Advanced Studies in Steel
Machine Shop Basics -Books:
Elementary Machine Shop Practice-Printable PDF
The Complete Practical Machinist-Printable -1885-PDF
It’s being reprinted now; you can get it for $20 ish
The $50 knife Shop
It confused me for a long time.
Forging is NOT necessary; you can just file and grind to create a knife (stock removal)
The goop quench is total Bull.
Use commercial quench oil & match oil speed to the steel type; even grocery store canola oil works much better.
Junkyard steels require skill and experience to identify the steel and heat treat it properly.
You can buy proper steel like 1084FG from Aldo very cheaply.
I like cable damascus, but that advanced project has no place in a beginner’s book.
The grinders are the best thing about this book, but there is a huge amount of info for 2x72” belt grinders on the web, including free plans.
Forget about Lawnmower blades and start with a new known steel type.
Videos
Heat Treating Basics Video-downloadable
Right click and save this. Watch it once a day for 10 days.
Safety-video
Right click and save this. Watch it once a day for 10 days.
Many specific how to knifemaking videos are available, some are better than others.
The best overall Knifemaking video I have seen is
“Steve Johnson-Making a Sub-Hilt Fighter”
The best video on leather sheath making I have seen is
“Custom Knife Sheaths -Chuck Burrows - Wild Rose”
-(Paul Long has 2 new videos, his sheath work is fantastic. I hope the videos are too)
Green Pete's Free Video
Making a Mora bushcraft knife, stock removal, hand tools, neo tribal / unplugged heat treat.
"Green Pete" posted it free using torrent files.
Be sure to look at the other titles too-The account index has disappeared, but search for LOTS of info. Using the keywords “LurkerLurker torrent”
Greenpete Knifemaking Basics-on TPB
How to download that video
http://www.utorrent.com/help/guides/beginners-guide
You can see a list of videos and reviews at this rental company; some are worth buying, some renting…
http://smartflix.com/store/category/9/Knifemaking
Draw Filing Demonstration
YouTube video -Draw Filing-for a flat finish
Steel
The “welding steel” at Home Depot / Lowes… is useless for knives.
If you send out for heat treating, you can use O1, A2, D2, CM154, ATS34, s30v, 440C, plus many others.
If you heat treat yourself, find some 1070, 1080, 1084,
1084 FG sold by Aldo Bruno is formulated for knifemaking.
http://njsteelbaron.com/
Phone # 862-203-8160
You can find a list of suppliers here
Heat Treating
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=9143684&postcount=7
You can send blades out for heat treating at $10 or $15 per blade for perfect results, and avoid buying the equipment.
This PDF brochure gives a good overview
http://www.buckknives.com/resources/pdf/Paul_Bos_Brochure.pdf
http://www.petersheattreat.com/cutlery.html
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/privacy.php#services
http://www.knifemaker.ca/ (Canadian)
Grinder / Tools
Hand Tools
You can do it all by hand with files and abrasive cloth like the Green Pete video.
Photo of a nice bevel filing jig
Entry Level Grinders
Many makers start with the
Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder
Commercial Production 2 x 72” Belt Grinder Reviews
http://www.prometheanknives.com/shop-techniques-3/grinders
http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCKnifeMakingGrinders.htm
Mapp arm – Grinder Toolrest
DIY 2 x 72” Belt Grinders
KMG Clone Free Plans
http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf
NWG No Weld Grinder
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/plans-for-the-no-weld-grinder-sander-nearly-50-pages-p-723.html
EERF Grinder (EERF =“Free” backwards)
http://wilmontgrinders.com/EERFGrinder.aspx
http://blindhogg.com/blueprints.html
http://www.atlasknife.com
Buy the kit
http://polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html
What Belts to buy ?
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/abrasive-belt-basics-what-kind-should-i-buy-p-1393.html
Safety Equipment
Protect your -Eyes, Ears, Fingers, and Lungs – remove jewelry and put on safety gear.
Respirators
Chronic lung disease and cancer really suck the joy out of life.
The minimum I would consider are the
3M 7500 and
North 7700 silicone half masks with a P100 Filter.
Use a VOC & P100 combo cartridge for protection against acetone and solvents.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=788837
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=726309
Searching
Search works for all users, even unpaid users.
Try it, I’ll bet you’re not the first to ask the question here
V14 Edited dead links
