Looking to try knife making. What I have and what I may need to get started.

Fletch Helical

Fletch Helical

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Sep 29, 2009
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Title pretty much sums it up I want to try my hand and making a knife. I've always been an admirer of knives and figure I might try to take my obsession to the next level :D.

I don't have a great deal of experience working with metal but I consider myself somewhat handy when it comes to working with tools (not sure if that help much with knife making or not). So what I'm hoping for is a bit of guidance on where to start and what I may need to get the ball rolling. I don't necessarily need to jump in with both feet and try getting in over my head. I've considered kits but from what I understand that's just assembling a knife and not really making one. Which I guess I don't necessarily hate either but actually making one from some kind of steel seems much more rewarding.

So what I'm wondering is where do I start?

I have a bench and angle grinder, propane torch, a vice, vice grips, and some files, flat and half round atm but can always grab a few more if need be. I lack a forge at the moment but am looking around for some kind of plans on how to make a semi simple one for the time being to again get my feet wet.

Any advice to get me pointed in the right direction is greatly appreciated. Whether it's additional tools, equipment, or a certain kind of metal to work with. I've found in another thread that 1084 seems like it could be a good place to start for that.
 
Welcome! I'm still a newbie, so I shouldn't give much advice, but I would say to get some O1 from your local fastenal. It comes soft enough to grind (or file) easily, and you can heat treat it to get it "hard" with a torch. I say "hard" because it can skate a file (file won't scratch it) but you wouldn't know the hardness. Unless, you prefer to send it to someone else to heat treat it.

Read this Sticky: Newbies, good info here http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452465
 
heat treating o-1 with a torch will be very difficult as you need sustained temps above 1700 F, and realitivly even heating. rule of thumb, if the blade steel, cost alot spend the money on professional heat treaters. you can probably ht 1080 or 1084 w/ torch or so ive heard
 
I used O1 for my fist 2 knives so far, the first one I did I just used a camp fire, The second I send it out. It requires a soak at 1450-1500 then a quench in oil followed by a 400ish F temper. It really isn't a tough steel to heat treat compared to others, but without a forge or an oven it is tricky. Unless you can find it locally like Mike said, 1084 would heat treat nicely; even with a torch.
Some sort of drill would be nice for the handles.
 
You are off to a good start. You realy dont need much more than what you already have to get started. A drill press is worth its weight in gold. Order a few soft firebricks and a piece of 1080/1084/1075 in the size you need for your blade. Cut out the profile of the knife with your bench and angle grinder. Use the angle grinder to rough in your bevels and finish them with files and sandpaper. Drill pin holes in the handle. Hollow out one of the soft fire bricks and make a 1 brick forge and use a plumbers torch (burnzamatic) as the heat supply. Bring the blade to non magnetic and quench it quickly in warm oil (mineral oil will do for now). Place the now hardened blade in a oven at 350 degrees for 2 one hour cycles. Finish the blade with sandpaper to a nice finish. Attach handles with epoxy and pins (1/8" brass rods work well). Sharpen and enjoy. Repeat often.. If you decide that you really like knifemaking, order some real heat treating oil from Mcmaster Carr or one of the guys on this forum like Tracy Mickley.
 
You also need a thermometer for your oven. The temperatures of a toaster oven is not even remotely close to what it says.
 
rocketmann said:
You are off to a good start. You realy dont need much more than what you already have to get started. A drill press is worth its weight in gold. Order a few soft firebricks and a piece of 1080/1084/1075 in the size you need for your blade. Cut out the profile of the knife with your bench and angle grinder. Use the angle grinder to rough in your bevels and finish them with files and sandpaper. Drill pin holes in the handle. Hollow out one of the soft fire bricks and make a 1 brick forge and use a plumbers torch (burnzamatic) as the heat supply. Bring the blade to non magnetic and quench it quickly in warm oil (mineral oil will do for now). Place the now hardened blade in a oven at 350 degrees for 2 one hour cycles. Finish the blade with sandpaper to a nice finish. Attach handles with epoxy and pins (1/8" brass rods work well). Sharpen and enjoy. Repeat often.. If you decide that you really like knifemaking, order some real heat treating oil from Mcmaster Carr or one of the guys on this forum like Tracy Mickley.
Click to expand...

Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! HOLD ON... kind sir!!! You're telling me I can get a soft firebrick and hollow it out and use that as a forge? I'm not overly familiar with soft bricks, I've seen the hard ones and have seen them used in wood burning stoves. But not familiar with the soft ones so naturally here come the questions :D.

1. How exactly do you hollow one out? Not being familiar with them I have no idea what to use or the best way to go about it.
2. Is there a certain amount of thickness I should leave around the edges as to not make it too thin?
3. Using the torch do I just blast it in the hole, focus on the metal, heat the brick itself?
4, I'm guessing I should also have the brick sitting on a few other bricks as well so I don't have a super hot brick just sitting on the pavement or whatnot right?

Think that's it for now, thanks in advance.
 
Insulating firebricks are soft. You can hollow them out with your fingernail, but I would recommend a knife.
 
"$50 knife shop". Great book by Wayne Goddard. It will tell you almost everything you need to know
 
Indian george has a good tutorial on making a forge I dont have a link to It but Im sure some one will post it. I made a small forge and never used it yet I have sent my steel out for Heat treat and its better for now. I am only doing under 100 knives a year and I started last dec 15 . I think ive made about 60 now.I have sure learned alot for the kind people in this forum all I can say is listen and you will learn . kellyw
 
Welcome to the obsession
I teach a lot of newbies, 1084 is almost foolproof, it looks like you are on the right track.

ask a lot of questions, read alot, show your work.

-Page
 
gagned said:
"$50 knife shop". Great book by Wayne Goddard. It will tell you almost everything you need to know
Click to expand...

Too true. Check Amazon for a used copy, or your local library. Don't discount using an old file as your first piece of steel either. You can anneal it in a woodstove or campfire easily. Brake drum forges are a relatively cheap starter rig too. I built one and have used it successfully.
The firebrick forge, called the Extendo Forge by Goddard, is easy to make and works well on small pieces knives. I used mine to heat treat two blades just this week. A great way to hollow them out is with a 1" to 1.5" spade drill.
Your tool list is good, really all you need to start with for a really basic first few projects. A drill press is handy, but a hand held will do at first.
Check out Greenpete on youtube for some very good ultra simple advice. You won't be making show quality Bowie's at first anyhow. Aim for a simple but useful kitchen or camping knife the first time. You'll have fun making it and learn a lot.
 
fletch go watch some video on you tube type in how to make knives and hollow grinding knives that will keep you buisy for a day.
 
1084 is nice to start if you're doing your own heat treating. Otherwise, it's best to start with S30V. 1084 produces a ton of sparks while grinding, and grinds rather quickly. S30V is more forgiving as it grinds slower, and a lot less sparks. As an air-cooled steel you're also less likely to get warping.
 
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