make your own knives

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brettofthejungle

Joined
May 18, 2008
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Hello everyone. I've been reading your forum recently and have gotten a lot of good info. I have been able to find everything through searches so far but now I have a question that needs answers. I have been reading a little about home knife making and have found a few good things (such as where to get high quality steel bars). I would like to attempt to make a knife.

I'm into the Strider knives and would love one like that (with the parachute cord handle). However $350 is way out of my price range for a knife. Is it conceivable for a guy with no experience knife making but considerable tool experience and steady hands to make a comparable knife at home? The blade shaping would be my concern as the handle will be as simple as drilling some holes and following the wrap guide on strider's website.

Does anyone have any experience in this area and want to share it? Thank you.
 
I should also mention that if I take this on I plan to buy a few blanks and get some practice, possibly selling them to locals if they are good.
 
Welcome to Bladeforums!

Let’s see if we can find the right forum …
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I think it depends a lot on your time and dedication as well as your "natural" talent if you want your first knife to be as good as X, Y or Z. It is possible, but only a handful of folks make an incredible first knife (I was not one of them).

If you want to make a good looking first knife, I highly recommend trying to find a knife maker near you so that you can learn the basics and if you guys hit it off, maybe he/she will help you with that first knife.
 
AcridSaint said:
I think it depends a lot on your time and dedication as well as your "natural" talent if you want your first knife to be as good as X, Y or Z. It is possible, but only a handful of folks make an incredible first knife (I was not one of them).

If you want to make a good looking first knife, I highly recommend trying to find a knife maker near you so that you can learn the basics and if you guys hit it off, maybe he/she will help you with that first knife.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree with this. My first knife turned out extremely well only because I had a local mentor to show me the ropes. My first grind attempt on mild steel was awful. He showed me what I was doing wrong and I ended up with a pretty sweet first knife when I finally tried one with blade steel. There were a few occasions that the knife flew across my workbench in anger as I was making it however. There are quite a few things that will frustrate you but it is all a learning experience.
 
Hm very interesting. Any of you have any pics of a first knife? I would love to find a local knife maker but am not quite sure where to look. Any advice?
 
Texas Knifemakers Supply sells a sort of Strider Style Blade already done you might be able to do a handle wrap on. If not then you might try buying a piece of ATS 34 (And some extra for the maker) and having someone here profile and grind it for U.
Bad JuJu to ask a maker to do a copy, however Strider influence could be part of the design YOU submit to them. Just be certain to add your own personal touches to it.
Then you send it off for HT and finish it yourself.
It is not as easy as you might think...
 
Well i'm actually interested in learning to do this myself. i understand you can heat treat it yourself. although i wonder how i could get that sandblast finish that those striders have. Anybody?
 
buy a sand blaster.. theyre pretty cheap at harbor freight http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=34202 they also have a 110lb er thats 40 bucks more. if you try it be sure to wear your safety gear, and dont hold it with your hand when blasting it, i know it sounds like common sense but ive seen it done before and it wasent pretty. they also have a cheap 1x30 belt grinder that might come in handy... http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=2485 ive had mine for a while, for 9 bucks you get an extended warranty thing that lets you bring it back for swap unconditionally for 2 years... pretty good deal.. im just starting as well ive only made 3 knives (been at it for about a month) good luck
 
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at least begin with stock removal. Anyone know where i can find some knife geometry diagrams? I'm looking for a tanto style blade. thanks.
 
if you click technical sheet under the pic of the extrema ratio knife it will give you a kinda blue printish thing. good luck
 
Hey thanks for the links legato. I'm going to do a few searches of the forum for the best place to order high grade steel. Hopefully I can find it without asking.
 
Actually can someone tell me the best place to find ats-34 from their own experience? Also. If I am going to buy grinding wheels, what kind will i need?
 
if your making a tanto, it will be easier to use a drill and hack saw to cut the blank out of the stock and then use a file for the bevel, i would suggest a belt grinder like the one in the link i posted earlier i find them easier to work with than a bench grinder. i recently learned that drawfileing creates the straightest bevels at my skill level.
 
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