Making a "Green" knife - are there Green practices in knife making?

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pixelhack

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Jan 16, 2005
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A thread on wood stabilizing reminded me of one of the reasons I eventually chose not to do my own stabilizing or use stabilized woods. The MSDS sheets on some of the chemicals used in stabilizing made me want to get as far away from them as possible.

I am interested in hearing about some of the choices knifemakers have made in their practices. What are you doing to preserve your own health and that of the planet?
 
I burn lots of coal, quench my blades in whale blubber, and make all my handles out of Rhino horn. :)

:eek: :foot: :p

Just kidding of course... but to answer your question... It's really not a large concern of mine. And not because I don't care about my health or the planet's. I don't want to die early of lung cancer, and I like being outside probably more than the next guy.... But I think a trip around your yard with the gas weed-eater and gas lawnmower probably do more damage than a year of working in the knife shop.

Of course I'm not an EPA official.... and that's purely a guess... but I feel fairly confident in that assessment. ;) :)
 
Well the biggest thing I do is wear my respirator for just about everything. When I'm forge welding (flux fumes and grease burning from the power hammer), when I'm arc welding (all sorts of nasty oxides), grinding, using spray paint, cleaning with acetone, and anything else I consider a potential risk to my heath. I also use minimal hazardous chemicals in my shop and lots of ventilation. I wear disposable latex gloves to protect my hands when working with those chemicals.
 
Just me, but I've stopped quenching blades in the blood of unicorns.

This is a great question. Knife making is a rather energy intensive process to make the steel, work the steel, and heat treat the steel. The only green way of making a knife that I can think of would be to knap it out of flint, obsidian, or other suitable rock.

- Paul Meske
 
I started off trying to be as eco friendly as I could.

-My leather is "seconds" or "rejects" from the factory due to scars, discoloration, brands.... I think they add character.
-all my dyes are waterbased "eco-flow".
-I recycle steel for non-crucial items like strikers, pins, guards, etc.
-I try to forge as close to shape as I can which results in less grinding waste.(don't know how much better for the environment forging is compared to grinding)
-I use propane instead of coal. (again, not too sure the environmental comparisson.)
-No stabilized materials
-I make my own beeswax mix from scratch to treat leather. From aquiring the crushed honeycombs from a local organic honey farm to handpicking bits of pine and spruce sap in the park across the street. I cook it down, mix and form it into blocks.

As far as health concerns... I use a full face respirator, suited for dust, biological and acid vapors. I try to wear latex gloves, even with the "eco" stuff.

Rick
 
The electricity to run the lights to make a knife is as necessary as the water used to flush the toilet,
and I'm sure we could go to the moon and back on peoples ideas about it. Everything but the busted rock or
obsidian is gonna take some form of energy.
Ken.
 
Great job!

NickWheeler said:
I burn lots of coal, quench my blades in whale blubber, and make all my handles out of Rhino horn. :)

:eek: :foot: :p

Just kidding of course... but to answer your question... It's really not a large concern of mine. And not because I don't care about my health or the planet's. I don't want to die early of lung cancer, and I like being outside probably more than the next guy.... But I think a trip around your yard with the gas weed-eater and gas lawnmower probably do more damage than a year of working in the knife shop.

Of course I'm not an EPA official.... and that's purely a guess... but I feel fairly confident in that assessment. ;) :)
Click to expand...
 
kc custom said:
The electricity to run the lights to make a knife is as necessary as the water used to flush the toilet,
and I'm sure we could go to the moon and back on peoples ideas about it. Everything but the busted rock or
obsidian is gonna take some form of energy.
Ken.
Click to expand...


Outhouses and candles buddy... start makin the switch.... lol.
 
I'm liking this Marchand character more and more it seems.
Well done, sir! I admire your mindfulness.
 
My idea of a "green" knife is one made of recycled materials. Automotive spring steel forged into blades, and scrap wood, horse stall mat or rag mycarta scales, etc.

I made some throwing knives out of coil spring, with reground plastic scales. That plastic was good and shock proof, too.

I like recycling chain and cable into blades, too.
 
That brand new piece of tool steel has a huge portion of recycled steel content.

Steel is the most recycled commodity on the earth.
 
12345678910 said:
Steel is the most recycled commodity on the earth.
Click to expand...

Yup. I don't feel one bit guilty about buying new stock. I would like to put up some solar panels to help light and heat my shop though, just haven't figured out a way to swing the initial investment. But honestly I use more resources doing laundry every week (two females in the house :rolleyes:) than I do working in the shop.

I do try to reduce waste in any reasonable way I can and make use of ambient heat/light whenever practical, I guess that's "green". And I do recycle my soda and beer cans :)
 
I've been recycling beer all night, think it's time for bed.
 
Not sure but i guess that epoxy is nasty stuff as well.
Been wondering about it for a while
 
I particularly like Rick's statement about being as eco-friendly as he can. Personally I think being "green" is about making informed decisions. For example I was surprised when I started woodworking and found that some woods were toxic. Forewarned is forearmed. I am thankful for the ideas presented here and hope that we get a few more posts on the best practices people use in their shops.
 
It's kind of inefficient to make one knife at a time. The best thing we could do for this earth would be to let the chinese mass produce them. Or, understand there's a unique place in this world for custom knives, and admit there's very little that's green about the process. I think, maybe:).
 
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