making a knife with a mill

[CharlieX]

We have a really big bridgeport mill at our shop. Is it feasible to cut knife edges on a mill, and if so, what is the best method/tool used to do this?

 

[1066vik]

cut your overall shape with a side cutter.
either clamp the blade flat and use a face cutter, or clamp it vertical and use a side cutter to profile the edge
I would definitely not try to hog out the profile in only one pass.
it'll be interesting to see what design you come up with and what overall results.

 

[Fellhoelter]

The edge, not so much, bevels and stuff, easier.

 

[Sam Salvati]

could use a big ball end mill for a hollow grind.

 

[1066vik]

The edge, not so much, bevels and stuff, easier.

you're right - I meant primary bevels.
thanks for the correction.

 

[Frank Niro]

I believe the Dag forums has a thread where a master machinest shows how he does it. Frank

 

[12345678910]

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=569950

 

[drewfacehotm]

Problem with the manual mill cutting bevels is that you can only cut straight lines when you get to the point you would have to rotate your part or figure out how much to move the knee per pass to keep the bevel consistent. All in all roughing on a mill will make it easier to finish the bevels with a file, so give it a shot. When you set the angle of the head use a bubble protractor or a angle finder, most of the angle marks on the machine are off a little bit ,but enough to affect your bevels

 

[CharlieX]

Yeah.. i meant bevels. Makes sense the way he did it.. I was wondering if it would be easier to do it flat like that, or to stand it up on edge and go at it with a angle that way.

Thanks for your help guys.

 

[Atlas Knife Company]

Maybe for a Tanto, nice crisp bevels and sharp angles. Hard to do the curves. CNC would make it a snap, though. Invaluable for slotting.

 

[CharlieX]

I dont have CNC.. but i'm planning a tanto type blade.

 

[canid]

i would agree, one of the so called 'american tanto' blades could be planned out easily with mostly straight lines, and those are certainly the easiest on a manual mill.

rounding out slight corners can even be done by hand with some ease to make the lines friendlier. i've done a fair amount of that both on a contact wheel and by filing.

 

[Dan Pierson]

Nathan the Machinist has posted some amazing threads here on making a complete blade with a CNC mill. I'm surprised that he hasn't responded yet.

 

[canid]

incidentally, a good friend of mine has been building a CNC mini mill i'm just dying to play around with. the possibilities are just so broad.