Making a Talonite blade with only these tools... Possible?

S

Steelwolf

Joined
Jul 19, 1999
Messages
443
Hi all. I'm seriously thinking of trying my hand a making a Talonite blade. I'm tossing up either a design similar to the Emmerson La Griffe (only with a longer edge) or a tanto shaped blade with the same La Griffe style handle. Unfortunately, the only machine tools I have access to at the moment are:
1. Medium duty hand drill.
2. Dremmel.
3. Medium duty jigsaw.

I might be able to get a drill press device to hold the hand drill, and almost any sort of attachment for the various machine tools, but trying to get a bench grinder is currently not likely. I also have various shaped files, a hacksaw with a carbide tile cutting blade, a Lansky Diamond Deluxe system and lots of elbow grease
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I know from reading past threads that I'll definitely need carbide drills to drill holes in the Talonite. What other attachments or drill bits will I need? Will the Dremmel cutoff wheel be sufficient for most cutting needs? Are there any other Dremmel bits or accessories needed? And where the heck does one get cobalt drill bits from anyways?

Is such an undertaking even possible with what I have on hand, or should I forget it and get an established maker to do it for me? (which, according to the few quotes I've gathered so far, will cost over US$400
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)

BTW, tips and pointers are very much welcome (eg. "don't bother using files, you'll not created a dent and only blunt your files").

Thanks to all in advance.
 
Don't waste your time trying. You'd have a hard time making a blade out of steel with those tools. The jigsaw won't be of use on anything but (soft) handle materials, and, the DREMEL, even with diamond bits/carbide cutters is going to be rough unless your material is REALLY thin and your blade is REALLY small and, you're not trying to make anything that looks pretty.

Just my $02

RJ Martin
 
Thanks RJ and Rob. I would have liked to try. I've never worked with hardened stuff like Talonite before. The worst was the saw blade I mentioned in the other post. 01 wasn't too bad, though the finish was not nice (as RJ predicted).

So, if I were to want to carry on with this project on my own, my best bet is to buy a good bench grinder with belt attachment?

And if I were to go with a maker, who would be able, and with low turn around time (ie less than a year)? Rob, I believe you're out.
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What sort of price is reasonable?

The design would either be a claw or tanto edged (pending advice from the maker) neck knife with a handle similar to the Emmerson La Griffe. (There are some slight modifications and I can supply cardboard and acrylic models of the design).
 
I haven't worked with the stuff but I wanted to try it until I posted a similar thread to this.And got some similar feedback.
It sounds like your only real restraint right now from making something like a neck knife out of talonite (fixed blade, tang handle, no scales or anything) is a grinder. Files won't touch the stuff. Your hacksaw blade would probably do for taking off chunks to get a half ass profile job. No matter what your making it will start out looking like a tanto- no curves. Just hack off corners here and there to get the general shape.
If your like me, and are doing this for fun, and don't budget a lot for this right now. A good 4x36 beltsander or 1x30 beltsander would work fine for you as a grinder. Its not near as nice or as fast as a bader but it gets the job done. Definitely get a delta. You can get one at lowes for about $100 and be much better off than with a harbor freight or other low price import. Craftsmen makes some bigger stuff (2x72,6x48, maybe a 3x soemthing) that looks nice but I have been far from impressed by their quality as of late.

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It'll feel better when it stops hurting.
 
Steelwolf, I quit taking orders some time ago and am running behind, so I cant do your project. A bench grinder will grind it but very, very slowly. Belts work much better and you dont create much heat with belts. Cobalt bits wont drill it effectively, if at all. And a bi metal bandsaw or hacksaw blade wont cut it either.
 
Rob, I knew you were filled out with orders. I didn't realise you had so many. And I'm not planning on doing any drilling on Talonite with Cobalt bits. I just wanted to know where a guy can get them from as I read in some books and posts that cobalt is the way to go for working on steels. I have HSS bits, but they are wearing out fast. And this is on 01 and mild steel.

I'm still sorely tempted to have a go though. Anyone got off-cuts I can try out?
 
Not just for knifemaking purposes, but for all grinding needs, I think a belt grinder is the way to go.

If you have other reasons to get a bench grinder, you can always get an attachment that turns it into a belt grinder on one side. I saw this at the Wood-Workers Expo last year, and I think Koval or Jantz sells them as well.

Email me and we can talk about making this knife for you. Merckman99@yahoo.com

As far as cobalt bits. I buy stub screw machine cobalt bits from Travers. I like the stub bits because the shorter the bit the less chance it has to "walk." You usually have to buy them in sets of 10, but they're still cheaper this way than most supply centers.

You can get cobalt bits at Sears as well. But I definitely recommend Travers or Rutland Tool Supply.

Good luck,
Nick
 
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