Making Knives

[Aegil]

Hey, whats the basic equipment you need to start making knives.
Like the simple stuff that a beginner can do without a lot of equipment and how to start and stuff like that

Well i havent made any before and am just researching and the majority of the stuff on the net wasnt as detailed as I want.

Thanks in advance for any help

 

[brash]

I just ordered some 1095 steel to start making my first few knives. I searched around on Google and found some good sites that have helped me get the basic idea:

http://www.hossom.com/tutorial/jonesy/
http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-knives-1.html
http://www.survivalistbooks.com/faq/metalfaq.htm

Also, there are many, many threads on this forum by members describing how they made, or are making, a knife. The above sites help quite a lot when learning the basics for what to do with the steel, but the threads in this forum are great at describing the whole process. Take a look at the recent thread about a camp knife, for example.

Hope this helps.

 

[David Schott]

Starting out, all you really need is a drill, a hacksaw, a file, wood, and some sandpaper.

Go to the knife network and read all the "workshop" tutorials.

Start with a small knife. Design what you want. Don't get too eager and go for something way over your head. Draw it on the metal. Take your drill and make a line of holes all around your design. Hacksaw it out. Smooth the profile with the files. Draw a center line down the blade edge. Clamp it to the table and start filing, looking to file from that center line to whatever height you want your bevels to begin. Do this on each side. With hand tools, you can expect the above to take you a long time.....

Or, if you want to get started without going sole authorship on your first knife, buy a kit from knifekits.com. They will allow you to experiement a lot with handles, scales, bolsters, filework, etc, without having to grind the blade and deal with heat treating. You will quickly accumulate tools just finishing those kits, and it will give you a better finished product for a beginner than otherwise.

To give you an idea, my very first knife ever was done 100% with hand tools. it was a kit and piece by piece I customized each part of it. That took the kit from stock:

To:

 

[Alex C.]

i just used the drill/cut method that tiktock outlined on two knives. on a small blade cut from thin stock it'll take 2-3 hrs. a 2-wheel bench grinder REALLY speeds up the process with cleanin up the edges. and i just went out and bought a cheap, 1"x30" belt sander for $52 the other day. after about 45 mins spent profiling the edge with the sander, i got more done than i would have in several hours with a bastard file.

Alex

 

[Khukuri Monster]

Hey, whats the basic equipment you need to start making knives.
Like the simple stuff that a beginner can do without a lot of equipment and how to start and stuff like that

Here's about the simplest way I can think of. Buy two files and a blowtorch. Use the blowtorch to heat one file uniformly until it turns a straw color all over. Then use the other file to remove metal until you have a knife.

There, you don't even need to mess around with heat treating.

 

[NuViking]

I found you can do lots of stuff to speed up knifemaking with a simple variable speed hand drill and sanding accessories. For instence, a 4 inch disc sanding attachment and lots of patence can put on your initial bevel and master bevel to. Not as good as a belt sander and lap wheel but a good starter tool that can be picked up at yard sales for 5 bucks or less.
Find the book THE $50 KNIFE SHOP BY Wayne Goddard. This can get on started on the cheaper side till you can save up and buy better tools.

 

[Ilovetoolsteel]

Hey, whats the basic equipment you need to start making knives.
Like the simple stuff that a beginner can do without a lot of equipment and how to start and stuff like that

Well i havent made any before and am just researching and the majority of the stuff on the net wasnt as detailed as I want.

Thanks in advance for any help

Some will tell you a file and a drill and a hacksaw are all you need. 99 people out of 100 who start a knife like that quit before they get the blade profile shaped out.

A good way to start is a 1"x30" belt sander and a small drill press. You can probably find the drill press at a garage sale or flea market cheap, ($50 -$60 or less) you can buy the belt sander from Harbor freight for around $39 or go a little better and get a delta reconditioned with 5" disc for about $65

All you need then is materials, (Steel, Brass, wood or plastic handle material) and consumables, (Sand paper, sanding belts/ discs, drill bits, hacksaw blades)

So for around $125+ you can be pretty well equipped.

You might want to look for a book too, The $50 knife shop by Wayne Goddard is a good start. ($19.99)

 

[rebeltf]

IMO the two best pieces of advice you've gotten so far is to buy "50$ knife book" and try some kits out.
The kits are cheap for what you get , in other words you get a nice knife for the money , you dont have to spend a ton to get decent blades
I have made 4 of those folder kits , although not the one tiktock pictured , they are fun , educational and satisfying , the amount of customization you can do is up to your imagination. All of that work gives you a 'feel' for doing it the "hard way"
There are tons of sites out there with great advice for beginners like myself.
Welcome to heaven (or hell depending on your POV) lol