My first knife

S

Samos

Joined
Mar 30, 2017
Messages
5
Hi everyone,

I am making my first knife and I have some questions that some of you might be able to help me with.
I am well underway with the metal main part (handle and blade) and I am trying to find out where I can buy material for making the side parts of the handle. I need some metal pins and wood or a synthetic composite.

I live in the Netherlands and some searching on the web have not brought me much information.

About the pin's: What kind of material are these usually made of? Steel?
How do you sand the handle, once the metal pins are in place without sanding off more wood then metal? Meaning: how to best create an even surface?

About the wood or composite: If I want to use wood, does it have to be stabilized wood, or will other sorts of wood do well?

What kind of shop or webshop can I turn to to find these kind of materials?

Thanks in advance.

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I do not know if they would ship internationally or be too much, but Jantz Supply is a well known supplier supplies for knife making.
 
Ive bought supplies from Texas Knifemaker and USA Knifemaker but I'm unsure about international shipping from either.
Stainless, nickle silver, brass, copper and mosaic are all pretty common pin materials, along with mechanical fasteners.
Stabilized wood is generally the safest bet for handle scales but several hardwoods have been used for ages and simply oiled.
I generally cut my pins 1/2" thicker than the combined width of handle scales and tang for assembly and epoxying, trim as close to flush as possible once the epoxy has cured then sand the pins and handle together to blend the surfaces.
Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
 
Hardwood and an easy found metal pins it will be then, since my son (9) is also making a knife as a project for school and there is a little time pressure.

Thanks for the advise cbach8tw and 3fifty7.

I will post updates on the progress.
I've never done anything with metal before and I'm having the time of my life. :)
 
I have a new question.
I am now grinding the bevel of my son's knife with a home made jig.
How far should I go with it?
All the way until half way of the edge of the bevel, or do I leave about 0,5 mm in total for sharpening the knife at the end?

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Samos said:
How far should I go with it?
All the way until half way of the edge of the bevel, or do I leave about 0,5 mm in total for sharpening the knife at the end?
Click to expand...
I'd take it to around .030 inches (.76 mm) since you probably have to heat treat it. After heat treat I'd aim for that .5mm and put the secondary bevel on it.
 
M. Johnwell said:
I'd take it to around .030 inches (.76 mm) since you probably have to heat treat it. After heat treat I'd aim for that .5mm and put the secondary bevel on it.
Click to expand...

Thnx M.Johnwell,
Yes, I have to heat threat it still.

Is that .030 inch on each side of the center line from the sharpy (.060 total), or 0.30 inch in total?
 
That is 0.030 inch total. Some people make it thinner, others leave a bit more material before heat treat. Some people leave the edge a bit thicker than 0.030 as the finished product so the knife is tougher. It all depends on what the knife is going to be used for. It also depends on the steel you're using as oil or water quenching steels will have a tendency to warp if they are too thin (air cooled steels can warp too, but I don't know how thick to leave those). But from my experience, anything from 0.025 inches to 0.045 inches before the heat treat and 0.015-0.025 inches after the heat treat is a good place to start.
 
Good looking knive.
There is a forge in Alkmaar with a lot of knive and handle material. Check their website.
 
Another thing about the heat treatment and finishing the bevel:
I've got my info on how to make knifes from several youtubers and it seems to me that some people make their bevel complete before heat treatment and after that only do sanding, polishing and a secundary bevel and others do some more grinding on the first bevel after heat treatment.

What's the logic behind either of those options.
Does it matter what kind of steel that is used?
As mentioned, I have O2 steel.
 
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