My Journey Into Knife-Making Begins Today!!

M

Metal-Demon

Joined
Oct 15, 2000
Messages
176
Some of you may remember when I first arrived here at BladeForums I mentioned that I had arranged to learn knife-making from Mr. Dave Wilkes (owner of Wilkes Blades, a small home-operated knife making business here in Regina).

Tonight, he is going to show me his workshop and introduce me to the basics of knife-making!!!!!!!! As past-president of the Saskatchewan Knife-makers Club, he also invited me to their next meeting to meet some of the other local blade-enthusiasts from the area, which is this Tuesday evening!

I just wanted to share this great news with everyone here at BladeForums, and to THANK-YOU ALL FOR YOUR AMAZING FRIENDHIP AND SUPPORT THAT YOU HAVE ALL PROVIDED ME WITH SINCE I HAVE ARRIVED! I hope I can count on your advice and guidance throughout my knife-making adventures!

I'll post how things proceeded after I get home this evening.
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"A Szívemben A Vas Es Az Acél Orök Ereje Van."

Crushing the weak since 1970 .... the Demon has spoken.
 
I am sure that you can count on the support of everyone here. Best of luck with your new venture, and let us get a look at your first work. It would be interesting to follow your progress.
 
My knifemaking is done only as a hobby. It has provided me with a "quick fix" to my knife addiction. Best of luck, try not to loose too much blood, and don't get discoraged. It will all come together in time.

Paul
 
Ahhhhh, excellent. I had hoped that opportunity would bear fruit for you when you mentioned it. And I see that you have also found the Shop Talk Forum.

I hope this works out for you, M-D. Always remember, anything you try, give it 100% of what you got and you can't go wrong. Keep us posted.
 
MD, Best of luck. I'm sure you will have a ball tonite! This December it will be 2 years from when I made my first knife. I owe a dept of gratitude to Kit Carson,Darrel Ralph and George Young. I have also learned a great deal on the forums with people always offering help when needed. The more people you meet the more knowledge you will aquire. I have always been fancinated with knives and thru the computor I met and was invited to learn from what I consider the best in the business.

Don't give up. There are alot of up's and downs and it's easy to get discouraged. I am still learning with every knife I build and sometimes still making the same mistakes!
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With 30-40 folders under my belt, they are finally getting up to my standards and I will be attending and selling a few here and there to pay for materials etc. I will include a link to the last folder I made. Take care and again, Best of Luck.

http://members.nbci.com/Tsmyth/cj/Mxmas.htm




[This message has been edited by CJ (edited 11-13-2000).]
 
Good luck Metal-Demon!! As you start to make folders and fixed blades remember to at least try to make a balisong.
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Keep us posted and make sure you show us your first knife when you are done with it.
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Cameron

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"Look deep, deep inside and you will find a place of anger, vengeance, and brutality. Go there. It is your last hope to conquer the truly wicked."
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A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album
 
Good luck and count on me - as well as on any other maker in th Foruns, I am sure - for any help you may need.



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Ivan Campos
Full-time knifemaker...finally!
http://www.bitweb.com.br/users/campos/
 
UPDATE:
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Well, things went GREAT! I was VERY nervous because I wasn't sure what to expect, but Dave Wilkes is a fantastic guy with a sharp wit and a keen eye. I was really scared that he would realize that I didn't know a whole lot about knives and decide that it wasn't worth his time helping me, but I was immediately put at ease by his friendly demeanor and sense of humour. He was very generous with his time and we spent over 3 hours in his shop just "chewing the fat".

We talked at length about knife-making tools, steel grades, handle materials, blade and knife types, design, books and referance materials among other things.

I really liked his "If you can't buy it, build it" attitude with regards to knife-making tools and equipment. And his "work at your own pace" philosophy really struck a chord with me. I learnt more about how to APPROACH knife-making, rather than jumping in head-first. Looking back now, I think that was the best advice anyone could have given me to start out. (Thank-you to the BladeForum users who also supplied me with this sound advice!
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)

He lent me some old copies of Knives Illustrated to peruse until my own copy of "The Complete Bladesmith " comes in.

It was an amazing experience! I'll be going back in the future, and I have his assurances that I'm welcome to ask for his help whenever the need arises.

I'm going to start off slowly, by designing some simple knives on paper, and fooling around with some cold-rolled steel from work .... just to get the feel of the steel and the tools I'll be using. I'll attempt to assemble a pre-fabricated knife kit, and generally increase my knowledge base before tackling anything major ..........


Thanks to everyone for posting your words of encouragement ....... it really DOES make a difference!
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"A Szívemben A Vas Es Az Acél Orök Ereje Van."

Crushing the weak since 1970 .... the Demon has spoken.
 
BTTT ....... Since you're all helping cultivate my love for knives, I want you all to see how things went. (see above post.)
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"A Szívemben A Vas Es Az Acél Orök Ereje Van."

Crushing the weak since 1970 .... the Demon has spoken.
 
May you have great success with making knives (and everything else but mainly knives
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). I have faith that you will keep us updated as to how far along you are.

GOOD LUCK!!!!
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Cameron

011.gif
"Look deep, deep inside and you will find a place of anger, vengeance, and brutality. Go there. It is your last hope to conquer the truly wicked."
uriel.gif

A few of my balisongs
My Photopoint album
 
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