New to knife making. What do I need?

S

sen2two

Joined
Feb 8, 2019
Messages
12
I am just getting started in creating my own knives and blades. I got interested in this last year because I started hunting. When I got into hunting, I decided I wanted to design and build most, if not all, of my own equipment. I spent the last year learning and designing my own rifle. I have now built that rifle and used it on a few hunts.

Next on my list is making my own knives. I plan to make several for different purposes, but for now…. I need to gather the correct tooling to do so. I have worked as a machinist, and a welder. I am now on the design side as an Engineer. I say this because while I understand you can make a quality knife with nothing more than an angle grinder (or at least YouTube video’s claim)… I’m more on the precision side. I currently have a decent amount of equipment for machining and general fabrication. But I am lacking in a few areas.

Can someone recommend a good belt sander? Or plans for a home-built version that’s lighter on the wallet?

What else is “mandatory” for making a quality blade?
 
Just have a pen & paper or your printer ready. It's going to be a long list.

FYI...I'd start with safety equipment (PPE). Safety glasses, face shield, gloves, respirator...etc.

Good luck!
 
Dogdrawz said:
Just have a pen & paper or your printer ready. It's going to be a long list.

FYI...I'd start with safety equipment (PPE). Safety glasses, face shield, gloves, respirator...etc.

Good luck!
Click to expand...

I'm not starting from zero as far as tool and equipment go. I have all the saftey equipment one would need.

Maybe to help, I will list most of what I currently own.

Manual Mill (Bridgeport and Excello)
Manual Lathe (Atlas - 12x36)
CNC Mill (Milltronics 3 Axis)
3d printers (Various types)
Casting equipment (Mostly for aluminum right now)
Press, TIG and MIG welders, Bead blast Cabinet, etc. ect.

I guess the question I am really asking is what is the common belt sander or bench top grinder used when creating the chamfer leading the blade edge? And/or for sharpening the blade?
 
Boy, it looks like you are fairly well equiped, others here will be along soon to help you finish out your list.;)
 
You can build your own grinder if you have some fab/machining skills. I have about a grand in building this 2x72 with 1.5hp variable speed setup.

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If you can find a used 2x42 Craftsman that will be cheap and do you for a long time (I got mine for $40). A cheap 1x30 will get you started but you'll probably buy more belts than you'll use before you want to upgrade.

Next down the list of importance is a metal bandsaw for cutting out blanks. People spend a lot of time doing this with a drill press and hack saw, and that's fine for like a paring knife, but it just doesn't scale very well. There's less to grind down if you use a bandsaw. The HF portabands are like $80 on sale and work great.

And you'll need to heat treat. Some people get passable results with easy to heat treat steels and blow torches etc. I built a heat treat oven and don't regret that at all. Perfect heat treats from day one. You can also send knives out for heat treatment, which is a fine option, but for my making habits (one or two knives at a time) being able to do it at home and iterate quickly made more sense for me.

You'd think the CNC mill would be useful, and it can be for small batch production, but you'll spend more time drawing and making fixtures than you'll save over cutting and grinding by hand.
 
sen2two said:
I am just getting started in creating my own knives and blades. I got interested in this last year because I started hunting. When I got into hunting, I decided I wanted to design and build most, if not all, of my own equipment. I spent the last year learning and designing my own rifle. I have now built that rifle and used it on a few hunts.

Next on my list is making my own knives. I plan to make several for different purposes, but for now…. I need to gather the correct tooling to do so. I have worked as a machinist, and a welder. I am now on the design side as an Engineer. I say this because while I understand you can make a quality knife with nothing more than an angle grinder (or at least YouTube video’s claim)… I’m more on the precision side. I currently have a decent amount of equipment for machining and general fabrication. But I am lacking in a few areas.

Can someone recommend a good belt sander? Or plans for a home-built version that’s lighter on the wallet?

What else is “mandatory” for making a quality blade?
Click to expand...
I'm in a similar place. I have come to the conclusion that I need to buy some good beginner steel, a belt grinder, belts, firebrick, and coal. If I feel like it I'll get stuff for kydex eventually. I'll probably start acquiring this list in the spring. Good luck with your project sir!
 
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