New to knife making --

A

Anitcol

Joined
May 28, 2014
Messages
7
Good afternoon every one, i'm new to the forums and new to knife making. I have been reading the endless stickies and articles on knife making and it's all over whelming so I decided to make a post to see how well i'm understanding it all.

To begin, I have NOT started any knife or project, i'm simply gathering materials, tools and basic knowledge. To instill on this, I do not have a lot of money to buy tons of tools so I am sticking to the absolute bare-basics - Luckily my grandfathers shop (He passed away few years ago) has more tools than any human being ever needs so I have taken what I feel I wanted.

Current gatherings:
-O1 steel thats 1/8'' thick, 1'' wide and 1.5'' wide
-Nicholson files - (I can gather others if needed like rat tails or triangles) Mill bastard, flat bastard, 2nd cutout, half round, flat smooth. I also grabbed a file card to keep them clean.
-Vices
-Enderes anvil (Not sure if its really needed)
-Many size C-Clamps (Never have enough right?)
-Access to heat and oil (Acetylene torch, propane torches for HT)
-House oven for temper
-Access to a drill press
-Hacksaw with Nicholson Bi-Metal Hacksaw Blades
-Hand Grinder (Just about every wheel possible)
-Sharpies
-eyewear
-Cardboard to cut out a "practice" template (Seen this tip on this website, loved it)
-Measurement tools (Tape measure, micrometers and calipers) But I feel they're overkill haha
-Block of wood
-Various grades of sand paper

While my grandfathers shop does have a belt grinder, I will not be taking it.
Besides pins, handle material such as wood, and epoxy glue, would my above supplies be suffice? I plan to make a couple simple full tang knives to get a feel for everything.
 
If you're going to HT yourself, I'd recommend a simpler steel like 1084 or 1080 instead of O1. O1 has high hardenability, but you need to hold it at temperature for a while, which is pretty much impossible with a torch. However if you have your heart set on using O1, you could send it out to be heat treated. That aside, it looks like you're all set. Have fun diving into it, but keep researching. The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you know "enough".
 
You've got the tool steel and tools, jump in to it
Files and sandpaper.
See the first ones as learning projects. Like James said, don't think you know it all, you'll never know it all.
maybe make a broach to make a slot in hidden tang handle blocks as well. Use the 1" wide for that afterwards
 
James Hall said:
If you're going to HT yourself, I'd recommend a simpler steel like 1084 or 1080 instead of O1. O1 has high hardenability, but you need to hold it at temperature for a while, which is pretty much impossible with a torch. However if you have your heart set on using O1, you could send it out to be heat treated. That aside, it looks like you're all set. Have fun diving into it, but keep researching. The biggest mistake you can make is thinking you know "enough".
Click to expand...

I have yet to find a local steel store that does not have to order it themselves or want your first born child. So I went ahead and bought O1 steel. If I can't heat treat it correctly with the torch, i'll make a soup can forge or a mini-forge with 2 fire bricks ; heres a video of one I learned of in action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bunCG6W6dA


And of course, I won't know everything. Their's so much to learn about everything!
 
if your wanting to get a different type of steel i recommend Aldo from New Jersey steel baron. they have just about every steel you need or want for a beginner/intermediate knife maker.
 
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