no idea

T

The Cape

Joined
Nov 15, 2010
Messages
7
Hey blade forums i REALLY want to make my own knife from scratch something i can use but i have ABSOLUTELY no idea what i am doing at all so would you guys be so kind as to tell me the tools ill need the metal i should use tags on how to make the knife etc. if you could do that it would be great thanks.
 
Ha Beat ya to it 12345678910! :D and I added the greenpete video's!:eek:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=694673

http://www.greenpete.co.uk/knife-making/

[youtube]5ysKd1cswlo[/youtube]

[youtube]yIvyPxyVKQc[/youtube]

[youtube]0XGnc8mgEBE[/youtube]

[youtube]JBcxo4ojmgo[/youtube]

Have you seen this ?

The Standard Reply to Newbies v9

The answer to a 13 year old student is different than to a 40 year old engineer.
We may recommend a local supplier, or you may have a helpful neighbour; but that depends on where you are.
Fill out your profile with your location (Country and State at least), age, education, employment.

Look at the threads stickied at the top; many are expired, but not all.

The basic process in the simplest terms

Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Printable PDF
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making Knives-Website

Detailed instructions by Stacy E.Apelt.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=694673


Books

A list of books and videos on the KnifeDogs Forum
http://www.knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=5285

BladeForums - E-books or Google books
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=603203

I like:
David Boye-Step by Step Knifemaking
Tim McCreight-Custom Knifemaking: 10 Projects from a Master Craftsman
These are clear, well organized, widely available and inexpensive too.

Knife Design:
On the Google books thread, you can find
Lloyd Harding drawings
and
the Loveless book with large variety of proven classic styles.
Google books thread


Forging Books:
Lorelei Sims-The Backyard Blacksmith
An excellent modern book with colour photos for forging in general - no knifemaking.

Jim Hrisoulas- has 3 books on forging knives. Check for the cheaper paperback editions.
The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way to Perfection
The Pattern-Welded Blade: Artistry in Iron
The Master Bladesmith: Advanced Studies in Steel

Machine Shop Basics -Books:
Elementary Machine Shop Practice

http://ia311316.us.archive.org/2/items/machineshoptool01dervgoog/machineshoptool01dervgoog.pdf


The $50 knife Shop
It confused me for a long time.
Forging is NOT necessary; you can just file and grind to create a knife (stock removal)

The goop quench is total Bull, commercial quench oils are available, even grocery store canola oil works much better.

Junkyard steels require skill and experience to identify the steel and heat treat it properly.
You can buy proper steel like 1084 very cheaply.

I like cable damascus, but that is an advanced project that has no place in a beginners book.

The home built grinders are the best thing about this book, but there is now a huge amount of info for 2x72” belt grinders on the web, including free plans.

Videos

Heat Treating Basics Video-downloadable
http://www.archive.org/download/gov.ntis.ava08799vnb1/ava08799vnb1_512kb.mp4

Many specific how to knifemaking videos are available, some are better than others.

The best overall Knifemaking video I have seen is
“Steve Johnson-Making a Sub-Hilt Fighter”

The best video on leather sheath making I have seen is
“Custom Knife Sheaths -Chuck Burrows - Wild Rose”
-(Paul Long has 2 new videos, his sheath work is fantastic. I hope the videos are too)

You can see a list of videos and reviews at this rental company; some are worth buying, some renting…
They are slow to get new titles and wait times are measured in months,
http://smartflix.com/store/category/9/Knifemaking

Green Pete's Free Video
Making a Mora bushcraft knife, stock removal, hand tools, neo tribal / unplugged heat treat.
"Green Pete" posted it free using torrent files.

Greenpete Knifemaking Basics-on TPB
You can also find it on YouTube broken into 4 parts.


Steel
The “welding steel” at Home Depot / Lowes… is useless for knives.
If you send out for heat treating, you can use A2, CM154, ATS34, s30v, 440C, plus many others.

If you heat treat yourself, find some 1070, 1080, 1084,
1084 FG sold by Aldo Bruno is formulated just for knifemaking.

You can find a list of suppliers here
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=699736

Aldo is highly rated.
http://njsteelbaron.com/


Heat Treating
You can send blades out for heat treating at $10 or $15 per blade for perfect results, and avoid buying the equipment.

This PDF brochure gives a good overview
http://www.buckknives.com/resources/pdf/Paul_Bos_Brochure.pdf

http://www.petersheattreat.com/
http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/about_us.php
http://www.knifemaker.ca/ (Canadian)


Grinder / Tools

Hand Tools
You can do it all by hand with files and abrasive cloth like the Green Pete video.

Photo of a nice bevel filing jig .
http://www.flemingknives.com/imagesPrime/FileStation/KPicB007.jpg

Entry Level Grinders
Many makers start with the Sears Craftsman 2x42 belt grinder.
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00921513000P?prdNo=3

Commercial Production 2 x 72” Belt Grinders
http://www.prometheanknives.com/shop-techniques-3/grinders

Mapp arm – Grinder Toolrest
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=466024


DIY 2 x 72” Belt Grinders

KMG Clone
Free Plans
http://www.dfoggknives.com/PDF/GrinderPlans.pdf

NWG No Weld Grinder
http://www.usaknifemaker.com/plans-for-the-no-weld-grinder-sander-nearly-50-pages-p-723.html

EERF Grinder (EERF =“Free” backwards)
Free plans
http://wilmontgrinders.com/EERFGrinder.aspx
http://blindhogg.com/blueprints.html

Buy the kit
http://polarbearforge.com/grinder_kit.html


Jason (w/thanks to 12345678910 :))
 
Last edited:
How do you start? You start at the beginning, of course!

Seriously, just START. You're not going to make an award winning knife your first time. It will probably be abominable to everyone but you. The Greenpete videos demonstrate a real basic and lowcost way to make a knife. Everyone makes their knives differently because of the skills and experience they have, the tools they have on hand, personal expectations, etc.

You probably aleady have most of what you need to start. The most basic tools that I can concieve of are a couple of clamps, a file, a hack saw, and miscenlaneous pieces of wood. Oh yea, just watch the Greenpete videos then jump in and make a SMALL knife. Small knives are quicker to make because you don't have as much steel to remove, especially if you're using a file. It's not magic. Just do it.

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
Hi Cape
What kind of tools do you have, I rescued some saw blades from the trash work, I could hear them calling me .They kept saying something about wanting to be turned into knives.
They are marked as HSS 57-59 ROCKWELL between 3/32 and 1/8 thick . You would have to be careful not to get the cutting edge hot otherwise your knife would be junk. What do you think, do you think you cas make a knife out of one?
Paul
 
What is the typical meaning of HSS when written on a circular saw blade? HSS could mean either "High Speed Steel" or "High Strength Steel". If it is the former, then the steel will probably have tungsten, and heat treating with primitive equipment will be a nightmare. For example, M1 has to be quenched from more than 2000F to harden and heated to 1000F for tempering. Contrast this against the about 1500F-400F needed for pedestrian carbon steels. (source ASM heat treater's guide)

IF the blades are high speed steel and are hard, in principle they can be machined into a blank. The good thing is that they will take more thermal punishment before they lose their temper.

Warning: I'm a super newbie here, I hope I did not upset the steel gurus by posting BS.
 
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