Noob Question: Reducing thickness of steel

A

Aran H

Joined
Jan 27, 2020
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Hi there!

Long time lurker, first time poster.

I am about to jump into the world of knife making and make my first blade via stock removal. I have a piece of carbon steel that is 4mm thick, I am looking to craft a thin pairing knife from this. I am looking to reduce the thickness of the entire blank to 2mm before commencing work on shaping the bevel, what is the best way to do this to the entire piece? (I am not looking to achieve a distal taper or anything of that nature).

Many thanks in advance,
Aran
 
Surface grinder, but even then it's a lot of material to remove. Get the right size stock for the knife you want to do.
 
Well if you're a long time lurker, then you should already know that we use primarily belt grinders. What kinda tools do you have?
 
R.C.Reichert said:
Well if you're a long time lurker, then you should already know that we use primarily belt grinders. What kinda tools do you have?
Click to expand...
I have a 72x2 belt grinder coming to me in the next week or so, in addition to that I have a drill press and will be picking up a band saw shortly.
 
You may burn more in belts thinning it out, than it would take to get the right thickness of stock.

If you leave the tang full thickness and only grind the blade thinner it might be easier.

They do make surface grinder attachments for grinders, but they are pricey.
 
Doing that for your first knife will likely give you a bad first impression of making knives and make ya head in the opposite direction lol. Even having a decent belt grinder and a VFD disc grinder, I would get a headache trying to take half the stock off the thickness, then having to get it straight and flat before even starting to work on the knife.

I'm with 3fifty7, pick up a piece of the correct size stock, it will definitely save you a lot of time, trouble, and headaches. Focus on learning the basics, such as designing, profiling, beveling, getting pin hole located and drilling them, etc. You'll enjoy the process more and have a much better chance at finishing the knife when starting with the right stock. Just my 2 cents.

~Paul
My Youtube Channel
... (Some older vids of some of the older knives I made)
 
The advice is all the right one - get a bar of the right size stock. It is dirt cheap in 2mm (.07- .o8"). What steel are you using?
 
He is only talking about thinning it about 1/16" right? ... if I needed to thin it I would cut it to the length I want then stick it to a welding magnet and grind away
 
He is taking 4mm/.16" steel to 2mm/.08". Yes it can be ground away, but why waste a belt that is worth more than the steel.
 
Hello there, I was in the same situation recently. You will be saving yourself a ton of time and work by ordering steel that is already the thickness you are looking for.
 
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