Noob question

Y

YuriM

Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
169
I'm a beginning knife maker, about to try my hand at stock removal (which seems the simplest way to start out). Just got my first bar of 440C and am looking to make a puukko-type knife with it. I have the design (painstakingly drawn and measured out).

What's the best way to trace it onto the steel? Would cutting the design out of card paper and then tracing with a pencil be OK?

I'm not stoopid, just want to avoid making a bunch of dumb newbie mistakes.
 
The best thing is to get a can of Dykem layout dye. It's made for this purpose. You coat the surface and then scribe your design with a metal tipped scribe. This won't rub off while working on the piece like pencil would. You can find Dykem online or at a local industrial supply store. Forget about Harbor Freight or Home Depot. A cheap alternative is to color the workpiece with a sharpie and then scribe your design, but Dykem works a lot better and is easier to apply.

John
 
guys - you need to try the new "silver/gray" sharpie markers. I marked up a blade, sent it to Roger for heat-treat and cryo. When I got it back - marks still there.

Great stuff.
 
Dykem works good.So do the paint markers available in the craft section at K-mart.I lable all my metal with a white marker,never had it rub off.
 
Transfering your pattern to cardboard or plexiglass is a good idea. You might consider marking the pin layout on your pattern and transfering the pin centers to the steel at the time you lay it out. I'm on board with Dykem too. I find the brush kind works better for me than the spray, for what that's worth. And yes, a Sharpie works well too. :)

Good luck with your first knife! You've chosen a potentially difficult project, which will make it most rewarding. :D As you've found this is a good place to ask your questions. This forum has done more to accelerate the skills of more makers than I can imagine. It's a fantastic community; welcome!
 
Thanks a lot for the help and support, guys! :D

Being the hasty person I am, I opted for the sharpie method, since that's what I had closest at hand.

Thanks for the tutorial, Sando. One problem is that the only power tool I have that's pertinent to knifemaking is a drill press. After having spent an entire evening laboring away with a hacksaw, I'm seriously considering investing in a bandsaw. :(
 
Yuri,

Before investing in a bandsaw do you have a high-tension hacksaw and a bimetal blade?

Seriously, if you

* clamp the steel very tight in a vice
* keep the line you are cutting very close to the jaws
* use a high-tension saw
* fresh, good quality bi-metal blade
* use cutting oil

you'll be amazed how fast it goes.

Steve
 
Daniel Koster said:
guys - you need to try the new "silver/gray" sharpie markers. I marked up a blade, sent it to Roger for heat-treat and cryo. When I got it back - marks still there.

Great stuff.
Click to expand...

Pay attention to Dan, He is right those silver sharpie's really work great even on wood, micarta etc.

Jerry
 
Manila envelops cut out cleaner for the pattern....draw your pattern on paper - cut it out - trace that on the manila envelope - cut that out - trace the steel.....use dykem then scratch the shape. I tried to use a sharpie but it still frutrated me.
 
Sando said:
Yuri,

Before investing in a bandsaw do you have a high-tension hacksaw and a bimetal blade?

Seriously, if you

* clamp the steel very tight in a vice
* keep the line you are cutting very close to the jaws
* use a high-tension saw
* fresh, good quality bi-metal blade
* use cutting oil

you'll be amazed how fast it goes.

Steve
Click to expand...

Yuri, don't listen to Steve, he's into masochism in a major way! :D Go spend the $180 or so for a band saw, you'll thank yourself every day. I mean it. My shop rule for buying tools goes like this: drill press, 2X72 grinder (or substitute but don't delay replacing it with a reasonably decent machine), metal cutting bandsaw. If you have those three tools there's really nothing you can't do with dispatch.

Hacksaw indeed!!! Steve, I gotta appreciate your work ethic. :D But I respectfully submit, you're a nut! :D :D :D

ROTFLMAO,
 
Sando said:
Yuri,

Before investing in a bandsaw do you have a high-tension hacksaw and a bimetal blade?

Seriously, if you

* clamp the steel very tight in a vice
* keep the line you are cutting very close to the jaws
* use a high-tension saw
* fresh, good quality bi-metal blade
* use cutting oil

you'll be amazed how fast it goes.

Steve
Click to expand...

I've got all of that except the bi-metal blade. Just used a pack of blades I had lying around. Prior to that the only use I put my hacksaw to was cutting through copper and pvc piping, nothing close to the level of blade-quality steel.

*Runs off to make amends to shopping list*

Might as well try my best with the hacksaw, since it's going to be a while before I can get a bandsaw. Budget issues... :(
 
"Budget issues." Leave it to Steve to hone (!) in on the crux of any situation. :D

Good luck, have fun, share your results. That's what keeps us all going!
 
Leave it to you Dave, always the easy way out ;) ;)

Yuri, many guys drill holes around the outline of the blade before using the hand saw. But that didn't save me any time.

I'm not kidding on the saw. It has to be a HIGH-TENSION saw, not a normal hacksaw. This is the one I use http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00002X224/103-2534379-2223061?v=glance

Note that it holds the blade with tension up to 32,000psi

Then a cobalt - bimetal blade.

Before I bought the bandsaw, it took 10 to 15 minutes to cut a blade out of 1/8" S30V.

Steve
 
Sando said:
Before I bought the bandsaw, it took 10 to 15 minutes to cut a blade out of 1/8" S30V.
Click to expand...

:eek: :eek: :eek: It took me that long to cut about 2 inches...

I think I'll seriously look into this high-tension hacksaw stuff.
 
Steve, you are the man!

I got a high-tension hacksaw just as you recommended and in 10 minutes I got through more steel than I had during the previous three evenings. :D :D :D

Stopped to go and watch the presidential debate... :barf:

I think I'm gonna go back to the knife now, I just have a little sawing left.
 
Good news Yuri, glad that worked out for you. Just remember to always be cutting next to the vice, as close as possible. It means re-clapping the steel alot, but if the steel doesn't vibrate it's really amazing.

Bad decision to stop knife making to watch the debate. I was going to watch it, but opted for a root canal.

Steve
 
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