Preliminary question

T

The_Dave

Joined
Dec 5, 2008
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An LEO acquaintance of mine was asking me about the possibility of working up some knives. He does lots of martial arts training, and asked about the possibility of a knife that would fit horizontally on the utility belt with a slight curve to it so that it conforms better to the waistline.

Is this feasible? If so, what would be the best way to go about it, with limited tools available? I'm thinking most if not all the bend would be in the handle area rather than the blade.
 
Your profile says you have just gotten interested in knives... have you made one before?

If not, I would probably shy away from making your first for someone else. There is a learning curve for making quality knives.... the design aspect is just the tip of the iceberg. It is a very fulfilling art and you can take it as far as you like, but it is a slow start in acquiring the tools, knowledge and experience to make a trustworthy blade.

Rick
 
I've done a few, so I have experience with the process, but I lack the funds to get most of the nifty tools that are out there to make knifemaking easier.

Here's one I did recently for a friend:

IMAG0051.jpg
 
Do you do your own heat treat? Depending on how you want to go about making the knife for your friend, you may need to be able to bend the steel. The design is completely up to you and him.... most things can be done.


Rick
 
Yessir, usually just in a campfire but I'm trying to locate some firebricks around here somewhere so I can get something going that's a little more controllable.
 
While your knife shown is a nice early attempt, it is in no way a professional job.
I'm not raining on you parade, but the knife project you describe will take more experience and technical skill than you now posses. The primary thing in a knife design is the function. This knife will be a martial arts and self defense knife. Such use will require expert construction and spot on HT. Files and a camp fire ( or a two brick oven) won't do it. This knife will need to be 100% reliable if and when it is used. A bad HT or a snapped blade won't be tolerable when someones life is at stake.
There are some practical issues with a laterally curved knife and/or handle, but that is for another discussion.

I would suggest that you politely decline the job.
 
Excellent points. Thanks for the shot in the arm, I wasn't thinking about that. You're absolutely right! :thumbup:
 
That knife looks better than a "nice early attempt", except from here it's impossible to assess the HT. Compare it with some of the hand-made knives you see for sale around here and it really shines. Frankly I'm amazed at what some people are able to sell. If you did that same quality of work but sent it to a professional for heat treating, I'd say you'd have a pretty good knife.
 
Tippet, thanks for the kind words. I have a very threadbare setup and follow the heat treating basics outlined here and on other forums as closely as possible, but of course I'm no professional and so who knows how the HT turned out... I just know that I used a 4x36 belt/disc sander and a Sharpmaker to sharpen the thing, and it shaved hair off my arm, so I decided it must have turned out alright.

Stacy is spot on, I shouldn't pretend that these would be G2G in self-defense situations with the equipment and experience I have now. I don't have a hardness tester or anything else to ensure a good HT (heck, even the magnet I use to check if it's above magnetic out of the fire is one of those 6th grade science jobs, with the copper wire around a nail and a D battery...:foot:) so these are far from professional.

I'm learning more with each one though, so I suppose that's good. I sure do like my handles though :D But it's easy when you start with nice looking stuff.

Hengelo, I thought so too, but I wasn't going to question the guy... Break me in half with one hand, he could! :eek:
 
The_Dave said:
I just know that I used a 4x36 belt/disc sander and a Sharpmaker to sharpen the thing, and it shaved hair off my arm, so I decided it must have turned out alright.
Click to expand...

I made a knife out of titanium as one of my first knives. I sent it to RichardJ to get sharpened and it is the sharpest knife I have ever seen, on the same level as a scalpel or razor blade. However, I know that it won't hold that edge, because titanium doesn't hold an edge. Sharpness doesn't necessarily mean that the HT is correct. It simply means that it was sharpened.

Now, I'm trying to think how a curved knife for hiding inside a belt would work. Something like this?
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8516335&postcount=23
 
Hengelo_77 said:
Wouldn't a knife like that be very akward to use?
Click to expand...

could be, and might also be a challenge to sharpen depending on the person sharpening it. I understand why the guy wants it curved, the idea is to let it fit his body...seems like by now, someone must have already tried it.
 
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