Questions?? and need advice

M

Mike in SC

Joined
Feb 11, 2014
Messages
3
Hello, just found this forum, and the amount of info is incredible! I am very new to handmade/custom knives.

I'm interested in trying to make a few knives for a special gift. To get started, I was thinking of buying the pre-made blades from a reputable knife making supplier, and installing and finishing the scales.

Now the questions.

1- I like the look of damascus, but haven't been able to find much on its qualities? The knives will get a workout on deer.

2- If not damascus, my next choice from what I've read would be S30V, but I have not been able to find it pre-made. Best so far has been 440 c

3- The blades come heat treated, do I want the cryo too?

4- What are the minimal tools I need to get started?

As I said, this is all new to me so I appreciate any suggestions you guys have. And, Im sure I'll have a lot more questions.

Mike
 
Hello! I'm new to everything here too. I can however tell you the basic tools that you would need if you are planning on buying pre-made blades. You will need material for your handle. This brings up the question of are you buying a full tang or hidden tang. If you are getting a full tang knife then you want to buy scales. If you are getting hidden tang then you want a block. You could also buy a block of material you like and cut it into scales if you so choose. You will need tools to remove wood such as files, rasps, sanders etc. Drill to drill holes into your scales if you are doing a full tang or to drill a hole into your block for your tang on a hidden tang knife. Epoxy is needed to glue the handle material to the knife and then you need a vice to clamp everything together for about 24 hours while the epoxy sets up. Please take this all with a grain of salt as I am just getting into stuff too and I haven't had time to practice myself. I just ordered my first chunk of steel and am looking for advice myself. My suggestion is to watch some youtube videos on knife making. My favorite knife maker to watch is trollsky. The video at the bottom is of trollsky making a knife with a pre-made blade so I think you will get a lot of information out of watching it. Hope this helped and good luck!

Andy

[video=youtube;yDUl282WsSY]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDUl282WsSY[/video]
 
Oh also on the damascus point. As a deer hunter myself I would rather use a non damascus blade on a deer, or any skinning job. To me damascus is just pretty, but this is just my humble opinion. This isn't to say that you cant use damascus on a skinning job. You just gotta make sure that you clean the steel off real well and get some oil on it when you are done. Again hope this helps.
 
For a full tang you will also need pins that will go through the scales and the knife to hold them all together. There are a bunch of knife making sites where you can buy pins. http://www.knifemaking.com/ Is one and is where I bought my steel from and another one I've often looked at is http://www.usaknifemaker.com/. They have their pins under their handle material and hardware tab and they call them rods & tubes. There are also mosaic tubes and pins at either site.
 
Your best choices will be a quality stainless steel. CPM-S35VN would be excellent for a skinner/hunter. It can be purchased from New Jersey Steel Baron, USA Knifemaker, and many other suppliers. Have the HT done professionally .
 
Here's the thing...

Knife kits are generally not made for the discriminating custom knife loving crowd. They are made for hobbyists that want to add their own personal touches to a run-of-the-mill blade (or fakers that want to pretend to be custom knifemakers). Don't get me wrong, the blade will be fine for what they are. You'll just have a hard time finding anything exception in kit form.

On the other hand, there are many reputable makers that sell blade blanks and even finished blades that just need handles. You have to know where to look, and that usually isn't a knife supply store. Such makers are generally pretty proud of their work (my wife's euphamism for "expensive"), but you get what you pay for.

When I first started off I did much the same as you are doing... bought some blades and added handles. I had the good fortune of discovering these reputable blade makers because they were showing their work in a gallery, and that gallery also caried the unfinished blades. They are still exceptional blades, despite the fact that I made the handles! :) Oh, and to give you a sense... I paid $200 - $250 for those blades.

So if you really want something exceptional, be willing to look around some. Otherwise, content yourself with 440c blades, because that's generally what you'll find in kit form.
 
Thank you for the replies so far. I was looking at the pre-made blades to kind of learn and practice a little of the assembly and scale shaping side of things. Definitely not trying to pass it off as "custom" by any means, just a little personal.

Bladesmth thanks for the suggestion, will definitely be getting some in the future.

Since finding a local mentor might be tough, what books or videos are suggested?

Mike
 
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