So where do I start?

Yes, I am the type of person that would buy $10000 worth of equipment without knowing how to use any of it. Not this time. Very good advice.
 
I started this past spring by getting some pre-made blades form http://www.texasknife.com (a local drive for me) and putting handles on them. The first ones were paracord wraps, then I moved to wood and synthetics.

I then purchased a Grizzly 2x72 belt grinder and some O1 tool steel. I had JMA heat treat do the heat treating, and let IMFCO do the painting. The results were some great steel, excellent heat treating, and a coating that could almost hide how crummy I was. I could have done the whole thing with files, but I wanted to do larger blades, and elbow grease isn't my specialty.

After that, I decided that I wanted to harden my own steel, so I made a one brick forge. I've acquired a DuraCoat starter kit, but haven't painted a blade yet (The last one looked better in it's standard silver color).

All the while, I've experimented with different handle materials from free Hickory and Pecan logs I've been given to stabilized wood, G10, and Micarta. At the same time, I've experimented with blade and handle shapes.

I've sold four knives now, and I'm hoping that I'll continue to do so not for profit, but so that my hobby becomes self sustaining.
 
Read everything on this forum. Every day, useful information moves to page two before it gets read, and its all good stuff. I try to read every post, even if its on a technique I dont need to learn or think I already know. Theres so much to learn that itd be crazy to try to learn it all before you started. Grinding 50$ worth of mild steel will teach you more about grinding than any reading on how to grind. I would jump in using whatever tools you have and read some on the basics. nothing will teach you the right way of doing things like doing them the wrong way and being forced to do it over.
 
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