To What Degree Are You Directly Involved In Your Knifemaking ?

[Dave Behrens]

If I used modern stainless alloys, I would definitely outsource the HT.

Yep. I remember reading a quote somewhere(might have been here), about a maker(I don't remember the name) who HT's CPM 3V himself, and he uses 3 separate 24" Paragon kilns cycling at the same time. I do not even want to know what his electrical bill looks like, not to mention the around 6 grand he spent on the kilns themselves, or what he spend on Cryo supplies each month.

 

[Robert Carter]

I would love to make my own Damascus. I know how to and I have before but due to my work schedule I just don't have the time to dedicate to making Damascus, so I buy it in billet or bar form as well as all the other steels I work with. The only things on my knives that I don't make are the screws. Everything else is from raw materials.

 

[Troop]

I forge, grind, and HT everything myself.

 

[theHobbyist]

I do none of it myself... I'm the lonely kit guy up there... Still trying to get tooled up to try my hand at stock removal... Because I live in a condo I'll probably never know the joys of forging or heat treating...

 

[M forge]

I have only finished about 15-17 knives, but I forge grind and HT my own blades. I make my own sheaths also.

 

[Rick Marchand]

I do none of it myself... I'm the lonely kit guy up there... Still trying to get tooled up to try my hand at stock removal... Because I live in a condo I'll probably never know the joys of forging or heat treating...

Nothing wrong with that. Sing it proud, my friend.

Just imagine all the "real knifemakers" that would not consider you a "True Knifemaker" by doing that

I know, eh? Totally unfair.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

I currently forge and/or grind 95% of my knives. I make a small number of semi-commercial knifes from Japanese blanks. Some profiles I have cut and do the grinding myself. I do my own carbon steel HT, and stainless HT when it is just one knife and I don't have time to wait. The stainless steel usually gets sent out in batches of 20-40 blades. Every one comes back dead straight, and hardness tested for my requested hardness.

 

[Rick Marchand]

/snip/... I make a small number of semi-commercial knifes from Japanese blanks... /snip/

Oh no you di-in't!

 

[AVigil]

Oh no you di-in't!

Well Rick.... some people are also "Handle makers"

 

[Rick Marchand]

I was referring to the typo.

 

[dperk]

I forge, grind, and HT my own blades. I recently started working with stainless for the kitchen. Just started making leather sheaths too.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

On my custom knives I do everything-start to finish-unless the steel is something I can't heat treat.
My "normal" work is repair/restoration of automatics and I make all the needed parts.

 

[james terrio]

Every one comes back dead straight, and hardness tested for my requested hardness.

Same here, and I feel that's worth every penny. Those two little divots in the tang from the Rockwell tester, and the invoice saying exactly what hardness my blades are, are like rays of sunshine to my eyes

 

[quint]

Right now I am I guess a stock removal guy only because my forging is not up to the point that I finish very many of the ones I attempt to forge out. I love forging, far better then just grinding. Everything else I do myself. I am pretty good at sheaths so will do that myself.

Things that I will change. One is to get a power hammer and a surface grinder one of these days. Build a better forge now that I have some experience and can taylor it more to what I need it used for. Oh and for my stock removal blades once I get some set patterns I will be looking for a water jet guy. I find it a huge waste if you will of my resources (time, grinder disks, belts, .....) trying to cut the initial shape out of the stock steel. Or atleast a good bandsaw. Another reason I like forging so much, stick the end of a bar in the forge and go to town.

 

[theHobbyist]

Nothing wrong with that. Sing it proud, my friend.

Thats why I like this place... every one is so supportive

Well Rick.... some people are also "Handle makers"

I don't even make them, I just sand them into submission HAHAHAHA

I see there's another kit person here =) glad to know I'm not alone...

I do have a question about this though. If I'm not able to do stock removal, and have someone rough cut the blank for me and all I do is file it then send it out to heat treating etc... is that still a kit?

I only as because I seem to remember reading in a post that someone cut blanks...

 

[james terrio]

I do have a question about this though. If I'm not able to do stock removal, and have someone rough cut the blank for me and all I do is file it then send it out to heat treating etc... is that still a kit?

Cutting out blanks is the easy part. I can cut and grind to profile almost in my sleep... and in fact anyone with reasonable hand-eye coordination could. It's just not a high-skill operation.
In my opinion, if you're designing it, grinding/filing the bevels (the most important part), and finishing/assembling/sharpening it, you're a knifemaker.

 

[JBS TOOLMAKER]

Same here, and I feel that's worth every penny. Those two little divots in the tang from the Rockwell tester, and the invoice saying exactly what hardness my blades are, are like rays of sunshine to my eyes

I send out some of my stainless to BOS. I still check The hardness myself though.

 

[tryppyr]

I love polls. I see "I assemble knife kits" is only one behind "I smelt my own steel, grind and heat treat". Of course in those ranges it means the smelters are 33% more numerous than the kitters.

 

[tryppyr]

By the way, Rick, you should have added an extra bonus option "I don't do sheaths". Apparently the two sheath options offered are missing a significant number of responders.

 

[Rick Marchand]

By the way, Rick, you should have added an extra bonus option "I don't do sheaths". Apparently the two sheath options offered are missing a significant number of responders.

Greg if you make a knife with the intent of never having it sheathed in any way.... you are hereby disqualified from knifemaking, altogether!

Obviously I am having fun... but a blade worthy of being made should be worthy of being protected.