Well, first off, knifemaking is very addictive! Don't start unless you are sure you want to do it! It is alaso very rewarding and there is no feeling like using a knife that you have made yourself!
A good way to start is with kit knives. It allows you get used to putting handles on and finishing a knife without a lot of equipment and time and expense.
www.jantzsupply.com and Texas knifemakers supply is another place to get kits, steel, handle material, files, sandpaper, etc. I started with kits last December when I was home on break from college. By August this year, I had made 5 knives from scratch and sold 2 of them.
For the kits, get some files, sandpaper, drill press, vise, epoxy, pin material and a Dremel is always useful around the house or shop. Grinding your own blades needs a little more equipment, but not at first. Forging requires more stuff, so I won't get into that here.
Hacksaw, files, sandpaper, a vise, drill press and lots of time is how I made my first knife. I used O-1, 3/16" thick. O-1 is easy to file, pretty cheap and forgiving to work with and available thru several places. 1095 also has the same characteristics and is about $4 for 18" of it thru jantz.
Use the hacksaw and files to get the steel to the shape you want it to be. Then file the bevels down with the files and drill the holes for the handle. Heat treating of O-1 and 1095 can be done at home, but I haven't tried it, so maybe someone else can say what is needed. Use sandpaper and later on, buffing wheels to polish the blade and handle material. then put the handle on just like a kit knife, and repolish the whole thing. There is more to it than this, but I wanted to give you a quick description.
The most important piece of equipment is the drill press, which lets you drill straight holes. After that comes a good, stable vise to hold material and good files (nicholson if possible). A belt sander makes the work go a lot faster because you can profile the blade and grind the bevels much faster, better and you can convex and hollow grind on belt sanders, which are very difficult to do with files.
Your equipment you need depends on how you are making your knives. By hand with files requires lots less $$$ and equipment, but lots more time and patience. A good Belt sander is very expensive. A 1x30 or 1x42 is ok to start, but you soon get tired of them.
As for books, there are a few for beginners. Boyes book is very good, as is Loveless.
Good luck and email me with any questions! YOu can also search the shop talk and shop talk archives for info about knifemaking and kits and whatever esle you need!
