MrTroubleSnake
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Messages
- 142
Hey custom knife makers, what materials do you need to make a knife? I was just curious what materials custom knife makers require to make such beautiful knives
-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
What do you need to make a knife?
- Thread starter MrTroubleSnake
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 12, 2006
- Messages
- 2,506
Not to sound flippant, but the most important requirements are desire, knowledge, and skill. After that, a good piece of steel is the only requirement for material. Everything else is optional. 
Maybe someone else can answer better.
Maybe someone else can answer better.
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2002
- Messages
- 2,954
The main thing you need to make a knife, is the unquenchable desire to make one. If you have that, then you'll find a way to do it, somehow, any way you can.
- Joined
- Apr 17, 2009
- Messages
- 627
Anyone can make a knife out of just about anything. However, I'm still trying to figure out how to make a good knife... And I think that will take a lifetime.
In addition, go to the "shop-talk" part of the forum; use the "search" function and all your technical questions will be answered.
-M
In addition, go to the "shop-talk" part of the forum; use the "search" function and all your technical questions will be answered.
-M
- Joined
- Dec 20, 2009
- Messages
- 4,421
The short answer is, a piece of carbon steel, a piece of handle material, some time and some tools.
A better answer is; to make a knife like some of the ones we see here, you need some pretty sophisticated tools and a working knowledge of how to put them to use. A considerable amount of space to do it all in. You need some understanding people around you that don't mind all the spare time used up for knife making, time spent with customers and the vacation time and airfare spent on knife shows instead of places like Cancun, and all the dirt.
A wife or someone else with a job that has benefits like health insurance is helpful.
Most of all you need a lifetime of dedication and devotion (to make some like the ones you see on here), a sense of style, almost an instinct for flow, balance and design.
Some of the things it takes to make a good knife can be acquired by anybody, some of them take a lot of work to get and some of them, you just have to be born with or find deep within you. It's an illusive thing.
A good knife should last a long time, feel good in your hand, do the job that it was intended to do well, move gracefully and touch something inside you.
Some of us "Get it", some of us will get it, some of us are working at it and some will just not understand.
One thing is for sure, you will not see a forum like this for something like a screw driver.
I'm sorry, I got carried away. I re-read you question and see you were asking more about materials. That's really the easy part. The knife making materials "for sale" area of this forum is full of the sought after materials for knife makers
A better answer is; to make a knife like some of the ones we see here, you need some pretty sophisticated tools and a working knowledge of how to put them to use. A considerable amount of space to do it all in. You need some understanding people around you that don't mind all the spare time used up for knife making, time spent with customers and the vacation time and airfare spent on knife shows instead of places like Cancun, and all the dirt.
A wife or someone else with a job that has benefits like health insurance is helpful.
Most of all you need a lifetime of dedication and devotion (to make some like the ones you see on here), a sense of style, almost an instinct for flow, balance and design.
Some of the things it takes to make a good knife can be acquired by anybody, some of them take a lot of work to get and some of them, you just have to be born with or find deep within you. It's an illusive thing.
A good knife should last a long time, feel good in your hand, do the job that it was intended to do well, move gracefully and touch something inside you.
Some of us "Get it", some of us will get it, some of us are working at it and some will just not understand.
One thing is for sure, you will not see a forum like this for something like a screw driver.
I'm sorry, I got carried away. I re-read you question and see you were asking more about materials. That's really the easy part. The knife making materials "for sale" area of this forum is full of the sought after materials for knife makers
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 8, 2009
- Messages
- 1,533
Some guys work with pretty minimal tooling, basically a drill, some files, sandpaper, and lots of elbow grease. The truth is, if you can't manage a small knife with this kind of set-up, you might think twice about investing in expensive equipment. Patience is probably more important than any single piece of equipment or supplies, and unfortunately you can't buy it at the hardware store.
- Joined
- Sep 11, 2008
- Messages
- 70
You can make a perfectly good knife with a couple files and some sandpaper. There are knife makers in your area, make contact and go visit them. They can show you first hand what, how, when, ect. Justin said it right, some of us have invested the price of a pretty good house in our shops and equipment. I don't recommend that you make a knife.......usually drives you to make the 2nd one, then on and on......it can get expensive. Get the book by Loveless, (how to make knives), there is a video out as well. It'll show you everything. Hope this helps, good luck.
John I.
Messermacher
John I.
Messermacher