which tools to use? beginner maker

[kellygoose]

Hello,

My question is which of my tools would you use in making knives. Been practicing a bit with mild steel but I have some O1 and some 1084 on the way.

I will cut the blanks to length with my cold saw.

For cutting out the blanks I have a plasma cutter, grinder with cut off wheel or any other disc, drill press, hacksaw, and of course files. Plasma cutting would be the simplest, fastest, and I could make patterns to make multiple knives very quickly. I am worried about the heat though, I could anneal it after cutting, or leave a bit extra to take off later.. thoughts? Cut off wheel on grinder seems next best.. Do I need to periodically cool the steel? Then there's drill and hacksaw..

To clean it up and start the bevel I have a 3x21 handheld belt sander with pretty decent power, I can mount it upright or horizontal and grind as those do with the 2x72s.. What will be the disadvantages of this compared to the 2x72? Belts wear quicker? Also have bench grinder, flap disc on the handheld grinder is another option but these tend to be hard to get much precise control. And of course there's the classic file.

Just curious what tools you all would use in what stages if you were stuck in my garage making knives.. Thanks

 

[peppen108]

I have only made 15 blades so I am a rookie to. But with the tools you got and some determination you should be able to make just about any simple knife. Maybe some smaler precision files and a fresh mechanics file and som good sandpapers (80-1000 grit) for metal will save you som time. But my advice is to just get started, make good with what you have and make it up as you go along.

I made the knife below with a file, saw, drill, workbench and stuff from the kitchen.



http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...k-up-knife-hand-tooled-WIP-Pic-s-bonanza-Done!!!

 

[kellygoose]

Thanks for reply. Yea ive got tons of sandpaper as well, no true flat surface though, I've used glass for all my measurements with height gauge and what not so far. That has been good enough for what I build and will probably be fine for starting out with knives.

Just curious if anyone has used a 3x21 handheld belt sander in knife making and what the major drawbacks are. I've got plenty of various grit/material belts for it and have had somewhat decent success in grinding bevels.