WIP-Indiana boy's first camp knife

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Python007

Joined
Aug 26, 2010
Messages
43
After looking for a quality camping knife, I came across some interesting finds. Ultimately it lead to me realizing that I could combine my love of fixing/making/building things, with my love of great cutting tools. So with nothing more than a front porch to start with, I attacked craigslist with everything I had. A cheap workbench, angle grinder, and some files later....and I was set. Here is the tale of my first blade.

I'm starting with a ground stock piece of 5160 steel that measures 1-3/4"x1/4"x12".

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I drew out the basic profile of the knife and cut off the excess with a cutoff wheel using my angle grinder.

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I attached a sanding flap wheel and removed the outside layers and began grinding the blade bevels into it.

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I rounded the front and then took a 1/4" drill bit, to scribe down the blade, marking the center. This way I can keep both sides even when grinding the bevel.

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I cut out a notch in the front of the blade, to make sharpening easier in the future, and also a long shallow notch in the back for a place to put your thumb when applying lots of pressure. I was hoping it would add some character and keep it from looking too 'plain', as well.

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I then went to work with the files to square everything up and add lot of angular touches to the guards.

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Now onto the handle design. Since this is a 1/4in thick steel, this is still too heavy, so to lessen the weight I'll be removing a good majority of material from the handle.

To do this I drilled holes in the four corners of the section I'm removing and then used a cut-off wheel on the angle grinder to connect to the dots length-wise. From there I used a small file to connect the dots width-wise. Just after breaking the section out, it looks like this.

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I went to work with the files to square everything and give it a cleaner look.

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This is what it looks like all squared up.

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I plan on wrapping the handle with paracord and possibly throwing some waterproof matches, and other small survival items, inside the opening. I also plan on making a sheath from black kydex.

I JUST got a 1x42 grinder that I used to remove all the nicks and give it a nice uniform/finished look. More pics soon to come. I plan on heat treating it myself and that will be documented as well.
 
hey it's starting to look like a knife! Keep at it and work on refining the shape a bit more.

I'm right behind you, I am getting ready to start my first knife from scratch this week. I did complete one from a blank already, and several folder rebuild/mods, but haven't done one I can call MY OWN yet.


-Xander
 
Thanks for the comments! Makes me feel like all the picture taking/posting was worth it, haha.

It has taken a long time without the grinder but it only made me love this little hobby even more. I got 2 knife blanks in the grinder deal that I'm gonna experiment with G10 and neoprene handles with. Excited. =D
 
The idea of storing stuff in the handle is neat. I wonder if the square corners might serve as stress risers weakening the handle? Can anyone enlighten us about what makes a stress riser?

Isn't it fun using a belt grinder after using just files?

LonePine
AKA Paul Meske, Wisconsin
 
Yeah some matches, fishing hooks, and fishing line should all fit no problem. Nothing major, but it wont cost anything extra and won't affect the knife any.

You know, I didn't even think of that. Maybe I will go in and round them off a bit before heat treating. I wanted the design to have a geometric squared look but I already rounded the outside handle edges some. That way the cord wouldn't get cut through. Thanks for the input.

Man, you aren't kidding! It's a luxury I don't think I could live without now. I told the girlfriend that it is my absolute, hands-down, favorite possession now. haha
 
Looks good, but I would take a small round file and round out at least the corners where your blade meets the guards. It will probably break there if you use it hard and you leave them square.
 
Hmm, I'll take that advice too. Thanks dfarm

I got the grinder from craigslist, barely used. It doesn't have any brand name of any kind. It says its a 1/3hp motor but it's quite powerful. I've seen vids of the $40 HF one, and this blows that one out of the water...even though they are they same hp. I saw that this one's motor is 9amps compared to the 3amp in the HF, though. It is indeed built pretty well, weighs probably 60lbs. I couldn't find any vendors still selling it....so I'm praying nothing goes wrong with it. =/ Its a shame, this thing is prefect so far.
 
Python007 said:
Hmm, I'll take that advice too. Thanks dfarm

I got the grinder from craigslist, barely used. It doesn't have any brand name of any kind. It says its a 1/3hp motor but it's quite powerful. I've seen vids of the $40 HF one, and this blows that one out of the water...even though they are they same hp. I saw that this one's motor is 9amps compared to the 3amp in the HF, though. It is indeed built pretty well, weighs probably 60lbs. I couldn't find any vendors still selling it....so I'm praying nothing goes wrong with it. =/ Its a shame, this thing is prefect so far.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, 9amps?! If I remember correctly that should be closer to 1hp. 1/4hp is usually right around 2-2.5amps. Nice grinder though! Sure do need to get me one of those.


-Xander
 
Yea, its weird...it says right on the motor: 1/3hp, 9amps, 60hz, phase 1.

If you search 1x42in grinders you come across many that are right in the $300 range but they say they are 1/3hp. I assumed there wasn't any reason to mess with one since the cheap HF one didn't seem like it would suffice, and its rated the same power. This thing is more than adequate, though. I managed to snag it for only $75 so keep an eye out for one of these! I highly recommend. Don't be fooled by hp numbers.
 
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