Make your own knife

bradnailer

For those of you that would like to make your own knives but are put off by lack of equipment etc I'm going to post a few links.
Buy a blade, handle material etc, put them together with some research and little work you've got a custom knife that's professionally hardened and tempered and has a handle that fits "you"

http://www.thegoodstuffshop.dk/group.asp?group=940

http://www.highlandhorn.com/index.asp

http://nordellknives.com/indexx.shtml

http://www.weberknives.com/

http://www.knifescales.com/

Really the list is endless and for information and tutorials check out

http://www.britishblades.com/home/

I made this from a blade bought from bog standard blade company, I modified the blade a little but the handle is all mine and fits my hand perfectly







It's not rocket science and I guarantee you'll never be as proud of a knife as one you've worked yourself, give it a go you'll be surprised with the results.

darrenon

bradnailer wrote: »

For those of you that would like to make your own knives but are put off by lack of equipment etc I'm going to post a few links.
Buy a blade, handle material etc, put them together with some research and little work you've got a custom knife that's professionally hardened and tempered and has a handle that fits "you"

http://www.thegoodstuffshop.dk/group.asp?group=940

http://www.highlandhorn.com/index.asp

http://nordellknives.com/indexx.shtml

http://www.weberknives.com/

http://www.knifescales.com/

Really the list is endless and for information and tutorials check out

http://www.britishblades.com/home/

I made this from a blade bought from bog standard blade company, I modified the blade a little but the handle is all mine and fits my hand perfectly







It's not rocket science and I guarantee you'll never be as proud of a knife as one you've worked yourself, give it a go you'll be surprised with the results.

Looks class
thanks for the info

fish slapped

Good post Bradnailer, you got me thinking :)

davymoore

Good to see the knifemaking posts Badnailer

Here's one I finished today.

• Drop Point Skinner
• 5" CPM154 Blade
• 9 1/2" OAL
• Hollow Ground
• Quilted Maple Handle
• Red Micarta Liners
• Brass Finger Guard & Lanyard Loop
• Single Mosaic Pin
• Had Stitched Leather Sheath

davymoore

Another one finished up today. This time a Celtic style Bowie, This one is heading with me to The KnivesUK show in Bristol next week

• 7 3/4" 440SS Blade
• 12 1/2" OAL
• Sambar Stag Antler Handle
• Celtic Silver Work Fittings
• Hand Sewn Leather Sheath

Thanks for looking

Davy

jwshooter

mick dundee ,special

bradnailer

Busy day Davy finished 2 knives
See folks that's how easy it is you can finish two in one day, really the "point" of the thread is for people that aren't knife makers to have ago themselves.
I'd love for people to have a go and post their knives.

Sorry about the about the thread title Make you own knife "your"

E mc kiernan

The celtis one is just class...:D

davymoore

bradnailer wrote: »

Busy day Davy finished 2 knives
See folks that's how easy it is you can finish two in one day, really the "point" of the thread is for people that aren't knife makers to have ago themselves.
I'd love for people to have a go and post their knives.

Sorry about the about the thread title Make you own knife "your"

Yeah right!! that bowie took me almost weeks to complete today just happened to be the last day

Seriously though , you guys should really give knifemaking a try, you don't really need many tools to get started and there are loads of tutorials available on the net.

Davy

bradnailer

So,take the lovely Custom Celtic hunting knife Davy kindly posted
Similar parts are available on line and with some TLC you've got your own custom hunter

Blade :

Guard :

Ferrule :

Handle :

Hilt :

With a little research, some basic tools there's no reason most people couldn't take these parts and turn out a beautiful knife of their own.

Even better start out with a basic kit that comes with all the parts it will help you get a feel for knife making without breaking the bank

syklops

Can I jump in?

My background is in Computer Security, and the links the OP has provided is like me saying "Its easy to hack into the pentagon" and then giving a link to nmap, metasploit, and nessus.

What I mean to say is with out the correct knowledge you will go no where.

As a hunter (snipe, woodcock, and on a good day a pheasent), and as a person who likes making things, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to give a more verbose guide to making a knife. The reason I ask is that I will soon be marrying a rather beautiful,and smart polish girl, and I am trying to win favour with her woodsman father, and so, making a custom knife for him for his birthday might be a nice candidate for my first project(come to think of it, my first successful project). Can anyone walk me through the steps?

Ordering a blade from onesite, and a hilt from another, and a grip from a third sounds too easy. What am I missing?

Thanks

bradnailer

syklops wrote: »

Can I jump in?

My background is in Computer Security, and the links the OP has provided is like me saying "Its easy to hack into the pentagon" and then giving a link to nmap, metasploit, and nessus.

What I mean to say is with out the correct knowledge you will go no where.

As a hunter (snipe, woodcock, and on a good day a pheasent), and as a person who likes making things, I was wondering if anyone would be willing to give a more verbose guide to making a knife. The reason I ask is that I will soon be marrying a rather beautiful,and smart polish girl, and I am trying to win favour with her woodsman father, and so, making a custom knife for him for his birthday might be a nice candidate for my first project(come to think of it, my first successful project). Can anyone walk me through the steps?

Ordering a blade from onesite, and a hilt from another, and a grip from a third sounds too easy. What am I missing?

Thanks

Your not missing anything, take the photo of the kit knife all your really doing is assembly and finishing the handle, patience, patience and a little more patience is probably the most important thing, if you've any questions post a tread or send me a PM or both.If your "any" way handy you'll have no problem.

davymoore

While I'm twiddling my thumbs waiting for parts to be heat treated and since there seems to be a real interest emerging in knifemaking I thought I'd show you how I make a bushcraft knife. This is not the only way to do it and I'm not saying that this is the right way to do it, but it's how I make a knife and hopefully some of you will find it usefull.

While most of the photos are my own I had to borrow a couple from the net as I either forgot to take some or the quality was just too poor to use here.
For safety I took all photos with machinery stopped.

I guess it's obligatory to say that if you are going to do this then please observe proper safety practices in the workshop. And of course neither I nor any other Member, Moderator or Affiliate of Boards.ie will be held responsible for any damage or liability caused while making or using your knife. NOTE This tutorial is intended to show you how to make a usefull cutting tool, not a weapon.

A few quick tips include.
Always wear safety glasses
Keep your work area clean at all times.
Know and understand how your tools or machines work.
Plan your workload into easily manageable steps.
Work carefully and methodically.
Avoid sing uexcessive force.
Never work when tired or impared.
Avoid breathing dust or other particles.
Keep a fire extinguisher handy at all times.

With this in mind let's begin ...

I am going to break this up into 3 or 4 sections to avoid overload and to try to save my own sanity.

Workshop
I havea good selection of knifemaking tools built up over the years. Some of which are designed especially for shaping or grinding blades, some for polishing etc and to be fair I've spent a lot of time and money getting my workshop set up just the way I like it. However you can do most of this with a hacksaw a few files a drill and a selection of sandpaper and emery paper.



Safety glasses and a dust mask are a must





Keep your work area as clean and tidy as possible throughout the build, it avoids frustration and adds to safety.



Blade
For most of you starting out you probably won't be making your own blade and will most likely be starting from a BLANK. However I will quickly look at the different stages involved in making a Bushcraft Blade. There are several tutorials out there on blade making and heat treating and for the more adventurous among you I'd reccomend you give this a try sometime. But for the purpose of this tutorial I'll try to keep this as simple as possible.

Draw a simple profile of the blade shape on o a piece of stiff card







Transfer this on to your piece of suitable steel and roughly cut out the shape using hacksaw drills grinder files etc.
I am using 01 Tool Steel to make this particular knife but you may have other preferences. Old circular Saw blades or even old W2 Files make good knives.






Drill holes for pins lanyard hole etc. I always drill extra holes in the handle area this helps reduce weight and forms additional surfaces for epoxying the handle material in place later.



Fine tune the profile






Mark your bevels be sure to mark a center line along the edge of the blade (A) and a second line where you want your bevel to end approx 8mm up the side of the blade (B) Take your time grinding or filing as you can take metal off but you can't put it back on.





Once your bevels are done it's time for a good clean up and then off to heat treatment.




The blade will need a final clean up and sanding when it returns from heat treating as scale often builds up during the heat treating process.

NEXT STEP.... The Handle


Davy

davymoore

Ok so on to part 2 of this tutorial

The Handle

Once you have your blade back from heat treating or if you have purchased a blade BLANK it's time to make a handle. There are several options for handle material pins etc. but I prefer to use good old fashioned timber and brass corbys.

For this knife the customer chose a very nice pair of Padauk Scales





First thing to do is to wrap the blade with Masking tape this is to protect the blade and most importantly protect your hands
SKIP THIS STEP AT YOUR PERIL



First thing is to cut out some liner material (I use black paper micarta)



It's important to key the surfaces of both the timber and the liner with emery so that the epoxy will have something to stick to.



Mix up the epoxy and glue the scales and liners together



Once glued up they are clamped and left for the epoxy to cure



Go away and have a cup of tea and don't be tempted to work any more until fully cured.

Ok once the epoxy has cured it's time to cut the scales to rough shape. Mark where you want to cut using the handle as a template and cut your scales out for this I use a coping saw.



When they are both cut tape them together and draw where you want your scales to wind up on the knife . basically you are drawing the front of the handle.



Use a grinder or what ever tools you choose to shape the front of the handle



NOTE: You want to finish the front of the handle completely before assembling to the blade because you wont be able to access it later.

So take the scales and start going through finer and finer grits of sand paper to get to the finish you desire



I like to get to 6,000 grit





When you have the scale fronts finished to where you want it drill a few very shallow holes on the micarta side so that the next lot of epoxy will have something to key to.



Next thing is to line up one scale on the blade mix up some epoxy and glue it into place.





Clamp it up again and once the epoxy has cured drill the holes for your pins and lanyard tube

davymoore

Now you can mix up more epoxy and carefully line up the second scale.
Clamp them together in a vice etc and leave to cure over night.




Once the handle has cured over night use your drill to get the holes for the pins on the other scale.
To do this simply drill through the holes you made on the first scale.



Once this is done drill out the holes with a larger drill bit to accept the heads of the corby rivets. don't drill all the way through STOP when the point of the larer drill touches the blade.



Now apply a drop of epoxy to each of the pin holes and screw your corbys up nice and tight.





The next thing is to drill out for your lanyard hole and set the tubing in place.



Right so time to start shaping the timber.

Using various sanders grinders, rasps or files etc work your timber and pins down until you have a nice clean flat profile.







You want to keep going until you have removed the slots from the corbys.




Now it's into the vice where the real work of shaping and sanding begin



Keep sanding and sanding and sanding and sanding going through the various grits until you can feel the handle take shape.





Take the time to remove any little scratch marks



Eventually you wind up with a very comfortable very handsome handle.

davymoore

The next thing I do is to etch on my makers mark and give the blade a final sharpen



Give the whole thing a polish on the buffer and there we have it a finished bushcrafting knife ready for a sheath




Hope you found this usefull

Davy

davymoore

With the knife now built it's time to make it a home

Sheath

Firstly draw a center line on a piece of paper



Place your knife on it's back on the center line and mark out the top and bottom of the knife.



Roll the knife to one side without letting it slip and draw around the knife



Repeat this step for the other side of the knife



Now draw lines where you want the sheath to start and finish I usually like mine just above the top pin





Now add approx 20mm to each side and draw out your template



Cut out your template and test the fit around the knife



Any trimming changes etc. can be done now on the cheap paper instead of wasting valuable leather.

davymoore

Once you are happy with the fit transfer the template to your leather



And cut to shape

I use a stanley knife for this job but work slowly and carefully and always use a fresh blade



Once cut bevel the edges of the leather to remove any rough edges



Put some deep score marks in the rough side of the leather where you want the sheath to fold



Now mark your stitching lines



And mark out your stitch holes



Pre drill the holes (Note the fancy tools here)



And cut out your welt and test fit the whole thing again



If you are happy with the fit it's time to dye the sheath.



And stitch the belt loop



Glue everything together (I use contact Adhesive) clamp it up and leave overnight to cure

davymoore

After curing over night use a small drill bit to drill out your stitching holes



Then stitch the sheath

Once stitched go back to the grinder and clean up your edges





Give it a final coat of dye and edge coat and there you have it

The finished Sheath with firesteel setup






One bushcraft outfit ready for a new home in Portland, Oregon


Davy

ayapatrick

Lovely job davy!
How many hours overall would ya say?

me_right_one

Thats pure class!

pajero2005

Top job Davy. Thanks a million for taking the time to put up the tutorial. I'm gonna give it a go when I get the time. (or take the lazy option and contact you about buying one:p)

J.R.

Fascinating - brilliant post!

netwhizkid

That was like watching an episode of Hands or How stuffs made. How much would a customised knife like that cost?

jwshooter

your a handy fecker to know .my Mendel's are on there last legs:D.

do you do boots also.

ianoo

brilliant post davy
about how long did that take to make ,it would make a great winter project

ian

davymoore

Thanks for the kind comments guys.

The build took me approx 25 hours.
For your first knife expect to double or even treble that.


Regards

Davy

riflehunter77

Brilliant post davey you make it look so easy :eek::D

Deerspotter

Very well done, thank you.

droc

Fantastic thread, amazing tutorial Davy.

DROC

Musashi

Nice job Davy, and a nice looking work area!

Did you make the grinder or is it one of Alys' ? I bought a Viell 1" x 42" but just for sharpening and convexing, not ready to start making blades or HT'ing yet

Where do you buy your handle slabs, corbies, leather and sundry bits and pieces? I'd like to try a rehandle on a few older knives, maybe a stacked leather handle, see how it goes.

dwighet

Well the knife making bug has me bit....Bit in the ass...just been to daveys house to see his set up and what a set up it is...after a few cups of (instant) and a good auld chat he has me got...
Fair play to him he set me up with a heat treated blade and all the bits and bobs to get me started for my first knife...I already have the mrs tormented about clearing out the junk room and putting in a work bench and the powertools needed.....

Will keep ye posted of the progress of my new little knife and my(fingers crossed) new workshop!!

davymoore

Anyone fancy a go at making a knife.

I was rummaging through some old boxes in my workshop today and found this Drop Point Hunter Blade it's made of 440c. Stainless Steel bolsters attached as well, not integrated but hidden pinned can be shaped as well. 7"1/2 over all length. Blade 3"1/2. Handle 3"3/4. Polished. 3/16" Thick. 2 - 3/16" Pin holes & 1-1/4" add hole.




I bought this blade a few years ago and never got around to doing anything with it.

To be honest it's not the best blade I ever bought by a long shot but would make a decent enough little knife

Now I make my own blades and won't ever use it but someone might want to give it a go.

FREE to the first person to say "Me Please" and I'll throw in postage to anywhere in Ireland.

2 rules

1. You must be over 18
2. You must be willing to post the resulting knife and or sheath up here on this thread.

Davy

pajero2005

Me please

davymoore

Flippin hell that was quick

All yours mate pm me with your address

pajero2005

PM sent

davymoore

And replied to

Good luck with it ..... keep us posted on how it turns out

Davy

pajero2005

Will do. Thanks again.

Sparks

Ultimate Beginners Irish Hunting Knife
Nice one Davy and Pajero!

4gun

been thinking abuot this for a bit practical knife for hunting

lordarpad

could we move this to a separate thread please?

pajero2005

lordarpad wrote: »

could we move this to a separate thread please?

Move what? 4guns post and pic? I think it fits right in:D

Looks good to me 4gun (not that I know anything about knives!) Are you going to give it a bash?

4gun

havent got equipment to make a knife ,been trying to think of a name for it though but my Irish is crap maybe "dha gear" or something or other

pajero2005

4gun wrote: »

havent got equipment to make a knife ,been trying to think of a name for it though but my Irish is crap maybe "dha gear" or something or other

You should try and beg/borrow/steal a few tools from mates and give it a go. I'm looking forward to getting going on mine (thanks to Davy again for the blade) Seems like a great project.

4gun

Maybe sometime in the future. Dav is an accomplished knifemaker anything he does looks well finished . What I was trying to do was give some inspiration the pikes used in the 17 th centuary by irishmen had a spike and a curved hook,the latter is what i've based my drawing on would have to have an oak handle. I think it would be very practical in a hunting situation

lordarpad

interesting. my first reaction was "fighting knife" but maybe I a prejudiced ...

davymoore

4guns thanks for posting the sketch of the knife, it's a pity you werent involved in the project in the earlier days.

It's a good idea to get as many functions as possible out of one knife and that double edge approach to your knife is certainly attempting to tackle the multi task aspect of a knife.

Most people who skin deer, rabbit etc will tell you that a lot of the work is done by choking up on the blade to get a shorter grip the same applies to a lot of bushcrat work. Unfortunately this is what makes a double edge almost impractical as a field knife as it's bound to lead to an accident.



The double edge is primarily reserved for swords and fighting knives for obvious reasons.

4gun

thats why it has only half edged on the open side to facilitate hand or fingers safely on the blade,I should have put dimension on it blade length would be 6-8 inches with a thickness of 3/16 inch at grip.

some areas that I hunt are overgrown with briars and such parabolic knives require you to hold the briar with one hand in order to strike it,with this you should be able to cut by hooking and pulling
I usuall carry a smaller knife for use in the fashion as above

Mellor

I still would fancy putting pressure on the blunt section (which is a bit small) on the rear. Something gives and your hand slides, bye bye finger tips.

There is a reason that, after hundreds of years of huntign knife design, that we are using single sided blades.

4gun

Mellor wrote: »

I still would fancy putting pressure on the blunt section (which is a bit small) on the rear. Something gives and your hand slides, bye bye finger tips.


Soft hands maybe:D
I've cut myself on occasion and this was with a ordinary hunting knife
I'll be the first one to admit it's all down ot lack of skill:o

Grizzly 45

4gun wrote: »

Maybe sometime in the future. Dav is an accomplished knifemaker anything he does looks well finished . What I was trying to do was give some inspiration the pikes used in the 17 th centuary by irishmen had a spike and a curved hook,the latter is what i've based my drawing on would have to have an oak handle. I think it would be very practical in a hunting situation

Looks like you created there a modern version of the traditional Arab jamileiah [Sic] knife.Which is a very effective knife design in it's own right.:)