Make your own knife

davymoore

dwelby101 wrote: »

Hi there,

im just getting into this knifemaking craic

Welcome

As this would be my first propper attempt, I dont really want to spend a huge ammount of money on steel as I am bound to make mistakes.

Good call best to practice on a piece of wood first, then move up to mild steel and when you think you are ready, buy some good knife making steel

I am aiming at making quite a large knife, 13'' long 2'' wide and 1/4'' (or 5mm) thick. I would like to replicate Jay Fishers Minuteman EL without the serrated edge.

You are aiming far too high for a first project, start smaller and work your way up.. Mr. Fisher is a very experienced knifemaker and it will take a long time to get close to his standard

Thanks in advance and if I can source out what I need to get this project underway I'll keep every step posted

Caulfields Industrial in Galway carry a range of steels also Baramond Steel in the UK, I look forward to seeing the results


Regards

Davy

dwelby101

cheers Davy,

Ill give caulfields a shot and ill let ya know how i get on.

dwelby101

Ok so I took your advice davy, i got my hands on some hardwood and went about trying to create a wooden template of what I wanted to make. I have to say it was definately worth while because if youre like me, you need to hold the knife to get a propper feel for what it is you want. The main thing for me was trying to figure out what tools i really needed and what aspects of the knife needed tweaking.
The tools I used to make the wooden model were a hand saw, a coping saw, a jig saw, a grinding wheel (aldi's finest and a poormans substitute for a belt sander), a plane, some sand paper and a drill.
From using these i figured I would deffo need a belt sander for working the metal as the surface area of the grind wheel was pretty small and gave me an uneven finish on the wood, the other obvious things were a drill, a file and a hacksaw (or something else to cut steel).
Another thing I learned from making this wooden model was that although the knife looked perfect on paper I found that the handle was fraction short and would feel much better if it was a bit longer (say an inch).

Anyway, without going on forever Ill just say if you do plan on making your own knife its probably a good idea to try first with wood as you'll notice things that werent quite obvious to you on paper.

Although the wooden knife isnt perfect, it was a good learning experiance and I feel a bit more confident now with the idea of working the metal, hopefully some lessons were learnt (like really need to invest in some safety glasses and a face mask)

here's a few pics of my process (sorry about the quality)

Grizzly 45

Can I ask.Why are you going for the "fore finger grip" [Cant think of the correct term for it,Choil is it??]?Thats usualy a big tactical/combat kinfe feature ,[and not a very good one either INMHO]As it limits you to a one blade grip,if you are going for a utility day to day knife it is worse,as it only allows a sawing style cut.But thats just me.

Also,does anyone have aDIY illustration of the macrame work /knot for the knife handle.
Cant do that knot or macrame worth a damn.

dwelby101

hi grizzly,

i see your point about the type of handle, the reason im doing this however is because i wish to replicate a combat type knife.

as far as info on the knot youre lookin for, I personally dont know of a site but im sure if you keep looking online youll be bound to come accross something.

Glanton

dwelby101 wrote: »

Ok so I took your advice davy, i got my hands on some hardwood and went about trying to create a wooden template of what I wanted to make. I have to say it was definately worth while because if youre like me, you need to hold the knife to get a propper feel for what it is you want. The main thing for me was trying to figure out what tools i really needed and what aspects of the knife needed tweaking.
The tools I used to make the wooden model were a hand saw, a coping saw, a jig saw, a grinding wheel (aldi's finest and a poormans substitute for a belt sander), a plane, some sand paper and a drill.
From using these i figured I would deffo need a belt sander for working the metal as the surface area of the grind wheel was pretty small and gave me an uneven finish on the wood, the other obvious things were a drill, a file and a hacksaw (or something else to cut steel).
Another thing I learned from making this wooden model was that although the knife looked perfect on paper I found that the handle was fraction short and would feel much better if it was a bit longer (say an inch).

Anyway, without going on forever Ill just say if you do plan on making your own knife its probably a good idea to try first with wood as you'll notice things that werent quite obvious to you on paper.

Although the wooden knife isnt perfect, it was a good learning experiance and I feel a bit more confident now with the idea of working the metal, hopefully some lessons were learnt (like really need to invest in some safety glasses and a face mask)

Should of let you know earlier, belt sanders were in Lidl from monday 27 sept @ 28 euro. may or may not be some left in your area.

tonytoc11

I bought a 440c stainless steel blade recently but I cant drill through it no matter what bits I use. There are small holes in it already but I need to make these bigger for the lanyard and the corbys to fit. I hane the drill set up on a pillar stand and all but still can't get through it. What kind of bitd do ye use or are there tips for drilling through it?

Deise Musashi

Carbide bits might do, otherwise you'll have to anneal the metal to soften it.

Keep the blade itself cool or you will ruin the temper and it won't hold it's edge any more.

dwighet

You can also use pins instead of the corbys(brass,steel,nickel ect)

tonytoc11

Deise Musashi wrote: »

Carbide bits might do, otherwise you'll have to anneal the metal to soften it.

Keep the blade itself cool or you will ruin the temper and it won't hold it's edge any more.

Any idea where i'd get these bits from?

Deise Musashi

A carbide tipped masonry drill bit might do.

Use a pillar drill, slow speed and cutting fluid. If the bit spins in place you may work harden the piece as well.

Failing that something like http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=3431413
would work, but are expensive and you may just ruin a more fancy drill bit.

What kind of handle are you looking to attach?
I've had knives handled just using good epoxy and there was nothing wrong with them. Pins, Busse style rivets, mosaic pins etc. are also options that might be handier in this case.

Where did you buy the blade, was it sold as finished and tempered?

For the rearmost lanyard hole at least, I would be tempted to give it a shot of torch (or forge) to get it heated to non-magnetic, then leave it cool slowly overnight in ash or vermiculite.

Watch that the heat doesn't travel to the blade or again you will have ruined the temper.

tonytoc11

Deise Musashi wrote: »

A carbide tipped masonry drill bit might do.

Use a pillar drill, slow speed and cutting fluid. If the bit spins in place you may work harden the piece as well.

Failing that something like http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=getProduct&R=3431413
would work, but are expensive and you may just ruin a more fancy drill bit.

What kind of handle are you looking to attach?
I've had knives handled just using good epoxy and there was nothing wrong with them. Pins, Busse style rivets, mosaic pins etc. are also options that might be handier in this case.

Where did you buy the blade, was it sold as finished and tempered?

For the rearmost lanyard hole at least, I would be tempted to give it a shot of torch (or forge) to get it heated to non-magnetic, then leave it cool slowly overnight in ash or vermiculite.

Watch that the heat doesn't travel to the blade or again you will have ruined the temper.

I've given up on the front holes and bought brass pins but I'd like to fit a lanyard to the back of it. I'll get a carbide bit and try that. I've been using cutting oil all along alright. I bought it from a shop in America. It came finished and tempered alright.

davymoore

How's it goin sorry I didnt answer sooner.

Right you got a problem and there are 3 ways to fix this

The problem is that the steel has already been hardened & tempered.

1..Expensive carbide bits will probably do the job but that's only probably.

2.. Use a dremmel with grinding bits to widen the holes. (Ive done this a few times with great success)

3.. Soften the steel, Anneal it, heat it up to beyond its critical temp approx 1400 degrees, Cherry red and then place it in compact hot sand and allow the whole thing to cool overnight 24 hrs this will soften the steel remember to only heat up the handle area of the blank its laborious and time consuming but it works

Quickest, Cheapest, Best bet is the dremmel

Davy

pamul

hi dave beautiful work can you supply knife making kits or where is the best one stop shop to get going:)