Home Forums Gear Knives and Blades Knife making sucks!

Bought 4 2foot pieces of steel.
And a bunch of junk to try making a pos shiv.
Probably something an inmate wouldn't want to be seen with.

So, it's raining hard, I can't find the desire to hunt our last day...

Broke out the hacksaw, then the angle grinder.

Not very happy, and it's too wet to drag the belt sander 4x36,
outside.

Gave up,
well damn.

Let's see how the bastard will work.

A bit of work, but I am now worried about this steel.
Can something this soft really get hard. (Dick joke?)

Amazing how fast it cut.

Now I'm stuck. It's too flexible to profile without support.
So I'm going to drill the pin holes, and using machine screws,
bolt a wood or metal support to the bottom to stiffen it while
it gets file profiled.

But, time, kid issues, Church Christmas program all have things on hold.


Makers.
Is knife steel (80crv2) really this soft before hardening?

Never worked with anything high carbon.

It's way softer than cold rolled I've worked before.
Heck, it's like aluminium.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/1y4mpxlum/
https://postimg.cc/gallery/1y4mpxlum/
Started as a copy of my favorite kitchen knife.
Then decided, why make something I already have?
So the blade kept it's length and shape, but got taller.

.058 steel. Similar to the original.
Can't believe how light this is without the scales.

Did they ship me aluminum? Feels like it.
But it sparks too much for that.

#1 is our couch.

Not a knife on my wife's...

That’s why I just buy em!! 😂😂

+1.


P.s. beautiful dog.

Customs are way too expensive for me.

I bought $25 in steel. $20 to ship.
About $60 for abrasives and epoxy, don't have it yet.
Needed pin stock. $16 for a tube of brazing rods. (Cheaper than buying pin stock, but will make a lot of 1" pins)

Cheap calipers for scribing. $16
Sandpaper, flap wheel for grinder, new file. $50


Nope, no way I could afford one of those rich dude customs.
Hell, those things cost $150-200.

Look at what I'm saving.

And I don't even have a knife yet!

I will build one myself.

It cheaper that way.

BDave, thanks.
We have had several different breeds, around many more.
Unless we would need small,
Can't imagine ever not having a Boxer.
He has been outstanding.

Except for the slobbers.

The burps, groans, farts... are funny.
The slobbers are gross.

But, you get used to them.

Oh, yeah.

He is the real Dillonbuck.
Dillon for short.

This all reminds me of the economics of switching from installed oil to wood heat. New truck, saws, extra chains, trailer, rear truck windows, stove, chimney, inspection fees, ER visits, towing bill, etc, penciled out to about $62,000 for the first year.

Sorry to point out that you forgot to include the cost of scales and a sheath. Inluding finidhing for both that can easily be another $100+

I think my scales are going to be from a piece of Black Locust
fire wood. It's been in the basement for 5+ years, its dry.

Pulled it out for kindling, split a nice slab off it.
I think I can make it flat enough with a power plane to
work two slabs.

Not going to spend much for nice handles, this whole thing
will be a miracle if I get a good functional tool on my first try.

Functional beauty is the best I can hope for.
Maybe #2 will look better.

I know I'm about tired of filing. Several hours in, more to go.
Afraid of the angle grinder or belt grinder at this point.
Fast tools can make quick junk.

Belt grind, dip in water often. It's not hard to do. Good luck on your project!!

Got done with filing the bevels today.
Have learned a lot of things about filing I never knew.
Never really used a file before.
Only to sharpen saws and little deburring or relieving work.

Kind of scared to heat and quench this blade. It started at .058,
It is flat ground with about .25" full width spine. Slight distal taper
in the first 1/3 of the blade.

Very easy to bend. I'm afraid It will be a pretzel when it gets hot, or cooled.
Going to rig up something to clamp it in after quench.

No big expectations on this first try. But I have a bit of time in it, and
it's not too ugly. Just a little crude. Be great to end up with something
when it's done.

Get some

Don’t let the negative folks get to you. Endeavor to persevere!

The first one. Ready to heat treat.



12 year old daughter designed this one. A family friend is teaching Em
about horses and riding. She keeps an old paring knife to open hay
bales. When Em found out i was going to make some knives, she wanted
to Rene a better knife.

Started to file this one. Said screw it, belt grinder. Glad I did.
Grinds aren't good, but much better than the one I filed.
Also, I didn't like her design. But, I do now.
Might hack one out for me, just need a bit more handle.




My "shop". Great air conditioning.



Oldest daughter calls me a,
(politically incorrect) Rigger.

Needed to hold that wood high enough to power plane it flat,
without hitting the vise jaws. Worked fine.

That's a 4 or 5 year old chunk of firewood. Used a pole axe as an
adz , firewood as a mallet. Not square, but flat should be good enough.
Don't want a square handle anyway.

Looks great! I'm a carpenter, all my knife making is done with carpentry tools.
I like that short bladed knife. Good Luck!

I have been making knives for a couple weeks. I have been buying the blade. I don't do much to the steel but drill a few holes with carbide bits.

I am mainly just making the handles, pins, lanyard, epoxy, and finish.

I watch the knifemakers on youtube, and know I will never catch up to them.

I just want to spend a couple hours and make something.



I have been working on this for 2 hours [The 5 minute epoxy is setting up now in the clamp] and it will take another hour to sand it.
Black and White Ebony require no finish oil.

This is the blade
https://www.texasknife.com/vcom/pro...;osCsid=ad240263457747daedcd92641e2c446e



And an hour later it is done

That's cool Clarkm.

Doing the metal interested me more than the handle.
I should have done like you though. I was pretty much set up
to work wood, didn't have much for this kind of metal work.

Still haven't heated those blades, I need to do it in the evening,
and every evening has been busy untill 9 or 10.
Set up, heat, quench 2x1 hour tempers with enough time to cool
between them, that would go way past my bedtime!

Darn, I'm getting old.

Get you a black magic marker and cover the blade between filing to let you know what areas you are touching or missing!

Well, heat treated Christmas evening.
Couldnt get the whole blade hot enough with the cutting torch,
don't have a Rosebud. My wife used the propane to keep the tip
hot (insert joke. Yep you thought something!) while I heated the
rest with acetylene. Quenched into salvaged fry grease in 50 cal
ammo can, heated on the grill.

2 hours x 2 at 400 in Momma's oven.



This, was a bit crooked and I tried to straighten it.
Should have taken a pic, but I already pitched the 1 1/2" piece that
snapped off. Probably got too hot.

Now, it looks like this



I can't seem to get a decent pic, but, once I get some finish on
it, it's done.

Sharpened it



Holy crap did it get sharp.
Arm hair doesn't stand a chance.
I couldn't twist enough to photo it, but my arm is bleeding.
I was mowing "em down, got the angle a bit wrong, and sliced
in. Oh well, first person cut. Hopefully, no one gets it worse.

Handle isn't much to look at.
I started with too thick slabs. Peaked the pins.
Missed a couple times, didn't dent the wood.
I think Locust is harder than brass.

Ground away whatever felt bad. It feels real nice, but
it's not symmetrical. One side is a bit thicker now.

Also, there is too much space between the end of handle and beginning
of the edge. Learning.

Showed it to Mamma, she loves it! Peeled a potato to try it out,
before I even got an edge on. And it cut fairly well!


Sorry to bore anyone.
Apologize to our craftsman members.
This is crude, tool, process, skills.

Just thought it might interest anyone thinking of trying to do it.

May post pics of my daughter's when it's done.

Now, we need a better way to heat blades.
Trying to decide on building a forge, or a heat treat oven.

Dillonbuck
I would like to inform you that you have gone over the edge and into that deep,
slippery downhill sloping rut and will never be quite the same again. Your wife
participating may lessen the relationship damage down the road.

Good luck.
Nice posts. Fun read.

Thanks, Tim.

It's neat that you can make a decent cutting tool with
crude tools and skills.

It's a darn shame how expensive decent tools are.
When I saw the price of grinders, I thought it was a mistake.

Dude, it's addictive. Got the bug a couple years ago, and it looks as if I'm terminal.

BTW, good looking knife.

I did a lot of grinding on second hand grinders to start.
ie: 9" disc, 1x42", 4x36", 1x60", 6x48" before making the move to a new 2x72".
And I have never looked back.
It is more than just a journey.

You're living my dream. I'd love to acquire some equipment...but need a shop first. LOL.

Makes me miss our boxer, too.

My shop is the garage and basement.
It is hard enough to get into the black, let alone with cost of a building thrown in.

Same here, grinder is in the garage, the rest of the tools are in my basement.

I made my first knife more than 40 yrs. ago in a knifemaking class I took while in gunsmithing school at Trinidad State Junior College. The class was taught by a professional knifemaker, made that first blade from a piece of 01 tool steel using only a file for the complete job. Hardened it using an oxyacetylene torch, the scales were paper micarta purchased from a knifemaker supply. Sheath was made from a bundle of leather scrap purchased from a farm supply store, stitched it with artificial sinew. That was the only blade I made from bar stock, simply too much work. I buy my blades from knifemaker supply houses and modify them to suit. For wood handles my favorite is desert ironwood, ivorylike handles are paper micarta and jigged cattle and camel bone are my other choices. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to guards, pins and lanyard tubes, nickel silver is my material of choice. I study knifmaking/collecting magazines to get ideas for my designs, lots of practice over the years has allowed me to make some darn good looking knives. Most of my knives are labors of love given to family, friends and co-workers, not having a recognized name I can't charge near enough to cover my costs let alone make much of a profit. That's fine with me, the satisfaction comes from creating something useful with my own mind and hands.

Hardening is the one thing that needs some special equipment.
I only have an oxy/acetylene torch. Temper was in Momma's oven.
400 for 2 hours. Twice.

Everything else can be done with hand tools.
Ideal no, but the bigger knife was shaped and profiled with a hacksaw and
a file. The handle was shaped on a 4x36 sander. But rasps and files
would have been ok. The smaller knife was shaped with an angle grinder,
beveled on the 4x36.


This steel is unbelievably soft. Be careful where you buy from.
Some is ready to work, others needs annealing. Something
I don't want to deal with right now.

Clarkm on here has a thread about buying the blades ready to go.
Doing the handles himself.
That's a great way to go without needing much to work with.
Files and sandpaper, your rolling.

I can easily make $1 - $2 an hour making knives.

Sure, let the cat out of the bag. Now everyone will want to get in on the cash cow.

Very cool!

I’ve kicked around the idea of trying to file a knife out of proper steel. Made a couple lawn mower blade knives as a youngin’. They were awful! Lol.

Did you file freehand or build a jig of sorts?

Free hand.
Thought I knew how to drawfile, I was wrong.
Once I learned, I was amazed at how fast you can
move metal. Quickly learned what chalk and file brushes were
for also. You spend more time keeping the file clean than fileing.

Look a my Daughters Blade post. That's Emma's, the 12 year old.
The story is there, it's ground on a 4x36 sander. With help.


Hers is much nicer than mine.

I have a video I need to send you Mooner.
I can figure out how to post it here.