New Hobby - Knife Making

[Jeremie Boop]

So, with the start of what I consider non-golf weather, I've decided to pick up a new hobby to keep me busy through the off season. Strange and weird as it may be, I'm going to try my hand and knife making. Nothing as cool as forging steel into knives, just what's called "stock removal" or grinding and cutting a knife blank out of sheet or flat bars of steel. It's something that's time consuming that will help with the hours of time that I would normally have spent golfing. For my first attempt I went with what I thought would be one of the easiest shapes/styles. It's turning out to be about a 7" tanto with the blade being just a touch over 3 1/2". Drawing the shape and rough cutting it was the easy part. From there it was off to the belt sander to smooth the edges and sides out. Possibly one of the most finicky and difficult parts is the bevel grinding, or so I've read and heard from watching how-to videos. So far it's going pretty well, this is where I stopped last night after about 5 hours or so total. I know you guys may not have any interest in me or my new hobby, but I thought it would be worth tossing this up in case anyone else has tried it, are currently pursuing, or knows someone how is/has done this in the past. Also, if people are interested enough I could update with my progress and new projects.

 

[mcanadiens]

"Non-golf weather"? There isn't any snow on the floor down here. Heck its 70 degrees.  January will get here soon enough. 

I saw one of those reality tv shows that had to do with knife making. Can't remember what it was called, but it was amusing. 

[rkim291968]

 

The picture looks ominous, something out of horror film . 

What do you plan to do with the finish goods?  Display? Sell?  

[Gator Hazard]

The picture looks ominous, something out of horror film . 

What do you plan to do with the finish goods?  Display? Sell?  

When Jeremy Boop says he got a par on the hole he got a par on the hole!  I don't care what you saw or if money is involved  :)

Sounds like a pretty cool hobby, looking forward to seeing some of what you are able to craft.  Good luck and be sure to post some progress pictures.

[Jeremie Boop]

"Non-golf weather"? There isn't any snow on the floor down here. Heck its 70 degrees.  January will get here soon enough. 

I saw one of those reality tv shows that had to do with knife making. Can't remember what it was called, but it was amusing. 

After work I don't have time to golf, last time I tried it was dark by the 8th hole so the only times I'll be able to get out is the weekends, and with the frequent higher winds and lower temps it's just not fun for me to golf. Now if there are nice days I'll still go out golfing but I'm looking to try and get something set up for when it is definitely not golf weather.

The picture looks ominous, something out of horror film . 

What do you plan to do with the finish goods?  Display? Sell?  

Well, right now, I don't expect my finished product to be worth more than personal use or giving to friends/family. But eventually, if I do actually get good enough I may try to sell them.

When Jeremy Boop says he got a par on the hole he got a par on the hole!  I don't care what you saw or if money is involved  :)

Sounds like a pretty cool hobby, looking forward to seeing some of what you are able to craft.  Good luck and be sure to post some progress pictures.

I will post the finished product on this one and probably at least the finished product of future projects. 

[Jeremie Boop]

Ok, so, I finished it. It's funny how tiny it looks for a 7 in overall length 3 1/2 inch blade...

 

Edited October 26, 2015 by Jeremie Boop

[rkim291968]

Not too shabby, this being your 1st output.   What is the usage for this one?  I am thinking it'd be good to use it in kitchen for chopping thin vegetables or rather.

Edited October 26, 2015 by rkim291968

[Gator Hazard]

Agree, looks good man, nice job.

[Jeremie Boop]

Not to shabby, this being your 1st output.   What is the usage for this one?  I am thinking it'd be good to use it in kitchen for chopping thin vegetables or rather.

It's 3/16" thick so it doesn't really have any practical uses. Wouldn't be bad for skinning maybe with how sharp it is. The steel I got in today is 1/8" thick so it will be good for a lot of different types of knives.

Agree, looks good man, nice job.

Thank you.

[14ledo81]

Nice work.

I have a friend who does this.  He uses antler for his handles.

Post more pics. 

[Lihu]

Ok, so, I finished it. It's funny how tiny it looks for a 7 in overall length 3 1/2 inch blade...

 

Nice! My son also makes knives and thinks you did a great job on this one. He's also interested in doing this style blade. I bought him a 4" belt sander from Harbor Freight with the diamond grit belts. With coupons it was under $50, and it takes a lot less time to shape the blade with that sander. He also has the 8" grinder also from Harbor.

[Jeremie Boop]

Nice! My son also makes knives and thinks you did a great job on this one. He's also interested in doing this style blade. I bought him a 4" belt sander from Harbor Freight with the diamond grit belts. With coupons it was under $50, and it takes a lot less time to shape the blade with that sander. He also has the 8" grinder also from Harbor.

I did mine with the 1" x 30" belt sander and the 4 1/2" angle grinder. I did the tanto because I thought it would be easier, I think I was wrong rofl.

[Jeremie Boop]

@Lihu I forgot to ask, how does your son do his heat treating? Does he send his knives out to get done or does he have a kiln or forge?

[Lihu]

@Lihu I forgot to ask, how does your son do his heat treating? Does he send his knives out to get done or does he have a kiln or forge?

He uses a blowtorch with a wide head using Mapp gas and quenches in machine oil. He usually does the final polish before tempering. We built a little forge using special heat bricks, but never finished the burner part. So, he uses he blowtorch.

[jusanothajoe]

Great job. I haven't built one from scratch, but I did buy a blank blade and some handle blanks, and put one together. Had to the shape handles and install with rivets. Wanted to use a Damascus blank. The handles are corn cob infused with a polymer. Damascus blank wasn't that expensive, around $60.

 

Edited October 27, 2015 by jusanothajoe

[billchao]

Looks cool, @Jeremie Boop, nice job on the first piece! This looks like the perfect subject for you to start a blog here with.

[Jeremie Boop]

Great job. I haven't built one from scratch, but I did buy a blank blade and some handle blanks, and put one together. Had to the shape handles and install with rivets. Wanted to use a Damascus blank. The handles are corn cob infused with a polymer. Damascus blank wasn't that expensive, around $60.

 

Pretty sweet, I'm hoping to get good enough to justify buying some damascus to work with. I just got some 1095 steel to work with. 2 pieces of 1/8" x 1 1/2" x 18"  which cost $14. Starting cheap  The corn cob handles look like snake skin, pretty awesome.

He uses a blowtorch with a wide head using Mapp gas and quenches in machine oil. He usually does the final polish before tempering. We built a little forge using special heat bricks, but never finished the burner part. So, he uses he blowtorch.

I used an acetylene torch to heat up mine. But I'm eyeballing a knife forge that uses propane for just under $280.

Looks cool, @Jeremie Boop, nice job on the first piece! This looks like the perfect subject for you to start a blog here with.

I may end up doing that, if I stick to it. So far I'm thinking it's something I'm going to keep doing.

[Lihu]

Pretty sweet, I'm hoping to get good enough to justify buying some damascus to work with. I just got some 1095 steel to work with. 2 pieces of 1/8" x 1 1/2" x 18"  which cost $14. Starting cheap  The corn cob handles look like snake skin, pretty awesome.

I used an acetylene torch to heat up mine. But I'm eyeballing a knife forge that uses propane for just under $280.

I may end up doing that, if I stick to it. So far I'm thinking it's something I'm going to keep doing.

The DIY "kit" is under $100, but takes some welding, and I haven't gotten around to it yet. At this rate, my son will get his PhD before I finish it. . .

Got the contact through a renaissance fair knife maker, but I can't find the link any more?