Anyone Build Knives from Kits like those from KNIFEKITS.com and Jantz Supply??

[Nalapombu]

Hey all,

I have been wanting to try one of these "kit" knives from Knifekits, Jantz or other supplier and wanted to see how many others have done it. I would be starting with FIXED blades as I think it would be easier and those are what interests me right now. I also want to try using a Finnish blade and making a knife from that too.

Is there anyone else out there that builds these kits and would like to show your work? Also what do you think of the quality of these kits? My only problem is that there are some knives that I wish they would show what they are supposed to look like when finished. As someone that has never built a knife it would be helpful to have some kind of a guide to at least show you where things are supposed to end up at. With some of the kits I have a hard time visualizing how they are completed to where they would look good and be functional.

I hope there are others out there that come in and will post some of their work as I would like to communicate with those that can possibly give me some pointers in the future or give me some guidance in what a kit is supposed to end up like or what would be the best way to finish a kit.

Thanks for the help.

Nalajr

 

[bdmicarta]

I have not bought a kit but I have bought blade blanks and put my own scales on them. I pick a blank, buy the scale materials and bolts or pins separately, then figure out how I want the design to look. There is some latitude in how the scales can be shaped to fit a given blank, and if you have even a normal bench grinder you can do a little bit of reshaping to the blank itself.

The blanks from most reputable knife supply stores are of decent quality, although you may not know the exact steel composition or heat treat. There are some supply stores that will tell you the steel and some even use good steels such as D2, but you still won't know how good the heat treat is. You can also buy skeleton knives from various makers and put scales on them. I have read repeated warnings to not buy blade blanks from random sources on online auctions because the steel material and/or heat treat will be really bad.

I've also read discussions about the ethics of building the kit knives. The idea is that you aren't "making" a knife, you are just "assembling" components so it is anywhere from untrue to outright fraud to say that you made the knife and call it a custom knife if you are trying to sell it. But nobody minds if you make them for yourself which is what I do.

I've posted these photos before but this is a short story of the last one that I assembled.

 

[Jensen81]

Yes I made a folder. The kit was from knifekits.com. It was high quality and the directions were easy to follow. I thought their prices were fair. I ended up making a handle out of bubinga and cherry. I attached a hawk grip clip. Here are a few pics.

 

[OHALLUM]

Great looking knife Jensen81. Looks like you did an excellent job on it. I like the scales, as they really set the knife apart from the crowd. I would be proud to show that to anyone.

Omar

 

[Jensen81]

Thanks man. I really appreciate the compliment. I had alot of fun doing them. I also made these custom grips for a Gerber Metalous. These are Bubinga and Black Walnut. Check em out.

 

[theHobbyist]

I build the kits from knifekits.com... Sadly I don't have any pictures of my work... Currently I'm working on the "Oregon Skinner" from KK.COM.

My advice to you would be to make sure you have all tools and supplies you need accounted for. Lemme tell you, it sucks when you want to do something and go "<expletive... no sandpaper" lol

Edit:
Oh yeah, take your time, I tend to rush through things and mess something up simple then have to go back and redo them a few more times... Notorious for not waiting til my epoxy is 100% cured before trying to work on my scales.

 

[CWknife]

My first ever knife build is a knifekits drop point hunter with kingwood scales. Made the sheath too.
Next I am going to try my on design on a piece of 1095.

 

[blade dude]

Sheaths are the easy part. I made my handles on my knife a very different way than most tho and I found it easier. I got one piece of wood carved it mostly to a rough shape symmetrical then cut in half and glued to the blade and finished after.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bobobama]

Excuse me for resurrecting an older thread, but what the heck . I'm looking to get into building a kit knife, but I have minimal tools, mostly of the hand type. I see where sanding down the handle and particularly the pins is a necessary step, but I don't have a belt sander and really no room for one. Is their another way of finishing off the handle without access to a belt sander?

 

[T. Erdelyi]

I bought a liner lock from DDR’s Knifekits about 15 years ago. It was a blast to do, I got all the premium parts, ATS34 blade, maroon micarta scales and brushed SS bolsters

All the pieces had to be finished and hand fit except the blade which just needed an edge. I’ll post a pic later when I pull it out.

If you buy a quality kit, use premium parts and take your time, with a minimum of hand tools you can assemble, finish and customize your own knife.

 

[woodysone]

Wood files and sandpaper work for sanding down the handle, slower but it works just fine and it gives you an apparition for power equipment.

 

[Petunia D. Feeble]

Wood files and sandpaper work for sanding down the handle, slower but it works just fine and it gives you an apparition for power equipment.

 

[Makael]

Yes I made a folder. The kit was from knifekits.com. It was high quality and the directions were easy to follow. I thought their prices were fair. I ended up making a handle out of bubinga and cherry. I attached a hawk grip clip. Here are a few pics.

Nice job, I see posts that force opening an attchmennt. There is an option that says full size that eliminates that.

 

[bobobama]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm not too concerned about the handle itself, but more so with grinding down the pins. I suppose some sort of grinding attachment for a power drill would work, no?

 

[WValtakis]

Thanks for the quick responses. I'm not too concerned about the handle itself, but more so with grinding down the pins. I suppose some sort of grinding attachment for a power drill would work, no?

Or a file, the pins aren't hardened

I can also echo T. Erdelyi 's response above. I built a couple kits about the same time frame, I'll try to find some pics.

~Chip

 

[Hickory n steel]

You can get the job done with a handheld belt sander.
They don't take up much room and don't cost that much.
They're not as good as a bench top belt grinder, but they work and you're just doing a knife kit or two.

 

[QAJAQ]

Another thing to check out is the kits -- or separate parts -- made by Enzo Birk. They offer a number of blade designs of various sizes, different grinds, and different steels. They also have various options as to how complete a kit you work with, and how much you go on your own. You can get wood scales of different kinds from Rockler's Woodworking -- which allows you to actually look at the material if you have a brick & mortar store nearby. I put scales on an Enzo Birk "Necker" (same family as the "Elver" & "Trapper") and made a leather sheath and couldn't be happier with them.

As T. Erdelyi said, it's a lot of fun, and you can do everything with hand tools -- which is especially satisfying. Take your time, be very careful about measurements, and don't scrimp on materials. You don't end up with something that you "made" yourself -- but you will have a knife that has been fitted to YOUR hand, and will always show the decisions that YOU made during the assembly process.

Good Luck and have a blast!

PS - Doing the sheath is also a blast -- and there's tons of good advice on how to go about it in the BR subforum about sheathes and such.

PPS - Use a respirator or at least a mask when sanding tropical woods - and expect irritation if you go for cocobolo.

 

[BitingSarcasm]

If you really want to get a good quality "kit" knife, get a Becker Knife and Tool BK16 and make your own pair of scales for it. The usual hardware setup for a Becker uses nuts and bolts recessed into the handle, for which you can either burn in a socket or carve one out. It takes away the need to sand or file away metal pins, which is doable with hand tools but slow. You also have to use a hard backer on your sandpaper as a squishy one, like your hand, will tend to remove more wood than metal. Take a look at the Harbor Freight 1" belt sander, it has a tiny footprint on a bench, it's not very tall, and it's fairly cheap. My wife's KitchenAid mixer looks like a steroid monster in comparison.

 

[Ebbtide]

Kit blades and rescues are a great way to appreciate some of what goes into making a knife.

Isaaki Jarvenpaa kit blade, my handle, guard, buttcap and sheath.

Left to right: Jantz, Snody and Connecticut Valley Arms (1970s vintage) kit blades

Buck 119 rescues

Above knife, before...

The only power tools used were a table top drill press and hand drill.
Double cut and single cut mill bastard, chainsaw and jeweler's files along with 80 grit sanding belts bunny clipped to a huge worn out file did the job.
Mix in a good amount of elbow grease.

Take your time and have fun.
Don't rush to the finished product, enjoy the journey.

Vinegar will clean wet epoxy and power tools will allow you to make your mistakes much faster.

Hope this helps.

 

[Henry Beige]

A Condor Kephart blade blank recently arrived from Baryonyx. My original plan was to make scales out of Sugru, but I have thought better of it. I have been looking at different scale materials, but will probably settle on micarta.