Knife Making for Beginners

J

jm1

Joined
Apr 15, 2010
Messages
15
I would love to start making knives but just don't know where to start. I would appreciate any info on getting started/making my first knife. I also want to know how expensive materials are or if for now there is a cheap alternative until I have a little bit of experience. Thanks to all who take the time to respond.
 
Good files, a drill and a hack saw is a start, but i was in the same boat a few months ago and just said F it and built a grinder and bought a good porta band saw. you will want a belt grinder and bandsaw sooner or later i promise once your hands and joints and stuff get sore from filing and using a manual hack saw! As far as cheap materials go for practicing, just get some mild steel scraps and use cheap wood like oak from a pallet or something. The problem with that is if you wind up with something that turns out pretty good you will still have a sucky knife that wont stay sharp. I just got some 0-1 and went for it and wound up with some decent knives that will actually hold an edge, i sent them out for heat treatment so i wouldnt screw em up. I gave away my first batch of knives(they make wonderful gifts for family & friends btw) and just consider them practice until I get to where i want my stuff to be. BTW, keep your very first one.

heres a good start once ya get into it:
get some 1080 steel
a 2x72 grinder with some means of speed control
good standard files, like nicholson
some swiss style files and a small chainsaw file
A s load of good sand paper(do NOT buy harbor fright sandpaper)
a drill press
bandsaw
standard vice
knife vice(like the one below)
read a bunch of threads here and google




Build one of these
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I would have made one of these knife vices early on if i knew how handy they are
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file guides with carbide faces are nice to have too:
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BTW these are pretty cheap alternatives, AND THEY STILL WERENT CHEAP. expect to spend $500+ and invest a bunch of hours building going this route.
Some dudes use the crafstman 2x42 or even cheaper the harbor fright belt sanders....anything beats manual grinding and cutting IMO.
 
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If you want to go another direction, I recommend this DVD: http://www.livelyknives.com/sitedirections.htm
You can get the setup he uses (or one similar enough) for less than $200 and make great knives:
Washtub forge: ~$50
Anvil: highly variable, mine cost around $45
Blacksmith hammer: ~$15
Nicholson file: ~$15
Other miscellaneous tools and materials for ~$50

- Chris
 
this is the best place to learn how to make knives, apart from having someone hold your hand and walk you through it, but that requires you to become an apprentice and before you get to do much knife making you have to do a lot of hump work.
Read the stickies, if you get stuck ask questions, but use the search option first because it most likely already been asked. The guys here are a great bunch and I owe then a lot for sharing their knowledge with me.
 
jm1 you don't have to become an apprentice to get some help from a maker. There are state organizations that have meetings or hammer-ins that are sponsored by makers where everyone is welcome and the information and help flows freely. It would help if we could tell where you are from. There might be an organization that meets near you or maker that would give you a few pointers. Some makers will hold a class for you and teach you what you need to know to get a good start. That is probably the quickest way to go, but will cost you some money. Might save you some money in the long run, depending on how good of a knife you want to make.

Sticky that picture of the blade in the knifemaker's vise without a backing plate under it to protect you from the blade is just scary. If you get distracted and walk into that blade you could have a real problem. Sorry, but I just had to say something about it.
 
Hmathews said:
Sticky that picture of the blade in the knifemaker's vise without a backing plate under it to protect you from the blade is just scary. If you get distracted and walk into that blade you could have a real problem. Sorry, but I just had to say something about it.
Click to expand...

Where abouts does the plate go? BTW your knives are KILLER! How in the world do ya do that elaborate carving?
 
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Sticky said:
Where abouts does the plate go? BTW your knives are KILLER! How in the world do ya do that elaborate carving?
Click to expand...

I think the plate goes into the vice alongside the knife, so that it extends past the tip of the blade. That really is a nightmare waiting to happen as pictured, I am glad someone mentioned it, considering the nature of this thread. It certainly will not further our pasttime for new prospective makers to be stabbing themselves to death in their workshops.
 
When I give a knifemaking lesson I cover everything from draw filing a knife, grinding, selection of wood, fitting handles, and final finishing of handles.

With the basics covered a potential knifemaker can begin building with nothing more exotic than a file, vise, knife holding jig and a drill to drill pin holes. This is probably the best place for a beginner to start because nothing happens in a big hurry so you have lots of time to think and understand what you are doing.........These basics are then carried over to whatever more exotic machinery that you may decide to build or purchase.


George
 
Sticky I use a piece of flat bar stock with the edges rounded and the bar covered with blue tape. It goes just like Justin said along side of the blade or under the blade. You can work on the flats or hang a little of the edge over the side if you need to, but keep the point back from the end of the plate. You might get a bruise if you walk into it, but you won't have to loosen the vise and wear the blade to the hospital to see what all is cut or stuck when they pull it out. I'll try to post a picture of one in use tomorrow. It is a "must use" item in a shop, just like a respirator and glasses.

When we have a student we start out with some basic knife design issues and then get into some serious shop safety before we ever go into the shop. We always ask if the student wants to make a knife or do they want to learn how to make one. There is a difference. So far they have wanted to learn how to make one. That is what we like to see.

The carving isn't the hard part. Drawing it is what is hard to me. The carving just takes time.
 
Dont know if it was mentioned yet but a book called 50 dollar knife shop is helpful also, I have made every jig thats talked about in that book and they work great.
 
Hey there,

I have read through the sticky thread posted on the previous page and sadly one of the links has gone MIA. I have wanted to have my hand in knife making ever since my father handed down to his father's camp knife. My only question is this, is it best to begin with a knife making kit, a blank or a sheet of steel? I have read that it is "best" to start with a knife making kit, however, I did not join that forum. If there is already a thread for this please forgive me!

Edit: Sadly, at the moment I do not have the coin to purchase or even build a forge, but that will come!
 
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There are plenty of stickies as well as books and videos on knife making. This forum is a great place to get a lot of free knowledge. Any books or videos will help too. Many makers start with kits. I put together some pretty good knives in the 60's with some blades form Indian Ridge Traders, now passed on to the happy hunting ground. Kits are good, but I would recomend quickly moving on and making your own blades. That is the heart of the knife and what you are after. To me someone putting together kits or putting handles on blades is not making a knife. Just my opinion. I've done it and know what it feels like.

All it really takes is desire to make a knife. A file and piece of steel like 5160 and you can make a great knife. I think you would be better off, if you want to learn to make a knife, to start without a forge. But.....if the desire is to learn to forge, then why not learn on knife making. There is a difference here that can cause some problems without good help.
 
Thank you sir! I've been meaning to build up my tool bench in the garage and for some reason the wife is totally on board with me buying a drill press, belt grinder, etc. No complaints here!

I agree with you about attaching the handle and making
a knife are two very different things. I recently purchased the book, "How to make knives." by Barney and Loveless and have learned some good stuff!

Thanks again!
 
Bretta The Georgia Custom Knifemakers Guild Is having a meeting in Columbus this weekend.(May 1) Several demonstrations and good food are always there. If you are interested send me an E-mail and I will get the information to you. We always welcome new blood and it is a great place to learn as well as meet some of the greatest guys around.
 
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