Life lessons for the knife maker

T

Trauma

Joined
May 26, 2019
Messages
30
I noticed there wasnt a thread on Pearl's of wisdom for knife makers. Those things we learn as we enjoy this hobby and profession. Those little nuggets that you didnt think about until they happened to you or that you learned the hard way. What are those special tidbits?

Mine was learned today. Do not grind metal when wearing anything made out of nylone, polyester, etc. I was wearing long pants to be safe but it didnt dawn on me, that the pants were nylon/polyester until after I was cleaning up and noted tiny pinprick holes melted into them. So be aware of the clothing you wear.
 
None of us like to admit we ever make mistakes, but I'll start the ball rolling.
Mylar belts cut like razors
36 grit belts grind through tissue and into cartlidge, I wear gloves when using them
heat-treating oven heating elements always burn out near the end of the cycle
super glue works for closing up large cuts, but only after you stop the blood flow
always wear eye protection
no dust is good for your lungs, but the dust some exotic woods and synthetic materials will cause permanent damage quickly.
Some fungi hide in wood and will happily acquire a new home in your lungs.
Heavy metal poisoning is also caused by inhaling metalic dust from brass, aluminum, copper etc. STAY away from copper beryllium, can you say carcinogenic?
I'll let someone else keepmthe ball rolling.
Jim A.
 
Don't grind flats on surface conditioning belts with the point up.
AEB L will warp. Deal with it.
Transfer pin holes to scales before gluing them on.
Cast iron will snap a grinding belt very fast against a platen
Buy once cry once
Fancy tools only give us efficiency not quality.
Knife makers never screw up a blade just make smaller ones
Remember that your customer may have different taste from you. Doesn't mean you can't educate them.
Know your wood before grinding / buffing it so it doesn't burn or stain.
 
I'm a new member here, first post and all, but I've learned a lesson or two being a hobby maker, so I figured this would be a good place to start.

Buffers are dangerous.
Make sure to degrease oily woods, then degrease three more times. Beautifully figured and finished lifting scales are still lifting scales.
Welded platens can have small bumps, sometimes it's not the belt seams.
Figured wood boards don't always equal figured wood scales.
Sometimes friends make bad customers.
Never agree on trade goods for a knife before seeing the goods. Nice wood means different things to different people.
Sometimes a messed up blade makes a better test knife or gift for a friend than your time spent trying to fix it.
Steel is cheap.

And here are a few good lessons I learned.
With simple carbon steels, I've found that you can get about one minute of time, post 20 second oil quench, to bench a blade back to straight before it takes a set. learned this in the Bruce Bump shop with some Kelly's 1080.
120 grit ceramics shape and grind bevels just as good as lower grits, I like to use 120 grit belts for all the shaping then clean up bevels with higher grits.
1/8 inch stock is a great baseline for everything from scandi/flat ground bushcraft knives to machetes. One of my best choppers is 1/8 1084 and it works better than my 3/16 and 1/4 blades, which leads me to my next point.
Geometry and edge thickness is more important than stock thickness and steel type.

I hope I'm following the posting rules, have to get the hang of a forum.
 
Never work tired.

Always wear a leather apron.

Always wear a hat with a brim with safety glasses. Grinders will throw steel dust toward the top of your head and glasses alone do not keep the dust away, but a brimmed hat does.

Have a fan blow across the platen to keep the dust from covering you.

Always use a push stick on the bandsaw.

Anyone can make a knife in a few hours, but it will take you the rest of your life to make your best knife.
 
Keep the floor clear of trip hazards, especially if your, cough, old
Don’t weld in those comfy mesh sneakers

The above don’t work tired is so true!
 
Don t use strong magnets to hold your template on steel :D All my life I use power tools .In 99 % cases I can predict what can happen ,so I never really injured my self.....so far .BUT can you predict that after you finish CUT blade that blade will jump on angle grinder ?????? Well that s happened with this small blade , luckily nothing dangerous happened this time , thanks God .....

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  1. Hand sanding only sucks if you suck at grinding.
  2. Use good tongs that fit the shape of steel your using.
  3. If you heat treat in a forge use a PID controller
  4. Use KNOWN steel
  5. 3m worktunes may be the best piece of equipment you buy
  6. Take pride in EVERY step.
  7. Dont work if your in a rush. You will mess up
 
A buffer can, and has, ruined my day. Sent one blade straight into my foot. I had no idea my jugular vein was located in my right foot.

Regarding belts: quit trying to get $25 worth of use from each $5 belt. Dull belts will screw your work up.
 
Don't skimp on abrasives - even for hand sanding. The difference between something like rhynowet and the crap you can buy at home Depot is astounding.

I used to dread handsanding. Now I can get it done in half the time - it truly makes that much of a difference. Plus, if you buy your abrasives in bulk from somewhere like supergrit I'm fairly sure you're actually saving money.

And on that note... Mistakes happen. Sometimes slowing down and doing things by hand is the way to go.
 
Any project will take longer and be less profitable than you might reasonably predict. If you can account for this you'll be alright.
 
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