What do y’all use for knife templates?

Outdoor Gear Dad

Outdoor Gear Dad

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Jun 1, 2019
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I’ve got paper templates and plastic templates that I cut out of old placemats all over. They suck to trace out on steel. What do you guys use? This might seem like a no-brainer question, but I’m looking for creative ideas. Thought about buying a bunch of paint stir sticks from Home Depot and cutting them out of that.

Any suggestions that work for you?
 
I use some 3/32 plastic and 1/16 sheet metal that I make the most made templates out of.
 
I put them on hardboard (high density fiberboard) whatever you want to call it. Same stuff pegboards are made out of without the holes in it. You can get a 2x2 sheet usually from a Home Depot for a few bucks or buy a 4x8 sheet for a few bucks more and have them "cross cut" some 2'x4' sheets that you can make a bunch out of. Just don't get them wet :). What's nice is with some fine grit sandpaper you can smooth out any profiling by hand that might need to be done if need be.
 
I use 1/8" micarta for fixed blades. And 3/32 A2 for folders
 
I had a piece of 1/8" finish birch plywood. I took my drawing, stole my nieces glue stick, and glued my drawing to the plywood and then cut it out on my bandsaw and used my grinder to get things down to my lines and smooth.
 
I have all of my templates stored as vectors. If I need to cut something, I vinyl plot the profile and cut it with the bandsaw. Simple and accurate.

Pablo
 
1/4"x2 1/2"x48" piece of Poplar sold in the wood trim section of the local Lowes or Home Depot
Cost is around $3-4 but you can get quite a few templates out of one. Good thing is you can practice your grind on it, especially if it's a complicated one. These come in many other sizes as well so few limits on radical designs.
 
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I have a 1/8" aluminum blank for the hunting knife I make. Lowes/Home Depot sells aluminum stock fairly cheap.
 
I use paper or baking parchment. As you noticed it's not the most accurate to transfer to steel, but i make tweaks to my design during grinding anyway so it doesn't bother me. If it's just a mockup to get a feel for size I use scrap cardboard.
If you want it really accurate do a vector file and get it cut by waterjet
 
When I come up with a profile I want to keep I make an extra out of reclaimed 15N20 and use that as a template. When I’m gone someone will get a drawer full of ready to bevel useable pattern blanks
 
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Fletch Helical said:
I put them on hardboard (high density fiberboard) whatever you want to call it. Same stuff pegboards are made out of without the holes in it. You can get a 2x2 sheet usually from a Home Depot for a few bucks or buy a 4x8 sheet for a few bucks more and have them "cross cut" some 2'x4' sheets that you can make a bunch out of. Just don't get them wet :). What's nice is with some fine grit sandpaper you can smooth out any profiling by hand that might need to be done if need be.
Click to expand...

This is what I use also. Super easy to cut with bandsaw and score with a razor what you can not reach with bandsaw.
 
I use the 1/8" plexiglass type stuff at lowes/homedepot. Super cheap for a sheet and see through.
 
.040" sheet metal. i had used wood in the past but i noticed the scribe will start to eat away the edge after awhile.
 
El Cheapo mild steel from the Depot. Some paper ones for the occasionally used ones or one offs and a few out of laminated wood. Day in day out knives I make often, mild steel.
 
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