Hi all,
I thought I would add an article I've written recently about my process for designing and building a custom knife. I know a few of you have been aware of this project for some time, and the process had been very long winded but the finished article is now here! Please enjoy part one of my 3 part article...
Just another outdoor knife?
With all the thousands of products out there, from mass produced commercial brands to individuals and artisan knife makers, one must as the question. Why?
Well, my reasons are twofold. Firstly, I could never quite find what I was looking for and secondly, being a maker myself I knew I would find enjoyment in the process as much as the finished result. For this article the focus will be on the process of designing the knife, and hopefully might inspire you to do the same should you choose.
I am an outdoorsman, I enjoy all aspects of outdoor life from fishing, canoeing, rock climbing, camping and bushcraft. Over the years, my interests in the outdoors have changed and amalgamated into a somewhat blurry looking mega-subject. I have found that the tools I carry on each of these adventures do their job very well for their intended use, and whilst they all shared similar characteristics, each had their flaws when applied to certain tasks. What was needed was an all-round outdoor knife that could offer more than an “one cut deal.” This meant that there were some absolutes right from the offset.
Firstly, the blade must be made from stainless steel, to reduce the likelihood of corrosion when using it in wet environments. It had to be a good long term proven steel and not a new super steel or the latest fashionable material. Handle materials needed to be tough, easy to maintain and again resistant to moisture. I had used and very much enjoyed using in the past knives with micarta handles, so I decided this was a great choice due to its toughness, workability, and replicability. All these materials would be bolted together with special stainless-steel fixings to reinforce the durability I was aiming for.
With these specifications now dialled in, I could use them as a framework around which to build the Ferlas knife. I had three knives in mind for the pattern, each have been my go-to tools for this reason or that so I thought drawing inspiration from the elements I was satisfied with should make a great design. This was definitely the most long-winded part of the process. Starting with paper and pencil I would draw out designs, adjust them to scale, photocopy the design and then cut it out on plywood only to find myself straight back at the paper and pencil to start again. I must have gone back and to around a dozen times until I was satisfied and confident in the design specifications I had.
The next step to finalising the design was getting an electronic version I could send off to various makers for quotations and initial feedback. In enters Tom, a friend of mine who is a very good digital artist for computer games. He was very excited by the project and within minutes of talking we had an exact template saved of my design, fantastic! Tom’s help does not stop there though. I hadn’t even considered the idea but he even drew up a detailed graphic design of what my knife could look like completed along with a 3D printed knife! I am very grateful for his help and support of the project as I now have a finished article to show people, as well as to use as a reference when putting them together.
All that was left now was finding a knifemaker who was able (and willing) to produce blade blanks to my specification, ready for the next steps in producing my own custom outdoor knife. Sounds simple, right?
The final plywood template…
Tom’s 3D printed version!
I thought I would add an article I've written recently about my process for designing and building a custom knife. I know a few of you have been aware of this project for some time, and the process had been very long winded but the finished article is now here! Please enjoy part one of my 3 part article...
Just another outdoor knife?
With all the thousands of products out there, from mass produced commercial brands to individuals and artisan knife makers, one must as the question. Why?
Well, my reasons are twofold. Firstly, I could never quite find what I was looking for and secondly, being a maker myself I knew I would find enjoyment in the process as much as the finished result. For this article the focus will be on the process of designing the knife, and hopefully might inspire you to do the same should you choose.
I am an outdoorsman, I enjoy all aspects of outdoor life from fishing, canoeing, rock climbing, camping and bushcraft. Over the years, my interests in the outdoors have changed and amalgamated into a somewhat blurry looking mega-subject. I have found that the tools I carry on each of these adventures do their job very well for their intended use, and whilst they all shared similar characteristics, each had their flaws when applied to certain tasks. What was needed was an all-round outdoor knife that could offer more than an “one cut deal.” This meant that there were some absolutes right from the offset.
Firstly, the blade must be made from stainless steel, to reduce the likelihood of corrosion when using it in wet environments. It had to be a good long term proven steel and not a new super steel or the latest fashionable material. Handle materials needed to be tough, easy to maintain and again resistant to moisture. I had used and very much enjoyed using in the past knives with micarta handles, so I decided this was a great choice due to its toughness, workability, and replicability. All these materials would be bolted together with special stainless-steel fixings to reinforce the durability I was aiming for.
With these specifications now dialled in, I could use them as a framework around which to build the Ferlas knife. I had three knives in mind for the pattern, each have been my go-to tools for this reason or that so I thought drawing inspiration from the elements I was satisfied with should make a great design. This was definitely the most long-winded part of the process. Starting with paper and pencil I would draw out designs, adjust them to scale, photocopy the design and then cut it out on plywood only to find myself straight back at the paper and pencil to start again. I must have gone back and to around a dozen times until I was satisfied and confident in the design specifications I had.
The next step to finalising the design was getting an electronic version I could send off to various makers for quotations and initial feedback. In enters Tom, a friend of mine who is a very good digital artist for computer games. He was very excited by the project and within minutes of talking we had an exact template saved of my design, fantastic! Tom’s help does not stop there though. I hadn’t even considered the idea but he even drew up a detailed graphic design of what my knife could look like completed along with a 3D printed knife! I am very grateful for his help and support of the project as I now have a finished article to show people, as well as to use as a reference when putting them together.
All that was left now was finding a knifemaker who was able (and willing) to produce blade blanks to my specification, ready for the next steps in producing my own custom outdoor knife. Sounds simple, right?
The final plywood template…
Tom’s 3D printed version!
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