knife making

[addyb]

I met a man many years ago who made knifes for the Gauchos he used to use leaf springs - so I'd suggest going to a scrap yard/car breakers - prolly get more metal than you could shake a stick at for a few quid.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't the original Ghurka blades made from discarded leaf springs as well?

Adam

 

[leon-b]

i have been looking at british blades and their knife making threads
i am going to make a woodlore replica as i am getting a template of this knife and i like the style of it
leon

 

[leon-b]

i have been trying to download GIMP but i couldnt work out how, do you have a direct link ?
leon

 

[topknot]

do you have the ray mears bushcraft book(hardback) with ray walking on the front because on page 19 is a full size knife.(photocopy or scam)
I have an old alan wood catalogue no7 the sizes are 110mm blade and 220mm overall. 4mm thick. 10mm less then the book size.

 

[leon-b]

no i dont have that book, do you have a link to a knife blank photo then i could scale it myself
leon

 

[JohnC]

I think the greenpete link had an outline of a knife ?"woodlore style" towards the end.
This link, that someone posted a while back http://gbrannon.bizhat.com/old.htm has a lot of info including http://hurleyknives.com/lloyd.html and http://www.engnath.com/public/lovedraw.htm

Some of the templates can be used as is, or used as inspiration for your own shape/style.

Good luck with the knife, its great to use a tool you've made yourself..

 

[leon-b]

thanks for the links but i cant find what i want, i have seen a few that look sorta like what i want but they have small finger notches which i dont want
anymore links ?
i couldnt find the template on greenpetes site
leon

 

[sam_acw]

Just and idea for you leon-b (and feel free to disagree)
You could try a few sketches of your own and then have a go at making up a wooden dummy model of the knife to see if you got the fit right. You;d be able to be more involved in the process and see the fit and balance and practice your carving skills!
Something like this maybe http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?t=16625

 

[leon-b]

im not very good at art or sketching but if you lot could give me some tips i could give it a go
leon

 

[sam_acw]

I'm not really sure what would work best.
Maybe photo copy a few knives you like to the same size and then trace them. You can then trace them onto different sheets to mix and match various sheets and see what features work well together. If you do it all on thin paper you don't have to start from scratch each time!
I know that when I built my first knife a dummy run would have helped more as I left the handle a little square. I also used a bought blade (Lapplander 90) which I didn't really like using when it was finished as I don't get on with thicker Scandi ground blades.

 

[JohnC]

When I see a posted pic of a knife I save a copy as a resource for making later.

If you are going down the road of stock removal from a strip of metal, I found taking a piece of card (or several) the same size as the bar and sketching out the blade and handle. If you're not happy with the shape etc start again till you are.

For one handle, I took a piece of DAS modelling clay and made a rough handle shape, bassed on an existing knife I have, I gripped it to get the indentaions of my fingers etc. and used that as a guide for shaping the handle of a knife I was making.

 

[Big John]

I used a chunk of expanded polystyrene from some packaging to rough out the handle and get the size and shape right.

Some pics and other advice here (hope those pics are still available - I had to remove a few to make space, and I can't check them here at work).

 

[leon-b]

nick is having trouble sending me the templates through pm so i have pm'd him my email addy and he is going to send me them through email
thanks guys and keep the info coming
leon

 

[leon-b]

i have finished making a knife blank out of copper, this was just a practice and will also be used as a template
leon

 

[leon-b]

here is the copper knife i made

leon

 

[topknot]

Good work . Take your time work carefully, knowing in advance what the next step is. Work at a slow and steady planned pace. cheers topknot.

 

[leon-b]

i just need to get some steel and then i will get cracking
leon

 

[Greenpete]

i always hear talk about photoshop and it sounds really good, can i download it from anywhere for free or does it have to be bought ?
leon

If you want a free (and open source) image editor that compares very well with Photoshop, I recomend The Gimp.
It's more a Linux app', but they do a version for all O.S.'s.
You can get a free download from here.
If you are running Windows, you will also need to install GTK+, there's a free download for that too.
Hope that helps, I haven't read the rest of the thread, so I don't know why you want it, I'm too lazy!
Peter

 

[Hiker]

Nice work Leon

Im looking forward to seeing how you get on .

A plan is forming slowly in my head to have a go my self

Keep up the good work .

 

[leon-b]

i just need to get some steel and then i will start the real one, what size and thickness steel do you guys reccommend
leon