Knife making

[Gythral]

Anneal, shape both blade and tang, drill any rivet/bolt holes & rough grind to .5-1mm at the sharp edge but dont put an edge on it, heat treat, then fit the handle, the sharp edge is the very last thing you do.

 

[S.C.M.]

Cheers for the points on ethching fellas. Will look into it.
Stew I wouldn't harden it after the handle is attached, I'm not a complete moron lol. I meant I would harden it, then grind any excess off, and finally attach the handle bits and shape it.

Although, something I hadn't considered was how hard it would be to grind the tang off once it is hardened. I think the answer is to anneal it, sharpen it, and shape the blade blank completely, drill the holes, and then attach handle.

Will update with progress as it continues.

I am in the process of making a sort-of bushcraft knife from a rasp. I annealed it several times in various fires, shaped the blank into a blade, then found out that I couldn't drill the B*stard
so it got pushed to one side, because I didn't anneal it well enough to be able to drill it. maybe it should have been a stick-tang, but it's probably too thin steel.

moral of the story: either make sure you anneal it properly and can drill it (if you mean to), or find a friend with a drill that can handle it i.e.: a metalworker
hot punching might work too - heat steel to red hot, then punch a nail or something through it

 

[johnt1102]

I know a little about woodwork, and a little metalwork, and have some experience with both. My father has a workshop of tools, so space, and tools aren't a problem.

I've read a bit about knifemaking. Making a handle, and attaching a blade is pretty straightforward, but I'd like to make a blade too.

I know mild steel is usually avoided as it is so soft that it needs resharpening often, however it's nice and cheap, and might be good for me making my first one, as if it goes well, I'll use it to show friends more than cut stuff, and if it goes terribly, then it's not cost so much to waste.

Two questions though;
I'd like to make the handle out of wood I find, but in the interest of being green, where do I get my wood from within nature? I don't want to pick up fallen wood, as it may be rotting or infested. I don't want to cut it necessarily as it's naughty. So if I walk into a woods, what sort of wood am I looking for to make a handle, and where do I find it?
Also, can you buy knife blades by themselves? As I'm thinking of making a few handles, attaching them to pre-bought blades, and giving them as gifts?

Cheers in advance chaps

British Blades website has all the knowledge you need plus blades ,handles & abrasives.

 

[Spunyarn]

So I've been busy with this over the past couple of evenings and will post what I've done with some pics:

I decided I wouldn't harden or anneal the blade, because of limited time, but also because I imagine this knife will be more onrnamental, than be used practically. I may look at making my own bushcraft knife at some stage, and if I do, then I'll do it properly, (or more than likely just buy a good blade blank and just make the handle myself).

Now to the pics:
I rounded off the blade and tapered the area of the blade into a smooth point.

Next I used epoxy resin to glue two blocks of wood to the knife in order to create a handle. (They were way too big, and after they dried, I had to half them length-ways, so that I had a reasonable sized block to shape into a handle).

I used a coping saw to shape the handle a little bit before sanding.

I began sanding which was actually the most enjoyable bit of the whole process. Quite therapeutic, and it didn't take as long as I thought it might which was good.

I drilled two holes, that I would fill with brass bar. The wholes pictured were actually too small, so I had to open them up afterwards.

I carried on sanding the handle to shape, and also sanded the blade down to a better shape, a bit of a shine.

Next I smoothed out the blade with a flap disk, some emery paper, and wet and dry.

(Not pictured - I cut two short lengths of brass bar, and pushed them through the knife. Then holding the knife against the vice so that one end of the bar was flat against the metal, I hammered down on the other end to squish it and fill the holes nicely. I did this with all four ends of bar, and I flattened it until flush with the handle. Then I sanded to smooth the ends of the bar in with the handle.)

Next I got my grandads old oil stone out, and set to work with some transmission oil

I used some cutting paste to shine the blade a bit and this is the (almost) finished knife

I'm pretty pleased with it as a first attempt at making anything like this. It's not the best craftmanship in the world, and having spent a good 20 odd hours staring closely at this thing this past week, I have gotten to know every flaw. Every little immovable scratch in the blade, and every little dent in the wood, but it adds to the character.

I still have to clean the handle up a bit, and oil it, and I'm currently busy making a box for it.

Overall, it's been a good learning experience so I'm happy with it.

 

[TurboGirl]

Wow, you've been busy with some great 'git r dun' karma! It looks brilliant, bet you're well chuffed

 

[georann]

I have to say when I first read this thread and saw you getting to work, I couldn't picture what you were going for and was a teeny bit skeptical at how it would turn out. But I have to say, that actually looks really good! Well done mate!