Making a knife from a file.

[greensurfingbear]

So I met stone of the regulars in Jan and have been inspired to make a knife. Got my hands on some knackered files from work. Anyone in the north east willing to meet up and show me the ropes?

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[Willderness]

Im in the North West, I'd be happy to meet up and build along with you. What equipment do you have?

Cheers,
Will

 

[greensurfingbear]

Other than two old files nowt lol

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[ex-member Raikey]

Other than two old files nowt lol

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Mick,...you have a a BBQ??

get them annealed first dude...

1. light the bbq,...
2. bury them in the coals
3. get them cherry red ,. (utilise a hair dryer if need be)
4. let then cool as slowly as poss,...i just left the bbq to fizzle out overnight,....

now you can work them,....

a hacksaw with rough them out and a nice file will get a decent shape and bevels,...

a normal drill will put holes in the tang

and i KNOW you got access to some wood for the scales,...hahaha

bear in mind i,m a noooooob but if you want more just ask

Stu

 

[greensurfingbear]

Twas talking to you lot that inspired me Stu.......

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[Whittler Kev]

OK. Why not start with a masterclass and watch GreenPetes knife making basics. It's where I (and loads of others) started and its all done in a backyard with very little
http://www.greenpete.co.uk/knife-making/knife-making-video/
You can even download the DVD free - all 4GB of it

 

[Whittler Kev]

Mick,...you have a a BBQ??

get them annealed first dude...

1. light the bbq,...
2. bury them in the coals
3. get them cherry red ,. (utilise a hair dryer if need be)
4. let then cool as slowly as poss,...i just left the bbq to fizzle out overnight,....

now you can work them,....

a hacksaw with rough them out and a nice file will get a decent shape and bevels,...

a normal drill will put holes in the tang

and i KNOW you got access to some wood for the scales,...hahaha

bear in mind i,m a noooooob but if you want more just ask

Stu

Make sure you harden them again and then anneal them before adding your scales

 

[greensurfingbear]

I have nothing in the way of tools for undertaking this task.....think a grinder and some files might be a good idea!

thanks for the Video link. Very useful.

i had to look up anneal and scales as I didn't know what you were talking about

 

[Whittler Kev]

Annealing softens it a little so it's not so brittle that it snaps and scales are the sides of the handle

 

[Silverhill]

If you're not keen on leaving a BBQ burn down for whatever reason (little nippers running about etc). Grab yourself an old terracotta plant pot and fill it with vermiculite and bury the heated files in there to anneal.
It's a good way of cooling the steel very slowly which will make the blades easier to work, which = less elbow grease!

 

[ex-member Raikey]

Make sure you harden them again and then anneal them before adding your scales

bugger!,..i knew mine were not holding the edge as i'd have liked,...hahahah

 

[ex-member Raikey]

Annealing softens it a little so it's not so brittle that it snaps and scales are the sides of the handle

"temper" ?

 

[Silverhill]

"temper" ?

Anneal before, temper after.

Anneal, temper, harden, normalise..........All terms that can be used for similar heating and cooling cycles to change the structure of the metal.....All equally confusing

 

[lannyman8]

if you dont have much dosh GSB you could just get a file, flat 1 side rounded the other, you could do the whole thing with that, it is alot of work though.......

chris......

 

[greensurfingbear]

Oh all excited bout trying it lol. Not going to rush thought will source some tools. Bound to find one mate or another who I can blagg some kit off.

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[lannyman8]

going to try and get the forge finished today, IF i do i will take pics and post up, my new anvil too................

best of luck with the blade mate, you will be fine, just take your time and ask if you need to mate......

 

[paul atkin]

Hi there, for a simple zero cost forge check out a thread i started on the APT forum
http://www.bodgers.org.uk/bb/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=719
ideal for knives and other tools. I later built it up off the ground using thermalite blocks(Pic somwhere in the thread) at a cost of 12 quid and all i used for an anvil was an old sledge hammer head

 

[Everything Mac]

Tis a shame you aren't up near me mate - I'd be happy to help you out.

have a look at this thread: http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?118913-Yet-another-FIRST-KNIFE-thread...

necessity is the mother of invention. there are many people both on here and over on BB (myself included) who are either skint, lack tools or both.

I live in a flat in Glasgow most of the year. - I used a silicon gun as a vice to clamp together my stacked handle scandi.

I've done forging demo's out of a 3 quid BBQ from tesco. And the other night I wanted to do some file work on a new knife - so I duck taped it to my portable anvil. - Job jobbed

All you really need is a couple of files and time. No doubt you have already done a search on here for similar threads.

best of luck

Andy