Making a knife: A beginner's approach!

[cornfused]

I think you got a really good design for your first one, and you're right that will make a great pattern maker. Keep up the good work!

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I'm a materials engineer doing mostly metallurgy in my job, and I always like to see the degrees people understand metallurgy from a functional perspective, as well as the ways people find to make things work without the need to understand exactly what is happening on a thorough level. The simple explanation by Tim above would be over the head of many of the metallurgists I work with! Knifemakers learn what works through experience and can make metals behave the way they want as good or better than many people in industry.

I withheld from talking about quenching the austenite to make it martensite.

 

[prowland]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

I am getting really excited about the possibilities! Now I just need to decide on what steel to order. What is a good steel to work with. I would like something that is going to clean up really nice. Since its the first knife I am making it will probably be for my son and sit on his bookcase.

 

[TiminMishawaka]

Do you want to do the heat treat yourself or send it away to be heat treated by someone else?

 

[prowland]

I want to send it off... I want to make sure that I really like it before I toss a bunch of money into other equipment.

The tools I am working with are ones that have other uses so no specific knifemaking stuff.

 

[buford t justice]

Get a copy of wayne goddards 50 dollar knife shop, it sells on amazon for about 15 bucks

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I highly recommend you go with Cubby's suggestion of 440c from a reliable source then. I've heat treated my own 1084, 1095 and W4 with nothing more than a mapp gas torch, a baking pan of oil and channel locks and a whole lot of smoke and mess. Truth be told though, I've made at least 4 blades shatter while learning how to do it right.

 

[cubby]

I highly recommend you go with Cubby's suggestion of 440c from a reliable source then. I've heat treated my own 1084, 1095 and W4 with nothing more than a mapp gas torch, a baking pan of oil and channel locks and a whole lot of smoke and mess. Truth be told though, I've made at least 4 blades shatter while learning how to do it right.

LOL! see what fun is to come??!! the only difference between a rookie and a master is the master has already MADE all the mistakes! knives get smaller.... and smaller.... and sometimes turn into a bunch of very small pieces of knives! hahaaha. and you will cuss and moan and throw things... and then start over SWEARING to not make that mistake again. but you will make a NEW mistake... or the same one.... whatever the roulette wheel has for you. when you get REALLY lucky, you get that knife that you SWEAR is going to kill YOU before you finish it. those are a HOOT!!!!

 

[cubby]

I withheld from talking about quenching the austenite to make it martensite.

"uh, buht tim.... i justa whant me a gud huntin knive for my deer huntin! don't gotta be no fancy outtar space stuff! just outta sum metahal and stuff. mahybe some deer horn.... you gots some deer horn??!!"

 

[prowland]

I think my wife will kill me before the knife ever does! I tend to go at stuff untill I am done with it. I can really lose track of time.

Time to order some 440!

 

[DaKruiser]

I think my wife will kill me before the knife ever does! I tend to go at stuff untill I am done with it. I can really lose track of time.

My hawk got named the "separation hawk" at the first Chop-In for this very reason. I spent way to much time working on it trying to get it done!

 

[TiminMishawaka]

"uh, buht tim.... i justa whant me a gud huntin knive for my deer huntin! don't gotta be no fancy outtar space stuff! just outta sum metahal and stuff. mahybe some deer horn.... you gots some deer horn??!!"

Lol. Hey now - that's my favorite handle material....LOL.

Honestly I don't think any of my knives have seen any harder use than slicing up steak and potatoes at a Rendezvous and being passed around to kids. But I did have one guy of 80-90 years old buy one....sort of - he was going to pay me later and that was 7 years ago, though I kind of figured that's how it would end up...lol and had more knives than I needed and didn't have a lot of time into it. He told me he was doing a Rendezvous style Trek of the Appalachian trail like they did in the old days. I refrained from telling him the Appalachian trail came from the 1930s, not the 1830s. No sense arguing with a Davy Crockett dream.

 

[IndianaResident]

I wonder if an old band saw blade could be cut up into strips and forged together to make a knife?

M40 Project - 10 Cent Survival Knife

sorta

 

[TiminMishawaka]

I wonder if an old band saw blade could be cut up into strips and forged together to make a knife?

It's done quite a lot. I'm trying to remember the name of a father and son team near Springfield, Missouri where this is pretty much how they do all their forge welded blades.

 

[M88A1]

When I was in highschool metal shop, everyone had to make a knife of some type. I chose to make a 15 inch bowie knife out of a 36 inch old chain saw bar. Worked out great. Excellent metal to work with and strong.

 

[zspeed130]

"separation hawk"

That is a darn cool looking Hawk! What steel is it and did youheat treat it?

Z

 

[grunt soldier]

he used d2 steel and yes him and a friend heat treated it

 

[DaKruiser]

That is a darn cool looking Hawk! What steel is it and did youheat treat it?

Z

he used d2 steel and yes him and a friend heat treated it

Grunt Soldier got it! it's 3/8" D2 thats been heat treated and double drawn to RWc45.

Thanks for the compliment!

 

[grunt soldier]

Grunt Soldier got it! it's 3/8" D2 thats been heat treated and double drawn to RWc45.

Thanks for the compliment!

its a freaking beast of a hawk. you damn near need to be super man to lift it and swing it luckily dakruiser goes all incredible hulk with it so he has no problems. its a nice peice of steel for sure

 

[strahd71]

for steel you could look up aldo do a google for new jersey steel barron, also kelly cupples is a good supplier you can find a link for him at Ellis custom knife works. also McMaster Carr has 5160 and some other steels. and they also have decent prices on commercial quality quench oils they have a fast and a slow depending on the steel your working with.
also do a google for USA knife maker, texas knife makers supply, jantz supply.

good luck

jake