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Old 11-24-2018, 08:35 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Wauconda, WA
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The best way to know what tools you need is to try to build a knife in the first place. The easiest way to do that is to do it in steps. The easiest steps are found with kit knives. Go to knifekits.com and look at the blades they have and pick one. Buy some handle materials from the same site and assemble the knife. This is a fairly cheap method of learning the processes of making a knife and you're guaranteed to end up with a usable knife which is always a good morale builder. Once you have confidence and the tools to attach and shape a handle you can think about making your own blades. It is a stone cold be-atch to stumble through making that first blade - which will be very challenging - only to discover that the "easy" part you were ignoring (the handle) turns that first blade into a clunky mess.

And Doug is right about the bench grinder, they are basically useless for knife making. You'll need a belt sander eventually. For now, do a couple of kit blades. Then make a couple using files and sand paper. All the hand tools and processes you acquire while doing these things will be needed on every knife you make in the future even after you have all the power tools you can imagine. Power tools make the necessary steps go faster but they don't give you the skills you need. Knife making is an art and a craft that takes years to learn properly, be patient and learn to walk before you try to run ...


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