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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 09-15-2012, 12:36 AM
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hondo76 hondo76 is offline
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starting in on my first knife!!!!!

Hey guys my name is Adam i'm 24 and i'm from Aubrey Texas.
I love knives and anything sharp! you might say i crave sharp at my core lol
I find sharpening knives to be a very relaxing and zen sorta thing for me.
I have been collecting knifes since i got my first knife from grandaddy.
Anyways i have been wanting to make my own knife for awhile now and i started today.

I have been looking for a easy starter project and after looking around for awhile i found a a old file in grandaddys shop.

my whole plan is too finish the knife and "give grandad his file back" I'm going for a "mini bowie" kina style its still in the very rough cut stages as of now but i'm gonna work more on the blade tomarrow.

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  #2  
Old 09-15-2012, 08:34 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Welcome aboard, Adam! You'll enjoy this hobby but you might enjoy it a lot more if you put that file aside for a while. Not all files are made from suitable steel for knife blades and since they are already hard that makes for additional and more difficult work. Consider getting some simple carbon steel like 1080 or 1084 and heat treating it yourself or some 440C and sending it to Texas Knifemakers so they can heat treat it for $5.

Or, you might even consider finishing a few kit blades before you tackle making your own. There's a lot more to making a knife than simply shaping the steel. It would be a shame to put all that effort into making a blade only to do a sloppy job on the handle and guard ....


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Old 09-15-2012, 12:49 PM
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funny you were were the first to comment i was looking at your forges last night in the midst of posting that!
yea i was reading alot about that last night..... i figured as long as i take it slow and fallow what i know i should be alright. over the last few weeks i have been learning and reading as much as i can. i have learned alot from when i was clueless but i still have plenty more to learn. As for the buying steel for now i'm way to broke to buy anything so im just working with what i have.
It ain't much a few files and a angle grinder and i have access to a bench grinder.
I should mention i'm not a complete noob to metal work i grew up working a scrap iron company my father ran so i'm decent with most metal related tools. I hate to give up on anything i already started so i'm gonna carry through with this one and see how it goes if it self destructs ill put it on the wall as a offering to the knife gods.

i would however appreciate any advice tips or tricks anybody cares to share.
as for the handle and guard im going simple as possible i'm just putting on wood scales with epoxy and brass rod.
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Old 09-15-2012, 01:02 PM
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as for know i still have some fine tuning to do my overall shape and handle before i start my bevel.
i'm going to anneal the file so it will be soft and easier to bevel. my biggest question that i keep on my brain is there a i can build a jig to help file the bevel? I really like the scandi edge on my mora knife that is my edc work knife. how hard is this to do? would i be better of using another grind?
i worked on it alittle more this morning refining the shape.
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Old 09-15-2012, 01:43 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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You can build a jig and then spend time learning to use it, then build another when you try to make a knife that the first jig will not handle. Or, you can just learn to use your files and that will serve you no matter what type of blade you may wish to make in the future and it will still be useful when you own a shop full of tools. Your call.

If by scandi edge you mean a zero bevel - no secondary bevel, just the primary bevel right down to the edge - that is considered quite tricky by most people and I wouldn't recommend it for the first time out, especially if you're concerned about filing the primary bevel. It is very easy to over grind in spots and end up with a wavy edge. But again, your call.

I can appreciate being broke, few have had to squeeze the eagle harder than me when I first went full time at this. But, it's very easy to think you're saving money when you're not. No matter what you start with, you'll be expending fuel (electricity or propane) for heat, money for sand paper and maybe more files, glue, handle material, and various finishing products, not to mention your time. True, you may scrounge a good bit of this stuff or have it on hand already but you will expend it doing the project. If the file you start with is case hardened the knife you end up with will be crap and will have cost you just about the same as if you had made it with $10 worth of good steel. If the file is good steel, then you spend time and energy softening it, cleaning it, etc before you really start to use it and that costs money but takes more time than just buying the steel. Working with salvaged steel is rarely cheaper than buying simple carbon blade steel but, as always, your call. Either way, I feel sure you will get a knife built soon enough ...


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Last edited by Ray Rogers; 09-15-2012 at 01:45 PM.
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Old 09-15-2012, 02:44 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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Being retired, I know about being broke, or a least not having much extra. I, like the rest of us, also started out knowing next to nothing. If you can find your way to buy a book or two on knife making they can pay for themselves by keeping you from making bad decisions, like getting your steel down at the hardware store. I've always forged but I also started out with files and oil polishing stones. Belt grinder come in real handy but there are a few hardy souls who take pride in making their knives without any power tools, so it can be done. If you feel that you absolutely have to stick with found steel, aka mystery metal, leaf springs from cars are probably the most reliable but width and thickness might be a bit of a problem with stock removal.

Doug


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Last edited by Doug Lester; 09-15-2012 at 05:05 PM.
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Old 09-15-2012, 03:03 PM
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i figure i might as well finish what i started if nothing else grandad will get a nice letter opener outta the deal and i will learn a lot for when i get my hands on some good steel the next go around after i get paid gain next week this is just a " give er hell and see what happens" kina project.
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Old 09-15-2012, 03:18 PM
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would 1095 be a good steel to start with?
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  #9  
Old 09-15-2012, 05:14 PM
Doug Lester Doug Lester is offline
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There are easier steels to heat treat, though 1095 can make a very functional blade. Something like 1080, 1084, 1075, or even 5160 would be easier to heat treat. The main problem with 1095 is that you can run into problems if you soak it for too long and some lots of it have lower manganese levels than others which makes it want to harden better in water or brine. Some of the faster quenching oils will also handle it but then your talking about a sizable investment.

Suppliers that you might try are The New Jersey Steel Baron or Alpha Knife Supply. They are usually cheaper overall than places like Jantz. I think USA Knife Maker Supply has pretty good prices too.

Doug


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Old 09-16-2012, 05:49 AM
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Hondo
You're getting some good advice here. THings that will make the adventure much more rewarding. Try to avoid taking on additional challenges in the process by keeping it simple and learning the basics. Stick with them until they become second nature. Then when you move on to the more advanced stuff such as trickier heat treats, and complex steels, it will be so much easier to understand and do.
The blade design you chose is not really conducive to a scandi type grind. As Ray said they may look simple enough but are difficult to acheive without a lot of practice.
Good luck with your endeavors and don't be dissuaded.


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  #11  
Old 09-16-2012, 04:09 PM
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Thanks guys this morning i actually went and visited the shop of a member here by the name of Gary Roberts that just happened to live a few miles up the road. It was incredible helpful and he is a awesome guy that i hope to learn a lot more from in the future!
I left the blade with him to anneal and i'm gonna pick it up in the morning and start working on it again. I cant say enough about the Gary he was great to talk with i learned a ton the little time we visited today. I'm looking forward to a lot more visits and learning.
As for the grind i'm gonna go basic and try a zero edge on down the line after i have a few more under my belt.
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Old 09-17-2012, 04:08 AM
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Good deal. Spending time with an experenced maker is way more valuable than sitting on your keester reading. Although the info you get here and eslewhere will prove very important as you learn, it's hard to beat hands-on. Kudos to Gary.


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  #13  
Old 09-17-2012, 06:03 AM
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Longshot Longshot is offline
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Welcome to the forums! You have been getting some great advice so far. They are right when they say that purchasing a simple carbon steel will be easier than working with mystery metal. I know this to be true since it is my primary source of steel right now...

Working with files as your primary source of steel is a decent starting point. Just check a few things when you do use them. The brand and where it was made. If its not a Nicholson, or at least american made, then there is a very good chance it was case hardened and it will not hold an edge. Be sure to keep the steel as cool as possible when shaping it. Just keep a gallon of water by you when you are grinding it and just dunk it in until it is cold to the touch.

Also, a simple way to heat treat a hardened file would be to put it in your kitchen oven for an hour at 425, then shut the oven off and let it cool off in there. This usually takes out the brittleness, but the thing with mystery metals, is that you can never be completely sure of the end result. So once it is finished, test the hell out of it! If you dont test it, then you will never know if it came out right. Just have fun and be safe while doing it! I'm sure Ray will have some great suggestions for ways to test the knife once it is finished
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Old 09-19-2012, 01:13 AM
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hondo76 hondo76 is offline
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Did some more work this evening... got my bevel ground and cleaned up the blade and sanded it down to get rid of alot of the marks to a kina satin finish

cleaned it up more with a bench grinder




i clamped the knife down to start filing my bevel.

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Old 09-19-2012, 01:28 AM
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hondo76 hondo76 is offline
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Then i worked it with a file for awhile then i moved to a belt grinder and finished up my bevel then, i moved to the flap wheel sander to polish up the knife a little after i did some file work on the spine where the file grooves begin and end to make it nice and even.






Thats where i left off tonight. next chore is the handle and i'm thinking about cutting the handle down the middle and weaving the handle with leather cord in a criss cross pattern.

Last edited by hondo76; 09-19-2012 at 01:30 AM.
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