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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 05-14-2014, 07:04 PM
ArmedArtist ArmedArtist is offline
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Another new guy

Hi all. Ive been wanting to make my own knife for a long time and finally decided it was time. I have watched hours and hours of videos on You Tube and read as much as I could on the subject. I bought some 1/8 440c from Texas Knife and also got some scales and pin material.

I have already found that cutting 440c with crap hacksaw blades doesn't work. And also discovered my hand-me-down bench grinder doesn't do a god job of removing material either.

So today i'm off to Home Depot to get better blades and maybe a new grinding wheel. All other work I would like to do with files.

Pics of the work will come shortly.
Glad to be part of the forum.

Chris from San Diego.
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  #2  
Old 05-14-2014, 07:19 PM
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Wazukie Wazukie is offline
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Welcome, I to am a new knife maker, making knives less than a year now. I think you will find that most will tell you that as a first time maker, a carbon steel like 1084 is your best bet, unless you are going to send the blade out to be heat treated.

Again, welcome and look forward to seeing pic's


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  #3  
Old 05-14-2014, 07:23 PM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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Chris,

Welcome to our forum! For a hacksaw you'll want bi-metal blades. A Diston brand heavy framed hacksaw is also a good investment. As for the bench grinder, just remove it from the bench and donate it to Goodwill or something. The best you will do with that is burn your steel and ruin your hearing, the worst is the wheel will fly apart and hurt you. Instead of buying a new wheel, buy a nice large file of good quality.

Some people use all sorts of weak little wood sanders and manage to get by. Some will use angle grinders, that's noisy and dirty but it can work. Still, you're only making one knife right now so no need to worry about working fast. Files and sandpaper work great, are controllable and quiet, not to mention safe and they are much faster than you might imagine.

Since you are working with 440C I suppose you know you will need to send the blade out for heat treatment. Texas Knifemakers is the place we usually recommend for that.

We have an online chat session every Sunday afternoon, details in the Sticky thread at the top of the forum. You should consider dropping in....


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  #4  
Old 05-14-2014, 07:41 PM
jmccustomknives jmccustomknives is offline
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Ray is right, stainless is a tough nut to crack with inferior tools and files. As he said, some get by with wood sanders. I'm one of them. Been using a 4x36 for years (ok, been through more than one). You will need to send it off to a heat treater, as you already know. Good luck.
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  #5  
Old 05-14-2014, 08:23 PM
ArmedArtist ArmedArtist is offline
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I was going to try to get 01 and heat treat it myself but decided it was ok to send my first one off and have it professionally treated. If I make another ill want to try to HT it myself.

I copied a template from http://dcknives.blogspot.com
This is the one I decided to make https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6F...JqSGV0SlE/edit

Not exactly sure on what type of grind I will do on it. With a file it seems like I only have one choice. Didn't think about the fact of the type of blade profile and what grind it may need. I assume some blade shapes work better with specific grinds?

I did get some new files. Not sure on how good they will work.

Feeling a bit frustrated because I've watched videos and read and I thought I had a good idea on what to do. But after starting it I keep 2nd guessing my steel choice and design choice and my available tools.

Would it be worth making a file jig?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R98cGkhN18o This is the video that made me decide to make a knife using hand files. He makes it look "easy".
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  #6  
Old 05-14-2014, 08:48 PM
ArmedArtist ArmedArtist is offline
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Also wanted to ask about etching. Can I get a slightly darker color on the 440c by etching it?
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  #7  
Old 05-14-2014, 09:00 PM
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You basically have two choices for the grind on a blade made by files. You can do a full flat grind which is a complete V shape all the way across like a chef's knife or you can do a saber grind where the V part goes only part way up the blade like you would see on some hunting knives. Obviously, there is less metal to remove with a saber grind but getting both sides the same takes some care.

No, you don't really need a file jig. A file jig might be handy if you intend to do plunge cuts (those deep cuts at the rear of the blade on some knives) but you can simply design your grind without those and save some effort.

Stainless is not a good candidate for etching - it's stainless by definition. You might get it a little darker but not much. Sand blasting will turn the blade grey and, if you finish the blade nice and clean before you blast you'll get a nice grey finish. If you leave scratches in the blade you'll get a nice grey finish with scratches....


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Old 05-14-2014, 09:24 PM
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Thanks for the info!
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  #9  
Old 05-15-2014, 12:53 AM
ArmedArtist ArmedArtist is offline
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I made another post. Its not up yet. I showed which blade design I decided to use. I already EDC a folder. Wanted to make a knife I would use every day and not just make it and say "Cool!" and then toss it in a drawer.
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Old 05-15-2014, 07:44 AM
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Welcome Chris!

You've come to the right place. Lots of great advice and good people here willing to help.

Dan


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  #11  
Old 05-15-2014, 12:15 PM
ArmedArtist ArmedArtist is offline
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The templates on your site really helped pick something for my first knife. Going to take pics along the way and send you pics on how it turned out in the end. I just wanted the first one to be useable for me and not just make something to make it. If this one turns out good, which I hope, I plan to make a kitchen knife for my buddy.

Think the knife profile I chose would work only using files and such?
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  #12  
Old 05-15-2014, 02:23 PM
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Chris,

I used files for my profiling and bevelling my first 5 knives, they were flats and a scandi. Shouldn't be a problem. If you can find a good sized (12") Nicholson mill file in my opinion their the cat's meow. I have one bastard and one smooth and used them all the time. The tools will always come in handy for things later on (e.g. re-profiling hatchet at campsite)

Nothing against Goodwill, but I have to disagree with Ray on tossing the bench grinder. I took the guards and wheels off mine and put two 6" cotton buffing wheels on. One's black and one's green. If I had another bench grinder I'd do that one pink and clean.

:-)

Dan
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Old 05-15-2014, 02:37 PM
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Dan's right about that, of course. I didn't really toss mine out either (I converted it into a forge blower) but I was overstating to make a point which is bench grinders aren't a good idea for grinding blade bevels. They do work as buffers though, I have two for that purpose. Not the best buffers due to the short arms, high speed, and usually weak motors but not bad for the price. If you go that route be very careful with it as buffers are the most dangerous machines in the shop. Also, please, PLEASE only use it to buff your handles as there is no earthly reason why any blade made by a beginning knife maker needs to be polished to a high shine. Trying to do that is what makes buffers dangerous. On top of that, most beginners just end up with a blade with shiny scratches because they try to buff out their scratches instead of sanding them out as they should. Then, when you try to use that shiny blade everything it touches just adds another scratch and makes the blade look bad.

I know, more info than you wanted, I'll go away now ....


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  #14  
Old 05-15-2014, 05:19 PM
ArmedArtist ArmedArtist is offline
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I don't plan to buff the blades. For a personal knife I like the satan/black/ brushed steel look. While I fully appreciate the high end knives and the work they take, they are just too nice looking for me.

I got some files (see cheap crap) the other day thinking they would work. but I will be going back to home depot and getting some quality files. I'm determined to make this first knife something I'm happy with.
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  #15  
Old 05-15-2014, 05:37 PM
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You'll be fine. The secret is to dig in and not worry too much about making a mistake or two. Everyone does. You'll probably be the only one who notices.

:-)
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