Where an how do I start?

[davonpina]

So I am sort of new to knives and would like to start making my own but I need to know what exactly I need to be able to start such as materials, equipment, etc and please for each piece of equipment and materials could you provide an explanation of what each of them are and what they are used for

[BigCountry86]

It really depends on what kind of knives you want to construct..... are you interested in
Stock removal or hand forged or folders?

[davonpina]

I would like to start out by making simple full tang knives and then working my way to making other kinds of knives

[davonpina]

Is stock removal just taking a piece of steel and cutting it into the shape of the knife and using files and grinders to shape it and give it an edge.

[AUBE]

It really comes down to what you want to make and how much you want to spend.

A 2x72" belt grinder is by far my most used piece of equipment (used to grind blades, grind handles, a thousand household tasks you ddin;t know you could use a sander for until you bought one) You can get other sizes but 2x72" is the most common.

A drill press. (used for drilling holes to attach handle scales)

Some sort of cutter to cut out the general shape. Anything from a hacksaw to a plasma cutter works. An angle grinder is a common option. I have all of the above and its the angle grinder that gets the most time on it (although the plasma comes in handy..)

Something to heat treat the blades with... an electric kiln, a heat treat oven, a forge, or even torches.

A buffer. Used for polishing blades. I don't do many polishes myself but it comes in handy for polishing the final edge when sharpening.

Hand tools like hammers, metal files, anvils, Visegrips, clamps, lots of sandpaper, etc.

Again most of it comes down to budget. A recommended setup for someone with $5,000 will be a lot different than someone wanting to spend $200 (which is closer to what most people start with)

And stock removal is making a knife without forging it to shape. It can be done with something as simple as a metal file.

[R. Yates]

this should help you a ton

http://knives.com/knives/howto/5-bob...olderingq.html

[Ray Rogers]

From the way you ask the question I infer that you haven't done much reading on the subject of knife making yet. Read the links the other guys posted for you and also use the Search button on this forum to find threads where this very common question has been discussed many times before. Get some knife magazines from the mall bookstore or your local gun shop - the advertisements in there are, naturally, for the companies that sell products to knife makers. Getting a couple of catalogs from those companies will tell you right away what tools a knife maker can use to do the things we do. They also list many good books and videos to help you. In short, we can go pretty far in answering questions but we aren't in a position to teach a course in knife making from the ground up - you have to do your homework.

The easiest way I can think of for you to get familiar with what knife makers do and how it gets done is to build a couple of kit knives. Most of us start that way. You buy the blade already made and make a handle for it and a sheath too if you wish. Doing even that simple task will acquaint you with files and sandpaper, bolts, or pins, guards and/or bolsters and how a knife goes together. No matter how much experience you eventually get you'll always have need for files and sandpaper so this is not a waste of time. All machines do is help you do these steps faster. When you understand the steps, you'll understand what machines can help you do them faster ...

[davonpina]

All of your information has been quite helpful and I thank you all. Also for knife kits what would you suggest to use for a sharpener?

[Ray Rogers]

Kit knives are already sharp when you get them....