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Knife making

1,912 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by FIDO 96
MROD92
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I realize knife making was discussed a month back. Any suggestions on what kit to get for someone that has never built one before but would like to get started?
Caliber
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AG
What is your budget for this...

There is a book called the $50 knife shop for pure handtools... or is you budget 1 or 2 orders of magnitude larger?
Caliber
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AG
Also, are you talking about making a knife, or buying a knife blank and making/attaching a handle to it?
MROD92
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Great questions. Looking to get it for my dad, retired Aggie engineer. So budget wise happy to spend over 100 or more if the quality of what you receive justifies (in other words 100$ kit only produces a 50$ quality knife no thanks) more challenging is better, he views these tasks as labor of love
Caliber
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AG
For what it sounds like you are talking about, a gift, it sounds like you are looking for a knife blank (pre-shaped and heat treated blade with no handle scales) and then a nice set of scales for him to add on to make it his.

Jantz Supply has a ton of options for blanks

Texas Knife Supply is in west Houston if you want to look in person

Woodcraft sells some blanks too.

All the above have scales as well.

From a blank, you'll need Scales, Pins (sized to the holes drilled in the blank) and epoxy, plus basic wood working tools to finish a knife.

Etsy also has some nice kits like this that would be a pretty decent kit because everything is kinda prepackaged, including sheath...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/561345705/damascus-knife-making-kit?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=knife+making+kit&ref=sr_gallery-1-3&organic_search_click=1&frs=1
C Loves L
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Buy yourself a Muela and have it engraved

You're welcome
FIDO 96
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AG
Let me be the first to tell you / him. $100 is only the first hit on this crack pipe. I'f you want to go the way of most beginning knife makers:

$40 1x30 belt grinder @ HF
$10 in additional belts on Amazon
$20- 2 pieces of 1/8 or 3/16 O-1 precision ground flat bar stock. Check eBay or Amazon. Or any of the knife supply places posted above
$5 two-part Devcon epoxy
$10 on some wood scales and 1/8" mild steel round bar
angle grinder
Drill press.

Have him watch YouTube videos of Walter Sorrells or Simple Little Life and then just jump in


Somewhere along the way you need to build a gas forge, acquire a band saw, make countless grinding jigs and justify a $2400 2x72 belt grinder with VFD

Oh and your wife will be pissed when you are grinding knives in the garage next to her brand new Porsche and the next day there are thousands of tiny orange/rust dots all over it. I told her it was tree sap and to have the dealership buff it off.

aad03
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AG
FIDO 96 said:

Let me be the first to tell you / him. $100 is only the first hit on this crack pipe. I'f you want to go the way of most beginning knife makers:

$40 1x30 belt grinder @ HF
$10 in additional belts on Amazon
$20- 2 pieces of 1/8 or 3/16 O-1 precision ground flat bar stock. Check eBay or Amazon. Or any of the knife supply places posted above
$5 two-part Devcon epoxy
$10 on some wood scales and 1/8" mild steel round bar
angle grinder
Drill press.

Have him watch YouTube videos of Walter Sorrells or Simple Little Life and then just jump in


Somewhere along the way you need to build a gas forge, acquire a band saw, make countless grinding jigs and justify a $2400 2x72 belt grinder with VFD

Oh and your wife will be pissed when you are grinding knives in the garage next to her brand new Porsche and the next day there are thousands of tiny orange/rust dots all over it. I told her it was tree sap and to have the dealership buff it off.



She's also pissed when you have to cancel dinner plans with her friends because your hands are covered in epoxy, and you have to make some quick adjustments to how you are pinning the tang into the handle before the epoxy sets up.

I quit making knives because it is such a dirty hobby, but kept my KMG grinder to use for other things around the shop.
Class of '03
FIDO 96
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AG
I've learned the biggest improvement in my knife making ability is to be patient and do a proper set-up. I've spent a lot of time and money in revamping my dust/spark collection methods. After countless shirts and loads or laundry ruined by me "doing a quick grind" in whatever I'm wearing, I've learned to slow down and put on a long sleeve. Work shirt or apron. I also have multiple shop vacs to clean up my mess. And flip flops are not advised when hogging material with a 36g belt.

As far a epoxy, I still make a huge ass mess. Even with latex gloves I end up having to wipe down everything with acetone. Seeing as how I do my glue-up at the kitchen island, you can see how this is agitation to the wife.

I will say, if you want a clean hobby you can do while watching tv, mess with leather. I got into leather because of knife sheaths, but's it's fun to make other stuff too.
Caliber
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AG
MROD92 said:

Great questions. Looking to get it for my dad, retired Aggie engineer. So budget wise happy to spend over 100 or more if the quality of what you receive justifies (in other words 100$ kit only produces a 50$ quality knife no thanks) more challenging is better, he views these tasks as labor of love
Just to talk about this a bit more based on what we've kept talking... There really is no "knife making kit" out there as you're talking about making a knife shop essentially. There are kits like I post that just need a handle to finish, which isn't exactly a small part and allow a lot of room for making it yours but isn't knife making as being talked about below. There isn't anything wrong with that is how many people get started down this path.

If this is something he actually wants to get into, Its a huge rabbit hole to go down with options at every turn with everyone having a different opinion ( and you know what they say about opinions and a-holes).

If he is old school and like to work for hours, he could get by with an angle grinder and some decent files. He can make a gough jig and file out the bevels after cutting the profile out with an angle grinder. Heat treat can be sent out or he can work out a basic heat treat plan with simple steels like 1080 or 1084. You could buy him some metal, pins, scales and a good Nicholson ******* file to get material off quicker.

Or go down fido's rec with the HF 1x30 to get started. You'll hear lots of opinions about it, but ultimately, it is a great cheap way to get started without a huge investment.
trip
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AG
Start by watching you tube. You can learn a ton. You will spend more on sandpaper than metal.
FIDO 96
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AG
Either I'm getting lazy or got lucky, but I haven't hand sanded any of my knives once I got my 2x72. I use trizact belts to about 400 and then hit it with a blue scotchbrite belt. It a nice even matte. Not interested in mirror.
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