My (2nd) First hand-made knife

[Spiggy]

had tons of fun making this knife- it's the first semi-complete knife I've ever made. earlier, (two weeks ago) I've made a smaller one to test if I had the stuff to do it. In the process I nubbed an angle grinder . a piece of thumb-tip went to the grinder and the project was officially started. As my freind Ed always says. It's not your project until it draws blood. Learning from that experience, I decided to make this knife entirely with just hand tools. When I decide to sharpen it, I might cheat and let the hardware store do it.

I'd love to hear your advice and comments about it. This is my first(2nd) knife and it was really fun (despite this project not being done yet); I'd like to start a new one soon!

Sooh, here I am, starting with the sheet of metal I found at the local scrap place. The owner man gave it to me for free. I quickly sharpied up a corner for my design (I couldnt decide on the blade so I made it very featureless)


Uh-oh! the hacksaw blade broke on the downstroke and caught me! I'm fine, I treated it and in 3 days will continue work


Here it is after I cut it out, note that it still has no blade features, but I've already started on my handle


Lots of hacksawing, filing, sharpie-ing, and hand cranked polishing wheeling later...

Yes, I found Bluing paste and decided to color my metal before I started filing on the edge. it's not sharpened yet and you can see the tip was heated up. I was learning how to harden my steel.

Now to make a grip! I don't feel right using paracord as the handle is far too curvy. Can anyone advise me as to how to make wood grips?

Thanks for checking out my post. I'd love to hear what you have to say

 

[JTW Jr.]

great progress ! what are you gonna do for the heat treat process ?

 

[Gustav]

Nice!

I like the blade pattern allot and the grip looks like it would fit the hand perfectly with a great balance and feel to it once you are done.
Curious to see how it turns out and what kind of handle you are going to put on it?
Looks good!

 

[Spiggy]

I was playing with a pen torch, but I have freinds in a machine shop shop that are more than happy to do it on their spare time. It's probably easier than to have me guess and ruin my first knife

I will be digging around for old wood I can use as grips

 

[Valkman]

That's a pretty fine knife! Great design. I am concerned, though, about this:

I treated it and in 3 days will continue work

Making knives will cut you up, scrape you up, burn you up and hopefully not impale you. Learn to cuss a minute, put a bandaid on it and continue.

Seriously, if you ever start buying the power tools we use they are all very dangerous with the buffer being #1. My hands just about always look like they've been through a grinder - because they have!

 

[Spiggy]

I heal fast, the cut I took on the hand is actually completely healed over now, and that was exactly 7 days ago. No neosporin, no cremes, nothing now I wonder how fast I can heal with the meds!

 

[JTW Jr.]

any idea what kind of steel it is ? you sure it will be able to be heat treated and hold an edge ?

 

[Triphammer]

JTW Jr.
From the photo the steel looks to be 1018 mild steel. can't get hard enough to hold a fine edge. He's doing a good job of working out form & learnign a great deal about shaping steel. If this is only his 2nd attempt he's got a feel for design. I'll wager this won't be his last & the subject of steels & alloy will be dealt with in time.

Spiggy,
Maple makes a good rugged grip material & looks a lot like bone after the knike is handled a while. Oak from shipping pallets makes a tough handle & due to it's large grain structure doesn't get slippery in the rain. Find a good tough wood & don't be too concerned about a fancy grain. Grips are too small to see much of it.

 

[Spiggy]

willdo! I have an old grenade crate that's no longer salvageable. useful source of grips!

speaking of steels and alloys; what's a suggestable easy metal to work with; one that is soft for handtools, but still hard enough to hold edge? I can make maybe two-three more knives out of my sheet and then I'll need another.

EDIT!

Here's something to think over!
My marine freind serving overseas needs a random use knife. Sooh, I churned up this macabre doodling for an idea.

it's got features like my earlier knife, only it's much wider and a tanto. Think this will be useful for general purpose?

 

[Fosbery]

Ooh, that would be an awesome camp knife if you gave it a Scandinavian grind

 

[Triphammer]

Alloys

Spiggy,
1080 (lawnmower blades) is a fairy easy material to work with. Used blades are easy to come by & new blades don't cost that much. Ask & a hardaware or garden supply store if they've got any that haven't sold in a season or two. Sometimes oddball blades are ordered & never picked up & they may reduce the price further. Car leaf springs tend to be 1095 on older cars, 5160 on later models. Automobile coil springs tend to be 5160 but you'll need to forge youre rough shape ( that's down the road, you'll wander there eventually) 1080,1095 & 5160 all HT really well, the 10xx steels can be differentially hardened ( a big plus for a custom knife)

Your new design looks promising, I woundn't make it from the steel you are currently using but 1080 is a great steel for a hard use knife. Harden from cherry red in vegatable oil & draw @ 400 deg in the kitchen oven ( that's why the veg ooil & not motor oil) Draw the back to ble & the handle area to brown with your pen torch. Sharpen & it a knife for life.

 

[glockman19]

Now a nice wooden grip will finish it off nicely.

Congrats on the progress.

 

[JTW Jr.]

also check out your local spring shop , they may have scrap piece of 5160 & 1095 ( though they are usually 1/4 thick ).

I find 01 much easier to HT and less prone to warping than 1095 using basic methods .

You might find some local knifemakers near you who would be willing to either heat treat it or show you how they do it.

Making it yourself is a rewarding experience , kudos to you for all your hard work.

A few years ago , I did just what you are doing....fast forward 3 years and my shop now has a Bader3 variable speed 2 x 72 grinder , 2 1x42 grinders , a 4 x 36 , 1 HP 9" disc sander ,12" chop saw , metal band saw , kydex setup , dedicated leather working bench & tools , 2 production floor drill presses , 2 blast cabinets , 7 HP compressor and a dust collection unit....
soon to add a mill and a set of salt quench tanks...it's a hobby that has spiraled way out of control But I enjoy the heck out of it.


FYI: Admiral Steel sells 1095
HR 1095 3/16 X 2" X 36" $13.83

toolanddie.com lists O1 Tool steel
3/16 x 1-1/2 x 36 O1 Precision Ground for like $32.00

 

[Spiggy]

I saw my neighbour doing his gardening this morning, I asked him if he had any spare wood and he gave me a short post. I guess we now have grip material!

Then I bought a second hacksaw and a few more clamps, we can start on the second knife!

Next, I need to find the right steel locally for the next (3rd) knife.

EDIT!

Got crackin' on the wood and a splinter caught me in the palm; being that it started to bleed, it's safe to assume the grips have just gained "Project Status"


can you believe I've receved PMs about purchasing this knife? thanks for the compliments!