Northern Ireland Outdoors Forum - Hiking, camping and more
Outdoor Activities => Northern Ireland Camping and Bushcraft => Topic started by: Typo-On on July 15, 2011
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After the fabulous bushcraft day run by NIBA I realised I needed a new knife.
After hours spent on google I realised two things:
1) I couldnt spend the money to get one I liked, unless I also wanted a divorce ;D
2) I could get one that I wanted by buying a Blade blank and putting a handle on it.
So never one to take the easy route when something interested me I started looking at how to make my own, remembering a discussion from my apprenticeship about making knives from old files I was on google like a shot again!
So the quest begins to make a useable knife from things I either have or can get for nowt ;)
It could all end in tears.......
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Fair play mate. It'll be interesting to see how it works out.
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Can't wait to see how this turns out. The greenpete made it look easy :o
I've found a couple of budget folding knives for you ;D
Cheapo knife 1 (http://www.heinnie.com/product.asp?strParents=&CAT_ID=0&P_ID=6820)
Cheapo knife 2 (http://www.heinnie.com/Knives/-Custom-Knives/Brian-Tighe-Knives/Custom-Knives-Brian-Tighe-Tighe-One-On/p-92-104-438-6067/)
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good luck with your project, and enjoy doing it.
every man needs 3 knives.
1) fixed blade, eg mora in carbon steel.
2) strong medium locking folder. eg opinel #10
3) small non locking folder, "uk legal carry" job
out of all these, the knife i'd spend most on, and use most is the non locking folder and top notch sharpening gear. always on your person and legal.
any old crap will do for lock knife and fixed, as long as it holds a bit of edge. just carry a sharpener. after all we don't live in borneo or the amazon.
fallkniven U1 is my next purchase. been using a knife for years ( almost funked out now), cant remember the make, but was around £30, 10 year ago.
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Thats a good looking forge mate im jealous! I agree about getting yourself a decent wee folder but an opinel will do for either. Dont however scrimp on the steel for your fixed blade if you are making a stock reduction knife ie you are removing the metal by filing rather than forging use a decent file or a piece of o1 toolsteel. Crap steel on stock reduction means a crap or weak knife, and as you may be using it to baton hard wood you risk breakages if the steel is crap. Just from my experiences. This business about uk legal carry dosent mean that if asked you dont have to account for your knife and it can still be confiscated, what it does mean is that you MAY be able to avail of the 7.62cm or less blade on the knife as part of your defence for having it. If you dont flash a knife about and carry it so its on show or act the prat with it you wont have much to worry about.
GF
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Nice looking forge set up for sure.
I imagine that you will use a hair dryer to blow air up the pipe.
When Greyfox and I last did this, we simply blew down a plastic pipe. (that was fun, lol)
I'm also not sure 100% sure if normal wood will get hot enough, or you may need absolutely loads of wood, as once you start blowing air through it, it will use fuel like there's no tomorrow, (but then again, it might be fine, as i'm no expert) to get the steel to the optimum "Cherry Red" colour. I know that we had no problem getting it hot enough using charcoal though.
Good luck with it and remember, if it turns out wrong, you have a good set up so simply have another go. I'm looking forward to seeing the end result.
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Can't wait to see how this turns out.
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Looking good mate what size is it? Also i would get your rough shape sorted now as when you put the handle on it and sand it to shapeyou will remove a lot of metal as well.
GF
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I'll be honest Dave, you're making us all look really, really bad ::) ::) I'm expecting a thread any time soon announcing you've knocked up a flux capacitor in the shed!
Looking good mate what size is it?
GF
9" total, the cutting edge will be 4" I think
I've rigged up what could only be loosely described as a jig to get the angle right for the grind(file :( ). Was almost tempted to use the side of the grinding wheel but common sense prevailed(no darwin award for me :) ) so its manual file, cant see it looking pretty lol
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Really looking forward to the end result
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You'll have a hard job finding a Delorean or some plutonium..
I'll be honest Dave, you're making us all look really, really bad ::) ::) I'm expecting a thread any time soon announcing you've knocked up a flux capacitor in the shed!
LoL, I think its more a case of me being borderline obsessive about things that perk my interest.
But funny you mention the flux capacitor.....My next thread was going to be MYOTTM :D
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Theres a delorean in the transport museum im sure we could sneek it out unnoticed. I would love a trip back to the neolithic to take a few snaps!
GF
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Nice one Flipmeb. What are you going to use for the scales?
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i Can give u some liners if you want them, i have black or red ones. You will need liners as you will endup with holes between the knife and the scales.
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I'm no expert I have just made a few mistakes myself. The reason for fibre liners is you never get the correct flatness between the scales and the knife as wood and metal are unyielding whereas the fibre when squeezed between the wood and metal contours itself to the shape of the wood on inside and the shape of the metal on the other thus filling any gaps. I would reduce the edge to about 1/4 mil this shouldn't burn but will also give you less work when sharpening the knife. You could try the blow torch on the spine but I find the oven tempering is much easier and less prone to missing the colour run. Just my suggestions I'm sure there are others who will disagree but hey that's how we all learn.
GF
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No problem what colour do you want I have black and brick red?
Go to pm with this.
GF
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Awesome work. This is coming along well!
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The big one looks bad ass!!
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Really impressive work Dave, hats off for giving it a go. In fact hats off not only for giving it a go, but also making a really good job of it! Once you've perfected the technique I might be popping round to yours to hire some time with the forge ;D
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Very impressive work! loosking great!
Kinda just picking up on this forum again now - been a busy summer. ::)
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just seen this thread, fair play to ya for going to all the trouble, and i DO mean trouble.
firstly,you could have got some o1 tool steel stock for 9 quid and saved yourself some grief bollocking about with an old file.
secondly,if youd just filled half an old calor gas bottle (cut lengthways) with a few sticks then a handfull of coal and applied the hairdrier directly youd have easily attained the 800 degrees required before quenching in some old engine oil.
a sample piece from any solid wood floor retailer makes a great handle too in oak,birch,maple,ash,cherry,etc.
thirdly,well done on getting there anyway mate with the resources and expertise you had to hand. id have given up at the file part lol.
everyone should try this knife making lark. .......then buy one from me :P ;D :-*
seen this? or was it lost in the archive dungeon? http://www.ni-wild.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=268.0
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true enough about gringing one from stock,especially if you have a pattern to start from.
especially woodlore clones,which is why i now make little custom kneckers with buffalo horn handles or stag horn.
the skill lies in the design of a blade and the extra detail like filework,handle shape and leatherwork. its true-any monkey with a linisher could knock something up,but ive seen a LOT of efforts that look plain crap.
saying that ,i guess it basically comes down to two things in the end,functionality as the primary point then aesthetics after that.
as for things i had laying about,id cut the gas bottle long before i needed a forge. it was easy to do though once empty and filling with water to expell any residual gas. my 4 inch grinder went through it like butter and it makes a great fireholder/bar b que too.
`handmade crap by my hands` lol indeed it may be but it,ll probably be the fondest blade you own. every new knife i make becomes my favorite for a short time before i give it away or trade it but i`ll always remember my first one and keep it myself.
good luck with the HT,it can be tricky enough but a general guide would be to let it get hot enough till non magnetic then quench in oil. a good tip is to make sure your quench bath is deep enough so you can fully immerse the hot blade,otherwise it will ignite the surface oil and there will be hot spitting oil all over the show. then into the oven at 220 for an hour.
of course, all the above is relative as some people cant even use a file,never mind make a knife from one ::)
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Looking great! Always wanted to try this myself one day but have 0 equipment/tools and would end up making a very poor knife for way too much.
I did however try handling a lauri leuku blade once. Ended in tears as a drill press is a necessity and the bolster gap was a nightmare.... Anyway these guys have loads of good wood for scales, although I know your planning on doing it for no pence. http://www.english-handmade-knives.co.uk/
At least for the wee one considering its a hidden tang, a block of curly birch would be well nice!
Also your in good hands with greyfox's advice. Saw his handmade at the bcraft day, its very professional!
Good luck with the rest of it!! You should show it to the guys at britishblades, sure theyd love to see it!
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I was in finland last year and bought a really nice knife.
i think the handle is made using curly wood. very hard and really nice to look at.