My first steps into the world of knife making

[b0ogaloo]

After all the help I got from Pablo making the Adze blades , I've started making myself some small wood carving/ whittling knives
Finished the first one this morning

Blade is from   15mm x 2mm 01 flat ground stock , actual blade length is about 30mm
Handle is oak with piece of bone I stole from the dog



Andy

[WildWesty]

That looks great mate !! - wish I had the skill and patience to make things like that!

[b0ogaloo]

So after my initial success I ended up making a set of wood carving knives
Just need something to put them in now .. I was thinking of making a leather tool roll type thingy



Took a few photos while i was making the last one , might be of interest to someone

I make the handle first , still experimenting with handle design

This is a piece of reclaimed oak from a Kitchen unit door



Draw out the rough shape of the handle and cut it out with a jigsaw



10 minutes of sanding and shaping and  I ended up with this



I epoxied a piece of bone onto the end



I also inlaid a piece of Antler ...   and after another 10 mins of sanding and shaping



Marked  the slot for the tang and drilled and filed it out



Next up was the blade .. i used a piece of 15x3 01 flat ground stock



I didn't draw a blade template .. just free handed it



Ground the bevels and the tang



Then I hardened it in my four brick DIY forge





After a quench in an oil bath the blade was tempered in the oven for an hour



After a quick polish on the bevels  it was time to epoxy the blade into the handle



And that the last one in the set



Really enjoyed making these . next up is something a bit bigger

Andy

[wee gaz]

is this any thing to do with your job ( i dont know your job) or just a hobby, whichever its cool. you may start getting orders from NI Wilders

[b0ogaloo]

I wish it was my job .. but its just a hobby .

Andy

[b0ogaloo]

I added one more to the set .. a crook knife ( spoon knife )



Andy

[Spud]

Lovely job andy, they look great!

[Dowser]

Great Job... I love posts like this!!!

I'd like to hear more about the 4 Brick Furnace.  What Fuels it, where can you buy the bricks etc

Oh, and what kind of oil do you use for the oil bath?

[b0ogaloo]

The four brick furnace couldn't be simpler

Four bricks from Scarva pottery supplies .. just outside Bambridge

A gas torch and regulator from flea bay

Bottle of butane gas from your local supplier ,, I use the 13kg ones .. costs £30:00 to get filled , lasts a long time

Cut the corners off the bricks using an old handsaw , keep the offcuts for blocking up the hole at the rear of the forge





it can be used like this  by just holding the torch and directing the jet into the forge



Or what i did was bore a 40 mm hole at 45 deg through the brick and welded the torch nozzle to a piece of box section i had lying around



easy peasey ..lemon squeezy

The oil is old engine oil from the landrover , any oil will do .. sunflower oil  etc is fine

just check the steel is non magnetic before you quench it in the oil

Once its quenched .. put it in a preheated oven @ 200 deg c  for an hour to temper it .. job done

Andy

[b0ogaloo]

P.S .. I get the tool steel from Kennedy and Morrison on the Boucher road , they don't keep a huge stock but will order it in for you .. takes a few days


Andy

[Dowser]

P.S .. I get the tool steel from Kennedy and Morrison on the Boucher road , they don't keep a huge stock but will order it in for you .. takes a few days


Andy

Thanks BOogaloo... Excellent description of the furnace, with pics an everything 

I have a gas torch already (Which seems to be the expensive bit of kit).  Just the bricks to get then.

Thanks again

[wee gaz]

its the dog i feel sorry for, is that more bone i see on the handle lol

[b0ogaloo]

its the dog i feel sorry for, is that more bone i see on the handle lol

She's caught on and buried all her bones .. i've had to switch to using mahogany




Andy

[b0ogaloo]

Few more from today

Mahogany and beech laminated handles ,, bone ferrule thingy





Andy

[Fred]

Thanks for sharing those photos with us Andy, the knives look really good. Engineers files are made of carbon steel. If you can pick up an old scrap one somewhere they would be cheaper than ground flat stock, and enviromentally friendly.

Fred