Well I'll Be Damned. I Made a Knife.

[PayneTrain]

Long story short(er), I decided over a year ago that I wanted to make a knife. I watched youtube videos, joined BF (which eventually led me here), and read all I could stomach on the subject until I realized that the only way to do it is to just do it, so I bought some steel. I chose CPM S35VN for a good performing stainless that shouldn't be too crazy to grind. My mission was a chef knife, but I had extra steel so I went ahead and made a little pocket fixed blade too. Slowly over the last 6 months or so, I ground away on my little Harbor Freight 1x30 (thanks China :rolleyes: )with some decent belts from Supergrit. Not ideal by any means whatsoever, but hey we gotta start somewhere. I sent them off to Peter's for the heat treating and just got them back this week.

I started with the pocket blade first, as I figure it'd be better to practice on. I ground off most of the oxidation (or whatever it is) from heat treating with a 220 belt and started the edge bevel when I realized it was going way too fast and coming out sloppy, so I took out an old "Carborundum" stone that was my dad's and went to town on the coarser side. After a few minutes, I put a piece of paper to the edge and it sliced through. The revelation hit me right then and I said to myself "I'll be damned. That's a knife."

It needs a little more work on the edge, and eventually will be finished off on my 701 Profiles. There are a few heat treating marks left on the blade but I think I'll leave them for a more rustic look (and cuz I'm lazy). And of course, it needs a pair of my signature cutting board handle scales. It's not Spyderco quality. The lines and curves aren't great, the holes are anything but inline, and the edge is pretty ugly, but for my first, I'm pretty darn proud.



It's been a really fun project and I can't wait to get them both finished. I really hope the chef knife comes out nice so I can cross someone off my Christmas list! I highly recommend this hobby to anyone who's thinking about trying it. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, learned a lot so far, and am thrilled that I got something usable out of it. Hence my sharing with ya'll! :D

[3rdGenRigger]

I'd thought about doing similar but it won't be in the cards for a little while. Looks great though! Definitely something to leave to your kids one day. A local metal store has square bars of O1 tool steel and I almost bought some a few months ago, but they're too small and I don't have the means to hammer them any thinner. One day...

[PayneTrain]

I'd thought about doing similar but it won't be in the cards for a little while. Looks great though! Definitely something to leave to your kids one day. A local metal store has square bars of O1 tool steel and I almost bought some a few months ago, but they're too small and I don't have the means to hammer them any thinner. One day...

Thanks! I'll definitely be holding onto this little guy for a while. I'm sure it will grow to be quite special.

There are a couple great sites online to order steel from, no hammering required. Thank goodness for them, because that would be a deal breaker. Definitely give it a go some day, even if it takes 6 months to make a knife like I did. I enjoy the rare hour or two alone in the basement. It's like knitting for men!

[3rdGenRigger]

That will be how I do it eventually...4x4 O1 square bar is a bit beyond me unless I invest heavily in forging equipment lol.

[Surfingringo]

That's awesome PT! I had an amazing industrial arts teacher when I was a kid and we had a four year knife making course all through highschool. I made various fixed blades in that time and it was very rewarding watching them each one get better than the last. I can definitely relate to the "proud father" feeling when you are holding your new creation. Enjoy that one and enjoy the ones to come.

P.S. Not sure what happened with those big randomly spaced holes but you can alway just drill a few more and call it "skeletonized", then put your actual holes where you want em. Once the handle is on, nobody knows or cares what's beneath.

[PayneTrain]

That's awesome PT! I had an amazing industrial arts teacher when I was a kid and we had a four year knife making course all through highschool.

Wow, cool school! After 4 years, you must be pretty handy with a grinder, no?

And about those holes...yeah I did measure and mark where they should have been, but I don't have a drill press and even in the annealed state it was hard to get the drill bit to bite in and not wander. I don't think I want to try and drill into 59-60 RC S35VN now. Though one thing I learned throughout this experience is how to sharpen drill bits, so maybe I'll give it a shot.

[MacLaren]

That's awesome PT! I had an amazing industrial arts teacher when I was a kid and we had a four year knife making course all through highschool. I made various fixed blades in that time and it was very rewarding watching them each one get better than the last. I can definitely relate to the "proud father" feeling when you are holding your new creation. Enjoy that one and enjoy the ones to come.

P.S. Not sure what happened with those big randomly spaced holes but you can alway just drill a few more and call it "skeletonized", then put your actual holes where you want em. Once the handle is on, nobody knows or cares what's beneath.

Lol, I bet they don't teach that anymore......
All the same I'm jealous, wish I could've done that in high school.

[SpyderNut]

That's awesome PT! I had an amazing industrial arts teacher when I was a kid and we had a four year knife making course all through highschool.

Wow, cool school! After 4 years, you must be pretty handy with a grinder, no?

And about those holes...yeah I did measure and mark where they should have been, but I don't have a drill press and even in the annealed state it was hard to get the drill bit to bite in and not wander. I don't think I want to try and drill into 59-60 RC S35VN now. Though one thing I learned throughout this experience is how to sharpen drill bits, so maybe I'll give it a shot.

Nice grind on that blade, man! I can see you put a lot of time on that. You are right--it is very rewarding to work out a design of your own creation. I started making knives when I was about 15 years old using old chop-saw blades and wood scraps (walnut/maple) for the handles. I used a cold chisel and mini-sledge to cut out my blades. It was crude, but it worked well enough.
I just completed two folders with S35VN blades. It is awesome steel to work with. I also like D2 and ATS-34. I just bought some M4, but haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
For knifemaking supplies, I use Usaknifemaker.com, Alphaknifesupply.com, Jantz.com, and Texasknifemaker.com. Trugrit.com is fantastic for belts of various sizes and grits. I started out with a Sears1x30 belt grinder and it worked just fine. There's nothing wrong with that, except it made working on longer blades a challenge. Someday if you want to go larger, I'd look at getting at least a 2x42 or 2x48 sized grinder. Jet makes an excellent 2x42. 2x72 grinders are awesome, but they are also very pricey. Regardless of grinders used, I would highly recommend getting a basic table-top drill press (Craftsman makes a great model for about $130). This is a must-have piece of equipment for knifemakers. Drilling holes consistently and accurately will give you a great deal of satisfaction. Well worth the $130.
Finally, you can use a basic steel punch, carbide-tipped scribe, or nail to set a detent into the steel prior to drilling. This will help prevent the bit from wandering off center and causing headaches.

Best of luck to you and happy grinding!

Michael

[PayneTrain]

Nice grind on that blade, man! I can see you put a lot of time on that. You are right--it is very rewarding to work out a design of your own creation. I started making knives when I was about 15 years old using old chop-saw blades and wood scraps (walnut/maple) for the handles. I used a cold chisel and mini-sledge to cut out my blades. It was crude, but it worked well enough.
I just completed two folders with S35VN blades. It is awesome steel to work with. I also like D2 and ATS-34. I just bought some M4, but haven't had a chance to play with it yet.
For knifemaking supplies, I use Usaknifemaker.com, Alphaknifesupply.com, Jantz.com, and Texasknifemaker.com. Trugrit.com is fantastic for belts of various sizes and grits. I started out with a Sears1x30 belt grinder and it worked just fine. There's nothing wrong with that, except it made working on longer blades a challenge. Someday if you want to go larger, I'd look at getting at least a 2x42 or 2x48 sized grinder. Jet makes an excellent 2x42. 2x72 grinders are awesome, but they are also very pricey. Regardless of grinders used, I would highly recommend getting a basic table-top drill press (Craftsman makes a great model for about $130). This is a must-have piece of equipment for knifemakers. Drilling holes consistently and accurately will give you a great deal of satisfaction. Well worth the $130.
Finally, you can use a basic steel punch, carbide-tipped scribe, or nail to set a detent into the steel prior to drilling. This will help prevent the bit from wandering off center and causing headaches.

Best of luck to you and happy grinding!

Michael

Thanks Michael! I actually got the general theme of the blade from a Bark River Northstar because I could never find the smaller version and they were kinda expensive. So, I made my own!

My operation is pretty basic at this point. I do have a set of punches, not sure why I didn't use one here when I did on the chef knife. But just like working on cars, I'll slowly amass a better arsenal of tools for knife making. Definitely thinking of a drill press next. Good grinders are quite expensive, and I'm already realizing the limitations of these cheap 1x30's, but for now it's enough to realize them and do the best I can. I think I can get pretty far with this little thing with some more practice. The other thing I'm thinking about is a band saw or some type of power saw to use on the wood. It is such a pain cutting scales out of a hardwood cutting board with just a hobby saw. The hardest part is fileting it. That takes forever, but gosh I love that smell.

I got my steel from USAknifemaker, but I noticed alpha has a really good selection too. I actually have another piece of even thinner S35VN coming to make a boning knife. I saw alpha has a LC200N under a different name and that got me thinking of a fishing knife, but I don't know how my Pacific Salt would feel about that. Maybe once I start actually catching enough fish...

[SpyderNut]

PT,
I agree with you wholeheartedly on slowly amassing the tools/machines for knifemaking. You can still do an incredible amount of quality work with basic equipment--it just takes more time usually. Anyway, I currently have a small shop with a few pieces of power equipment that I've put together over the years--nothing fancy. Someday, I would love to upgrade my grinder and get another drill press, as well as a CNC machine, end mill... The list goes on. :rolleyes:

Hey, you might want to check out the Rockwell Saw for cutting wood for your handles (Link: https://www.rockwelltools.com/en-US/Bla ... Mount.aspx" target="_blank). I use mine all the time to cut through wood, G-10, Micarta, Carbon Fiber, etc., and it works like a charm. The blades are relatively inexpensive and you can purchase them directly at your local hardware/lumber yard. You can vary the speed of the blade, which helps greatly in controlling the cut. I think they generally run for about $189 or so. However if you shop around, Menards will have them on sale for about $150 once in a while.

Usaknifemaker is a great source for steel and supplies. Alphaknifesupply is my new favorite for steels, though. They seem to have a larger selection of different steels in a wider range of thicknesses and lengths. I would love to get my hands on some 10V, Elmax, and CTS-XHP someday. Alpha also has a great selection of Ti flat stock for handle scales/liners.

Keep up the good work! I look forward to seeing your finished product.

-Michael

[paladin]

That looks great...

I can imagine how special that knife is to you now...

Thanks for sharing!!!!

[Jazz]

I think it's quite nice and quite the accomplishment. One thing - you put yourself down and apologise way too much. It's very cool. I wish I had the patience. I'm just a modder. :cool:

[jackknifeh]

Very good work. Can't wait to see handles on it. Or for a quick handle you can wrap it with para cord like an ESEE or Ka-Bar. Great job.

Jack

[PayneTrain]

Thanks everyone! I promise I'll get handles on it soon, but this afternoon was dedicated to trying to finish the chef knife. It's got some stubborn grinding marks that I'm trying to polish out by hand, but I have a gap in the lower grits of sandpaper so I'll have to work on it more over the week.

I think it's quite nice and quite the accomplishment. One thing - you put yourself down and apologise way too much. It's very cool. I wish I had the patience. I'm just a modder. :cool:

Yeah, I can do that sometimes. Honestly I was expecting a little more criticism, mostly on the grip. It's not as elegant as I had imagined, but I'll wait till it's finished to decide. I think modding is harder than making. At least if I screw up, I didn't ruin what was a good knife. That's a lot of pressure!

[Jazz]

I wouldn't mind to see the chef's knife too. That's what I do for a living. Oh, I hate trying to get those scratches out. Sometimes I lose my patience and just have to set it down before I get upset and ruin it. Take your time. It's worth it in the end. Also, I have to add, my work chef knife has lots of wear marks from sharpening and steeling. It's a workhorse and looks like it.

[Holland]

Looks incredible! especially for your first try. Would love to see how far your work comes after a couple more knives :D

[PayneTrain]

Note 1: Next time, put a better finish on the blade before heat treat.
Note 2: Buy more grits of belts

I sent them out with a rough 220 grit finish (the highest grit belt I had) and plenty of 80 grit grind marks that could have easily come out while the steel was soft. After several nights in the basement trying to give it a nice finish with the belt and then by hand, I wound up taking it back to the belt and leaving it with the 220 grit finish which I spent the first half of the Cowboys Colts game polishing by hand with Noxon metal polish to tone down the grind marks. It looks pretty good, on par with the S110V Manix in my pocket so it can't be too bad. What really bothers me are the low spots that are now accented by a different scratch pattern that I did by hand, but couldn't undo (safely) by belt. You can see one there in the belly and there is another on the other side in pretty much the same spot, which tells me there's something wrong with my form. Thankfully they're near the edge and will blend in the the bevel somewhat, as I intend to make it a low angle and therefore wide. Anyway, here's the chef where it is now, and where I'm probably stopping and putting handles and an edge on it. It won't look perfect, it just has to work well.

[Jazz]

Nice. How long is that? If 10", I'd say it's awesome. The wider the better - more clearance, longer sharpening life, and if you cook a lot, you know you pick things up with the blade all the time. Thanks for sharing the pic.

[SolidState]

Nice work. That's better than my first tries by a long shot. It looks like you do the same thing as me when making contact with the belt. It looks even worse when you try to start on the spine to prevent what you're seeing on the edge.

[PayneTrain]

It's almost 12" with about 7" of blade. It's a good size I think, with plenty of straight edge for chopping. I agree about the width, because there's nothing more annoying than whacking your knuckles on the cutting board every time you push down, and I didn't even think of how good it will be for doing that spatula thing. Bonus!

I'm thinking now that I might just keep this one. It's not the prettiest, and my sister won't be coming today for Christmas so there's no pressure which is good anyway since it's still not finished (**** work). And since I have the next couple weeks off, I should be able to grind up another one pretty fast and I'm sure it'll be better. Gotta order more belts...