homemade knife

[rebel]

First attempt at making a knife. I styled this knife from the Tommy Lee Jones movie Hunted. It's nothing elaborate just made from flat stock. The handle is oak riveted on. I tempered by heating red hot and quenching in water. It's sharp and holds a good edge.

Some things I would do differently next time: Such as, start an edge prior to tempering because afterwords the steel is much harder. For tempering after the initial temper I would brush off the scales and follow with a slow temper. For the handle I would bolt or wrap the handle. The rivets become loose.

Anyway, just playing around with tools in the man cave. Any questions, comments, suggestions or, critiques???

[Alpine_Sapper]

First attempt at making a knife. I styled this knife from the Tommy Lee Jones movie Hunted. It's nothing elaborate just made from flat stock. The handle is oak riveted on. I tempered by heating red hot and quenching in water. It's sharp and holds a good edge.

Some things I would do differently next time: Such as, start an edge prior to tempering because afterwords the steel is much harder. For tempering after the initial temper I would brush off the scales and follow with a slow temper. For the handle I would bolt or wrap the handle. The rivets become loose.

Anyway, just playing around with tools in the man cave. Any questions, comments, suggestions or, critiques???


Nice knife. Good movie. :D

[Rick]

Rebel - My hat's off to you. I like it. Nice job. You might consider Chicago Screws for the handle. They come in all different sizes and several different colors. I used them for my Kurki and machette sheaths. And...you have the luxury of replacing a handle should one side get damaged.

http://www.screwpost.com/?gclid=COaNueev1pICFQG5PAodmiJtlA

[Wanderer]

That is a nice knife, and looks quite functional. I have a question for you (and any others who make their own knives), what tools do you require to make a knife? Is there a bare minimum tools you require to make one?(actually that was 2 questions :D ) I have very few tools lying around my place and wondered just how complicated it was. Put into a survival/semi survival situation where scrap metal etc was available is it possible?
Cheers
Alex

[rebel]

Alex,
It's not complicated or cost effective to make your own knife. With good blades available for the money versus buy the tools ... I had a torch, grinder and file available. In a survival situation you would need some way to put an edge on the steel. That could be nothing more than a rock or a file if you have one. If you want to make your own at home I would go with a vise to hold the work, a hack saw to cut the shape and a file to put the initial edge on the blade. Then a hot fire to temper the steel. I'm obviously no expert and I hope this helps you.

[crashdive123]

Good job Rebel.

[Ole WV Coot]

That is a nice knife, and looks quite functional. I have a question for you (and any others who make their own knives), what tools do you require to make a knife? Is there a bare minimum tools you require to make one?(actually that was 2 questions :D ) I have very few tools lying around my place and wondered just how complicated it was. Put into a survival/semi survival situation where scrap metal etc was available is it possible?
Cheers
Alex

http://www.primitiveways.com/pt-knives-1.html That link is the absolute easiest way to make a decent knife. I could dazzle you with brilliance or baffle you with BS.:D Don't have enough space to tell you on here but almost anything can be made to cut.

[Rick]

Nice post, Coot. Thanks!!

[Wanderer]

Thanks all. Yep I figured it wouldnt be very cost efficient...may try it as a hobby though.
Coot that is a nice link, and the primitiveways site is new to me...very interesting.
Alex

[FVR]

I looked at the knife before I read your post and thought, man, that looks like the knife from that movie the Hunted.

I like it, alot.

Great job.

[tunick001]

I was reading in this book the best type of outdoor knife to have is the Kukri Knife. It serves as a heavy duty cutting tool.

[canid]

again; there is no best knife. a kuk is really just another tool in more or less the same category as a machete/parang/golok or even a falchion. they are appropriate when you need to cut, chop, and perform many other tasks, as are many other tools.

they still get you nowhere if what you need to chop is too big and wouldn't be practical for, say, preparing sushi.

[bladefrenzy]

Great job Wanderer ! I would never post pics of my first attempt! Took several before I stopped throwing them away,lol. Yours is def a keeper.

Canid, good advice, always use the right tool for the job. A good kuk is a great chopper, I have a highly modified ww2 era one. But I would hate to dig out a splinter or try to skin with it.

[Arkansas_Ranger]

First attempt at making a knife. I styled this knife from the Tommy Lee Jones movie Hunted. It's nothing elaborate just made from flat stock. The handle is oak riveted on. I tempered by heating red hot and quenching in water. It's sharp and holds a good edge.

Some things I would do differently next time: Such as, start an edge prior to tempering because afterwords the steel is much harder. For tempering after the initial temper I would brush off the scales and follow with a slow temper. For the handle I would bolt or wrap the handle. The rivets become loose.

Anyway, just playing around with tools in the man cave. Any questions, comments, suggestions or, critiques???

Looks like the knife the guy forged in The Hunted which was on tv earlier.

[Blood Groove]

Oh man I love that knife! It does look extremely similar to the knife in The Hunted. Man that movie is one of the best. I saw it for the first time about a month ago. I don't think it's really possible to throw the knife like they did in that movie though.

[DOGMAN]

Awesome...nice work.

[dragonchi]

Awesome job for your first attempt...yep love the movie too

[dragonchi]

If you guys ever get the chance. Get the DVD it has extras in about the knife and a little about Tom Brown which is what Tommy Lee's character was based on....Some great extras on the knife fighting they used also

[grundle]

I have a friend that practiced that style. It is Arnis, a filipinio knife system. It is pretty wicked stuff.

[Chicago Dan]

Great job and effort Rebel.
I bet 99% of even the people on this site never get as far as you did.
I'm impressed.

This is something I always wanted to do myself but have never go around to.
A couple things that I looked into that interested me was the use of animal blood to quench and putting the stock in the freezer. No I don't remember all the specifics other than harder and more durable blade. At least that's what they said on the History channel many years ago.

[Gray Wolf]

It's nothing elaborate just made from flat stock. The handle is oak riveted on. I tempered by heating red hot and quenching in water. It's sharp and holds a good edge.

Very nice for your first time! Would you mind elaborating more on the steel you used, ie; 1095 ?, thickness, weight etc. Again, nice job rebel.

[LeaveThisLifeGuy]

nice lookin knife man! gonna do a bit more research, and head out for some tools to try my hand at it.

[Ole WV Coot]

I've tried out a Nessmuk style that I made and like it so well I made a couple more since one Buck is still hiding with my Beretta. I am gonna try something different. Saw a compact one piece hatchet/knife on the internet and am gonna make one. I need serious cutting stuff to get to the mailbox, the grass is up to the upstairs windows and I hear funny noises at night plus the dog won't leave the basement. Darn gas prices!!!

[Ryleyboy]

Amazing job Rebel howlong did this take you?

[wallew]

I've taken a knife making course. I made an 'Arkansas Toothpick' variation of my own basic design.

Here's a few pointers.

1) NEVER us flat bar steel - several reasons. You have to pay for it is the biggie. It's does not stand up to repeated heating and quenching, a biggie also if you intended to keep that blade for quite a while.

2) USE SPRING STEEL. And the best part is, go to a local 'spring shop' for auto's. You know, the guys who do lifts on trucks. They almost have to pay someone to haul it off if that's their main business. They SHOULD give it to you for free, as long as YOU haul it off. Tell them why you want it. Then come back and 'show off' your skills. You might be surprised to get one or two 'orders' for custom made knives. As these are the guys giving you the spring steel, cut them a break. EVERYONE ELSE, pays full boat. A person who knows how to do hand work is invaluable.

3) You will need a GOOD forge with 'air' power - electric is best, but I guess you could rig your own bellows if you were creative enough - the air superheats the charcoal or the gas fed one which is a must to keep your red hot steel, RED HOT. Be it charcoal or gas fed, a good forge is a must. When I was going to gunsmithing school, we talked one of the Farrier instructors (horse shoes) to offer a two day class. Paid good money and everyone walked out with a knife of their own making. The farriers had gas fired forges, though they still had a couple of the 'charcoal' forges so everyone who wanted to could get the feel for it. I passed. I'm all for NOT reinventing the wagon wheel. Here's a link to a few gas fired forges. This site has tons of farrier tools on it. Just go to the home page.
http://www.oldworldanvils.com/gas_forges/forgemaster.html

4) Have at least a 5 gallon quenching barrel. OR LARGER. Every time you take your piece out of the fire, then beat it with your sledge, THEN quench it. A GREAT Samuri sword's metal is folded at least 1000 times - though the best have been folded over 3000 times, once a day to let the metal rest before doing it all over again - that's as long as ten years. It makes it literally harder than anything known to man (at least at the time the Samuri carried them).

5) You will need a 5 lb sledge with at least a 12" handle. And if you value your hands, a GOOD pair of leather gloves. The more you work the sledge, the higher chances are that you will end with blisters. After two six hours sessions, I know I did. Plus my RIGHT SHOULDER was killing me. It still hurts every once and a while, but I'm an old man.

6) You will need a GOOD anvil. At least a 50 pounder. A larger one is much nicer, as it gives you a huge flat surface to work with.

7) You will need AT LEAST one good pair of tongs. So you can handle your cherry red hot spring steel in and out of the furnace and while you are beating your work on the anvil.

So, you need heat (fire), spring steel, 5 lb sledge, a quenching barrel, a good anvil (not a cheap Chinese one) and one pair of tongs. The up side to finding a good anvil is to watch sales, especially estate sales. You would be surprised how cheaply you can find an older American made anvil that was made over 100 years ago.

Process goes like this.

Heat your steel bright cherry red hot. Take it out of the fire with the tongs. While holding the red hot metal with your tongs, beat the BEJESUS out of it on the anvil. Minimum is to beat it LONGER (or wider) than you want. Then fold it back on itself, then beat it some more to maintain the shape you are working towards. Quench it. Repeat it until you have the rough blade shape you are looking for. You will finish it with hand work NOT involving fire.

OK, that's pretty much it for the heated portion. You can fold it over on itself to lengthen it. Or fold it over on itself to shorten the overall length. It should be noted that my 9" blade started out as a 4" piece of spring steel. By heat, beating and quenching, it slowly took the shape I was seeking.

After this, you will want to form the blade you want. There are several ways to do this, but a nice 8" or 12" grinder works wonders. And even though you've started 'rough shaping' your knife, don't be afraid to reheat and reshape it with your sledge.

Repeat this until you get the knife you want. When you are close, start attempting to fit the handles on. MAINLY, most guys I went to this school with just drilled two holes in the tang, slipped on a blade guard and then attached the handles with either rivets or screws.

I went a different route. My knife has no blade guard. My knife is two edged. My knife has no holes in the tang or rivets or screws to hold the handles on. I used 'Acra Glass', a gunsmithing product.

Here's the overall result.

http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=475&stc=1&d=1218771963

The overall length is 9". The blade is 5". The handle is 4". The handle itself is 'Purple Heart'. The 5" blade is long enough to cut through a spinal cord from behind and still slice the heart. The 4" handle is made to fit my hand, no one else's. And this baby has both edges kept RAZOR SHARP. I can shave the hair off my arm with zero pressure.

A word of warning about using Purple Heart wood. The dust from sanding Purple Heart can be deadly lethal. So you MUST use eye protection, breathing protection, gloves and a really good long sleeve shirt. Ingesting ANY Purple Heart sawdust can cause you severe problems, up to and including death. Though in all honesty, I'm unaware of anyone dying from ingesting Purple Heart sawdust. BUT I thought it only fair to warn you.

[crashdive123]

Nice write-up Wallew. When you get a chance head on over to the introduction section and tell us a bit about yourself. Thanks.

[Rick]

Good stuff and welcome.

[Ole WV Coot]

I would like to see an example of your "using" knife since in most states a double edge is illegal. Got one made with either flat ground or scandi edge without a guard? Sure would like to see an example or two even a private (pm) with a web site if you have one.

[Rick]

I was in several antique stores a couple of weeks ago and found several smaller anvils. I didn't price them because I wasn't in the market for one. My point is you can probably find them at estate sales and antique shops.

[canid]

yeah, mostly it's just painfull itchy splinters and dust. purpleheart contains a toxin similar to those in catfish barbs, as i've been told. the stuff is darned expensive anyway, but it is beautiful, particularly in the lighter boards.

[canid]

looks like it'd be great for leatherwork.