Making a knife

[countryboy10]

im wanted a all wooden knife. i am looking at to find a fine stick in the woods and use my other knife to carve it. i already know the shape i want and what wood is good and what is bad. i dont mind spending $3 but thats it. any tips before i start? yea i know it will take time and effort. no matter what this knife will be insanely sharp. towards the end when the wooden blade is skinny, i will probably use knife sharpener.

[Rick]

You might have better luck with a pencil sharpener.

[Eastree]

I've had one. My dad carved me a nice, long knife from a stick when I was about six. I held on to it for many years, until I lost it.

But it's wood. It cannot be sharp at a practical level. There's a reason metals have won out over wood. If you want a sharp plant, a reliable option is bamboo. Using a knife sharpener on a wood knife is just a waste of time, as wood does not sharpen the same way as metal. Even fire-hardened woods will not become usably sharp as a knife.

What's your purpose for this? What use do you have in mind for it?

[countryboy10]

I want something indian like for when i go in the woods... I will also burn the knife and carve... I did it making a spear and it turned out sharp. Yea bamboo is always a great choice but theres no bamboo around here. I know this nice tree that I will cut a branch off of.

[countryboy10]

I decided the burning method

[canid]

I've made a couple. They are not very durable, and depending on the task they can be almost entirely useless. On the other hand, as a temporary expedient, they can be handy from time to time. Bamboo makes a pretty handy disposable knife.

[crashdive123]

Make sure you post some pictures for us.

[Highhawk1948]

"Indian like" Try Flint!

[Batch]

"Indian like" Try Flint!

He is from Florida and I don't believe we have any flint. If he is from central Florida northward he can find chert.

Down here bones and shells were used or you bartered for something from elsewhere.

[canid]

And fossilized/agatized corals.

[finallyME]

I have never been to Florida, but I would bet there is bamboo there.

I have made several wooden knives. They were all toys. I have made them for my kids to play with, and made them for myself to play with when I was a lot younger. I also used to have a plastic "Rambo" knife with a matching grenade and red headband when I was 8.

In order to "cut" something, you have to use something that is harder than the material you are cutting. Bone is harder than wood, metal is harder than bone, stone is generally harder than metal. Of course, there are numerous types of metal with differing hardnesses, and the same is true for stone as well as wood. For a wooden knife, you would want to use hard wood, like oak. I am sure there is a native hardwood in Florida that others can help with.

Like Crash suggested, make one and tell us how it went. Then you will discover for yourself why "Indians" never had wooden knives.

[Batch]

I have never been to Florida, but I would bet there is bamboo there.

I have made several wooden knives. They were all toys. I have made them for my kids to play with, and made them for myself to play with when I was a lot younger. I also used to have a plastic "Rambo" knife with a matching grenade and red headband when I was 8.

In order to "cut" something, you have to use something that is harder than the material you are cutting. Bone is harder than wood, metal is harder than bone, stone is generally harder than metal. Of course, there are numerous types of metal with differing hardnesses, and the same is true for stone as well as wood. For a wooden knife, you would want to use hard wood, like oak. I am sure there is a native hardwood in Florida that others can help with.

Like Crash suggested, make one and tell us how it went. Then you will discover for yourself why "Indians" never had wooden knives.

We do have bamboo. Though it is not native and therefore not predictable located by environment type. When you are talking about a bamboo knife are you talking the sort that aboriginals used in Papa New Guinea?