homemade knife

**Gray Wolf** · 05-19-2008, 04:36 PM

Originally Posted by rebel

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** · 05-19-2008, 07:13 PM

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** · 05-19-2008, 07:15 PM

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** · 08-14-2008, 07:45 PM

Amazing job Rebel howlong did this take you?

**wallew** · 08-15-2008, 12:30 AM

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_fo...rgemaster.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.

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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** · 08-15-2008, 07:05 AM

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** · 08-15-2008, 07:42 AM

Good stuff and welcome.

**Ole WV Coot** · 08-15-2008, 10:52 AM

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** · 08-15-2008, 07:30 PM

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** · 08-15-2008, 08:04 PM

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.