Subject: knifemaking suggestions needed

From: Dion Hollenbeck <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 1996 20:34:56 GMT

I am contemplating making a couple of specially shaped knives for
whittling.  I have a couple of saw blades that I picked up for pennies
a pound surplus which are 16" long, 1.5" high and 1/8" thick to use
for the blade blanks.  I plan on doing the following:

1)  Cut blade to shape with abrasive cutoff wheel in high speed
	die grinder, making it go all the way through the handle.
	Make cuts on the side of the stock which will become the
	spine of the blade, not the edge, so as not to lose
	hardness.

2)  Slice a piece of hardwood for handle so that you can see the 
	tang from the bottom of the handle, but not the top.

3)  Insert blade in the handle and epoxy in, then when dry, drill
	through handle and tang for three copper rivets (counter
	sunk in the handle).  Set rivets.

4)  Shape handle and tang as a unit.

5)  Do final shaping of blade from flat profile to blade shape
	with extremely fine pink abrasive wheel with TONS of
	water immersions.  Smooth with abrasive belts of ever
	finer grade with TONS of water immersions.

6)  Polish with successively finer grades of polishing compounds
	on a buff (starting with tripoli and working to rouge).

7)  Hand sharpen on a diamond stone and burnish on a leather strop.

Does anyone have any suggestions, given that my goals are merely to
make the exact shape I want and not to spend a ton of time or money on
books and learning how to make knives for a living?

thanks,
dion

-- 
Dion Hollenbeck (619)597-7080x164                 Email: [email-masked]
                                             http://www.vigra.com/~hollen
Sr. Software Engineer - Vigra Div. of Visicom Labs  San Diego, California

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 10 Dec 1996 00:34:04 GMT

>From  what I've read on knifemaking, having gotten around to doing it yet,
your technique should work fine.  Most knifemakes use special belt
sanders, but theirs no reason not to use a grinding wheel.  I think the
belts cut faster though, due to coarser grits.  The key is not to temper
the blade when grinding/sanding it, as you'll lose the heat treating. 
Check your local library to see if they have, or can get some knifemaking
books.  I used to always go out and buy books when I was interested in a
new hobby, but now realize how that adds up.  You could also check a book
stoor, and leaf through a knifemaking book to get some ideas.

Actually, I sorta did make a knife about a year ago, I used some 1/2"
bandsaw blade, and made a peeler with it.  I used a die grinder with small
abrasive wheels, and the blade came out ok.  There really wasn't enough
metal for even a small knife though, and I never got around to making a
handle.  I wonder what I did with it?

One of the best lessons I learned from a friend who builds his own cars
and races at the Bonneville Salt Flats, is, just because an expert tells
you it won't work, doesn't mean you cant make it work.  It's good advice,
he's set records over 200 mph, and his best run to date is 269 mph.  So,
go for it!  It sounds like you know what your doing, even if the
professionals, and experts use a slightly different technique.

Paul

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From: [email-masked] (John Shepard)
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 00:15:32 GMT

I would suggest looking into the knifemaking supply catalogs.  They'll
sell you nice, annealed steel of various kinds suitable for blades at
a reasonable price with no minimum.  They'll heat treat it properly
when you've finished shaping it and you'll do less work and end up
with better knives.  Pick up a copy of Blade magazine.  They've got
lots of suppliers listed.

John
--------------
Humans are not rational animals.  They're rationalizing animals.
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked]
Date: 10 Dec 1996 14:31:31 GMT

On working whittler blades from saws:

I would first check the hardness of the blades as they are, to see if they
are suitable for knives, Saws may be tempered for flexibility. Wood
carving tools can be quite hard, and rather thick to compensate for their
brittleness. One way would be to just sharpen the end of one blank like a
chisel and see how it wears when sharpened. 

If the present temper is unsuitable, someone here or over in rec.knives
can advise you on the likely steel type and proper annealing/heat
treatment. 

I have had sucess roughing out blades with a carbide burr on a die
grinder. Really takes down the metal, and doesn't heat it up too much. Not
sure how it would do on a hardened blank, but it might be worth a try.
With fine grit and time to cool off, it could take tou forever!

Let un know what happens.

--Randy Mosher

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From: [email-masked] (Ronald Anderson)
Date: 16 Dec 1996 15:46:55 GMT

The technique you described sounds good. I have made several knives 
basically the same way, but I didn't have the equipment to do all of the 
polishing. One thing that I noticed that you were planning to do is hold 
the handle together with rivets. It has been my experience that when you 
epoxy the handle together with the blade, rivets are not necessary if the 
handle wood is good and your tang fits good. The rivets do make it look 
nicer, though. Good luck.