knifemaking?

[GoodOlBoy]

Thinking about making my own knife, and whats more I have been thinking about making one from some of the old lawnmower blades I have around the house. I have never found just the right blade pattern I wanted and thought maybe, just maybe this would work.

Anybody else done this?

GoodOlBoy

[Gaven1030]

You should actually make a knife from hard wood, i did, it came out great, you can make wood knives so sharp in such a fast time, and if you dont like the pattern you made, you can just re-shape it, its pretty cool.

[skeet]

Made a few a long time ago in another galaxy. Made the first from an old file. It actually came out pretty well. didn't have a good idea on a handle back then..Never got that part right. Friend made me a sheath from a patent he had

Then I found boughten knives. Never looked back!!:D :D

[BILLY D.]

GOB

The Negretos(sp) in the Phillipines used to make them for us GI'S that were there for Jungle Survival School. They made them out of the leaf springs from vehicles. My Vietnamese counterparts used to look at my knife with envy.

I can tell you they worked great. I lost mine the 2nd trip to 'Nam. I don't know what the process was for forging the knives but they were sharp and held an edge through some pretty rigorous use. Opened a lot of ration cans that way. The most popular guy in the outfit was the one that had a "church" key and a p-38.

There are many books on knife making. Should you not choose to do so there is a knife maker in Alabama that I highly recommend. His name is Billy Watson. He also specializes in Damascus blades for traditionalist, old time, use. His work is of the highest quality. This gentleman is of the first order. He also makes Tomahawks.

To view some of his work go to www.watsonknives.com.

Best wishes, Bill

[GoodOlBoy]

Yeah I have thought about making hawks too. I love tomahawks, I think they are a greatly undervalued resource in the modern world. Maybe thats just me.

GoodOlBoy

[gumpokc]

My dad is working on building a forge and furnace this summer, and we may try to make a few knives, just for our own learnin :)

Billy! thanks for that link, very much appreciated.

[Rancid Crabtree]

Without a forge, making a knife from a lawn mower blade will be tough. I would suggest getting your hands on some old saw blades instead. I use concrete saw blades for some of my knives. A 24" dia. concrete saw blade is over an 1/8 of an inch thick and makes a good knife. You can maker smaller knives from 10 inch table saw blades. Make sure to use the blades WITHOUT carbide teeth so you know the sleet is good throughout the entire blade.

[longdistanceoperator]

you mention that its easier to use a saw blade to the guy, but you dont tell him how to create a blade from the sawblade, what steps and tools should he use ?

[ChadWG]

So, if it's a blade without carbide teeth, does that mean it one with the diamond chips for an edge?

[longdistanceoperator]

ok guys.. no its what you might term... just an old circular saw or regular hand saw blade.. it would not have the darker metal or clearly different metal on the ends of the teeth... just ordinary steel like the rest of the blade... kind of like what a blade would have been in 1970...

[longdistanceoperator]

Its a lot easier to use an "old" file ...pre 1965 ...

[longdistanceoperator]

you will need to soften the blade, draw a template on it for the knife shape, cut it out on a bi metal blade bandsaw , waterjet or laser cutter, id try to avoid cutting it out with a circular cutting wheel , that ruins the metal immediatly around the cut, it superheats it and makes it brittle as heck...then you have to spend time grinding it off and thats a real pain. once you have your knife roughed out... then you need to flatten it...by running it on a flat platten sander ..or maby by hand with a flat sander if your energetic, u need to cover the entire blade and shank in one stroke.. so its all even..both sides.. next you need to cut your grind into the blade, the easiest is a flat grind, and can be done with one of several methods and tools, once you have your grind and done the tip, your ready to start working down in grit on the entire surface removing work marks and scratches till its nice and smoooth... next you need to reharden the blade area only, and then quench it.. then temper it...
all of these are a bit much to describe here...look em up... your almost done , need a final polish or finish and handles. thats it in a very short nutshell...