Author Topic: Suggested reading for knife making? (Read 8327 times)

booksmart · « **on:** July 29, 2015, 12:31:58 pm »

Hi folks -

Now that I'm getting settled into the new house, I'm thinking of adding yet another hobby - making knives.

I'm leaning in the direction of blending modern and traditional techniques - using a modern kiln/furnace for the heating, but hammer forging for the shaping, instead of grinding material off (no reason, just the way I want to roll).

Got any suggested reading material?

I've made a few knives before, but it's been a loong time.

WeTheArmed.com

Adskii · « **Reply #1 on:** July 29, 2015, 05:29:57 pm »

"Hobby" he says...

I need to get around to assembling my Forge so I can do the same. Nothing quite like heating metal to nearly 3000 degrees so you can bend it to your will.

booksmart · « **Reply #2 on:** July 29, 2015, 05:48:00 pm »

Well, I've already got reading, photography, playing guitar, designing and building guitars... guns... figured I might as well add another cheap one to the list.

I've found videos on YouTube to make small propane forges out of trashcans and coffee cans, without spending oodles of money (I'll post 'em, if y'all are interested). I have hammers. Need some appropriate tongs. An anvil. Grinding/polishing wheels. Some containers for oil quenching.

MTK20 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 29, 2015, 07:16:02 pm »

I don't make knives, but sure, post the vids. They sound interesting

.

Desert Rat · « **Reply #4 on:** July 29, 2015, 08:21:05 pm »

Bladeforums. They've got a whole section on making knives, and probably a greater concentration of professional knifemakers willing to answer the most complicated questions than anywhere else on the internet.

I'm gearing up to start making knives myself. I've got way too many designs that need to be made into reality, and not enough disposable income to have it done by others. Good luck making your own. It's a very worthy skill to own.

luke213(adamsholsters) · « **Reply #5 on:** July 29, 2015, 08:46:15 pm »

I've been wanting to forge things for a while but time isn't my friend by any stretch;) I'd love to see what others are doing though.

This isn't educational but there are some really cool things they do, somewhat hokey at times but still worth watching the whole series.

RevDisk · « **Reply #6 on:** July 29, 2015, 09:00:45 pm »

I just beat metal into appropriate shapes, grind and then temper.

Ugly, yes. Cheap, oh gods yes. Took me a while to get find a dealer that wasn't entirely sketchy. Apparently bought in bulk and resold. Documentation looked legit enough to satisfy my ethics.

only1asterisk · « **Reply #7 on:** July 29, 2015, 09:33:22 pm »

Was that a 6" spike?

Mikee5star · « **Reply #8 on:** July 29, 2015, 09:38:17 pm »

50 dollar knife shop. Can't remember who wrote it, but I bought my copy off of amazon. He shows how to build a small forge out of a mapp gas torch and a couple of fire bricks. Amongst other tricks, mostly good brands to look for secondhand. Also it is easy to read, one of the others I have is almost unreadable. I can't remember the other knife building books I have, and I hope they are still packed not given away.

booksmart · « **Reply #9 on:** July 29, 2015, 09:46:05 pm »

The reviews on Amazon of $50 Knife Shop aren't very favorable, but I think it's mostly because it's a series of magazine articles compiled into a book. There's another book by the same guy that has higher ratings, that I'll likely give a shot (plus another by another author).

Never hurts to have multiple sources for consensus.

Mikee5star · « **Reply #10 on:** July 29, 2015, 09:49:43 pm »

I could have the wrong guy, but that is the title that sticks in my mind. I hesitated as I do not have access to my library.

only1asterisk · « **Reply #11 on:** July 29, 2015, 09:52:23 pm »

The author's name is Wayne Goddard. It is a useful book.

Plebian · « **Reply #12 on:** July 29, 2015, 10:03:18 pm »

IF you can find anyone local doing smithy work. It is well worth the search. A few hours with a half decent smith is worth a whole library of reading IMO.

I have a little home built drum brake charcoal forge. It is a decent little thing for most of the stuff I have tried like a crude penannular/'Celtic' brooch, some random armor fittings and a nice little carving knife. I can only really heat a few inches at a stretch with my setup. So that limits what I can really work on.

I should likely get a better forge at some point, but then I would have to replace my train rail anvil with a REAL anvil.

coelacanth · « **Reply #13 on:** July 29, 2015, 11:10:36 pm »

^ This ^ . Nothing beats watching a good blacksmith at work for getting the idea of what you're supposed to be about in the forge.

For an online resource, this guy isn't bad - at least his illustrations are decent. www.cashenblades.com/forging.html

booksmart · « **Reply #14 on:** July 30, 2015, 09:37:35 am »

This is the other Goddard book I was looking at - much better reviews:

http://www.amazon.com/Wonder-Knifemaking-Wayne-Goddard/dp/1440216843/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1438263272&sr=8-10&keywords=knife+making

And this is the other book I was looking at (but it looks like it's mostly grinding the blade, not forging... still, multiple techniques...):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0764347527/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=18E0GXEYA28X3&coliid=I317F9QJR3AG6E

This one also looks promising:

http://www.amazon.com/Bladesmithing-Murray-Carter-Application-Traditional/dp/1440218382/ref=pd_sim_14_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=17YVJ634WZC7PGX534Y2

Adskii · « **Reply #15 on:** July 30, 2015, 10:40:15 am »

I too have heard of the $50 forge book. The shell of my forge is from an old propane cylinder

Still need to get my refractory cement, and firebrick, and kaowool... It starts to add up. Then I get distracted with a PID and Thermocouple setup that could let me use the forge for heat treating...

and it never gets built. The coffee can forges I have heard mixed reviews on. Some people swear by them, others say it isn't hot enough to actually work with much steel. YMMV. The ones i used while taking the blacksmithing course at the local tech school were just metal welded around firebricks with a pin-hole venturi tube burner. The round one (made from a as cylinder) got a lot hotter, thus the rounded cylinder I located for mine.

booksmart · « **Reply #16 on:** July 30, 2015, 10:52:26 am »

Check out the info I just posted in this thread...

It basically boils down to "refractory cement for cheap"...

only1asterisk · « **Reply #17 on:** July 30, 2015, 12:53:59 pm »

Quote from: booksmart on July 29, 2015, 09:46:05 pm

The reviews on Amazon of $50 Knife Shop aren't very favorable, but I think it's mostly because it's a series of magazine articles compiled into a book. There's another book by the same guy that has higher ratings, that I'll likely give a shot (plus another by another author).

Never hurts to have multiple sources for consensus.

The book has 87% favorable rating. It is well worth the $17.

Ken Brock · « **Reply #18 on:** August 22, 2015, 08:49:43 pm »

When I got in to knife making, I looked at a few books but they really didn't give me what I was looking for. I found a local guy and watched him for a couple of hours and then just tried it myself. Made a lot of mistakes but I learned a lot just by doing it.

Even if you forge the steel close to shape, you will still need either a grinder or files/sandpaper to work the final edge

booksmart · « **Reply #19 on:** August 22, 2015, 10:42:22 pm »

*nods* Right now, I'm eyeing the WorkSharp Ken Onion edition w/ grinder attachment - it seems to be at a good price point plus flexibility... I'm not fond of single use tools.

Would it be durable enough for many years of use, or would a full scale bench/belt grinder be a better investment?

coelacanth · « **Reply #20 on:** August 23, 2015, 12:03:37 am »

Probably not robust enough for use in actual knifemaking. The motor is probably under-powered and the bearings are likely to go before anything else does. The abrasives appear to be some weird proprietary size - probably only available from WorkSharp which will cost you an arm and a leg in the long run.

A belt grinder is your friend when shaping blades. I've actually shaped some smaller blades ( repair work mostly ) using files and sanding blocks and its a lot of work. Pretty time consuming as well.

Ken Brock · « **Reply #21 on:** August 23, 2015, 10:09:45 am »

Quote from: booksmart on August 22, 2015, 10:42:22 pm

*nods* Right now, I'm eyeing the WorkSharp Ken Onion edition w/ grinder attachment - it seems to be at a good price point plus flexibility... I'm not fond of single use tools.

Would it be durable enough for many years of use, or would a full scale bench/belt grinder be a better investment?

A lot of guys start off trying to go on the cheap with a 1 x 40 grinder or something similar. The problem is this small machines are under powered, run too fast, and there isn't a good selection of quality abrasives available for then. A 2 x 72 grinder is the best option if you are going to be serious about making a knife. There are plenty of good ceramic grit abrasive belts that will make your hobby much more enjoyable

booksmart · « **Reply #22 on:** August 23, 2015, 01:01:32 pm »

Good to know. Thanks.

Adskii · « **Reply #23 on:** August 24, 2015, 11:14:50 am »

So... what are you planning to use as a heat source? Coal? Gas? I went and hammered some steel this weekend on a coal fired forge (we only melted the fittings once) after having worked with a gas forge in my into to blacksmithing course. It takes a lot more practice to get good heat control. I burnt up part of one of the pieces I was making (I'll have to start that Khukri over again) but once I got used to it I was able to make a decent kitchen knife out of some bits of downhole oilfield tool scrap I had.

Now I need to get my Forge finished so I don't have to drive 2 hours to work metal.

booksmart · « **Reply #24 on:** August 24, 2015, 11:35:51 am »

Quote from: Adskii on August 24, 2015, 11:14:50 am

So... what are you planning to use as a heat source? Coal? Gas?

Check out my other thread on building a propane furnace... I figure it'll do the trick, if I'm careful about my steel choices.

*nods* When I was in high school, a friend of mine had a coal fired forge, and I burned a file in half - which was a shame, because it was shaping up nicely.