# Thinking about knifemaking



## Joey Shabadoo (20 Nov 2020)

Been watching a lot of blacksmithing programmes on telly and YouTube for a while now and its been creating an urge to make stuff. I did a bit of blacksmithing in my RN apprenticeship so I know the principles, but that was 30-cough years ago.

So to see if it's something I can take beyond the "thinking about it" stage, I've decided to make a wee knife just using the tools I have to hand. I'm going to make a Kiridashi style knife like this - 






Tools to hand are a hacksaw, Dremel, some files. Going to get a blowtorch for heat treating but hopefully that should be the only thing I need to get other than the bit of tool steel I've ordered. 

I've no interest in making big knives, small crafting blades or pocket knives at most. 

Any advice welcome.


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## Sharky (20 Nov 2020)

I remember as a lad, going to visit my Great Uncles. They were blacksmiths or rather wheelwrights, near St Helens. Can still remember the smells (nice ones) and heat coming from their fire.

I'm sure there was a TV programme on not so long ago about somebody making small knives and making a living out of it.

Good luck


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## numbnuts (20 Nov 2020)

It's odd I've never made any knifes, made plenty of meat cleavers for the Indians at work, not quite true I made these as an apprentice ….Christ that was some years ago, the fork in made from one piece not welded


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## slowmotion (20 Nov 2020)

If you want to get a really good blowtorch, Rothenberger is the brand to go for. They do a variety of gas mixtures in disposable bottles and have a totally reliable piezo spark lighting system. Excellent for plumbing too.
There's lots of stuff on YouTube about using old files to make razor sharp knives. Here's a taste......

[media]
]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FfpSXoDQMc[/media]


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## Joey Shabadoo (20 Nov 2020)

slowmotion said:


> If you want to get a really good blowtorch, Rothenberger is the brand to go for. They do a variety of gas mixtures in disposable bottles and have a totally reliable piezo spark lighting system. Excellent for plumbing too.
> There's lots of stuff on YouTube about using old files to make razor sharp knives. Here's a taste......
> 
> [media]
> ]View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FfpSXoDQMc[/media]



Yeah, I enjoy those videos. Then I notice the tools used.

In that one :
Simple 2 burner forge
Drill press
Band saw
Heavy duty bench sander/grinder
Vice & holdfast
Engineering lathe
Anvil
Polishing wheel. 

About £2k of equipment to make that file into a knife


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## slowmotion (20 Nov 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> Yeah, I enjoy those videos. Then I notice the tools used.
> 
> In that one :
> Simple 2 burner forge
> ...


Ah, but that equipment has other uses too. My first batch of marmalade cost about £17 a pot if I split the cost of equipment between the half dozen I made!


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## Bonefish Blues (20 Nov 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> Yeah, I enjoy those videos. Then I notice the tools used.
> 
> In that one :
> Simple 2 burner forge
> ...


I bet it would make great marmalade too, though.


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## Eziemnaik (24 Nov 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> Been watching a lot of blacksmithing programmes on telly and YouTube for a while now and its been creating an urge to make stuff. I did a bit of blacksmithing in my RN apprenticeship so I know the principles, but that was 30-cough years ago.
> 
> So to see if it's something I can take beyond the "thinking about it" stage, I've decided to make a wee knife just using the tools I have to hand. I'm going to make a Kiridashi style knife like this -
> View attachment 559128
> ...


Dunno how feasible would it be but maybe talk with people at blenheim forge or prendergast knives if they do apprenticeships. This way you could save on equipment


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## Joey Shabadoo (24 Nov 2020)

Here we go -


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## Joey Shabadoo (26 Nov 2020)

Progress


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## slowmotion (27 Nov 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> View attachment 560364
> 
> 
> View attachment 560365
> ...


Very good! What did you rough out the blank with? A jigsaw?


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## Joey Shabadoo (27 Nov 2020)

slowmotion said:


> Very good! What did you rough out the blank with? A jigsaw?


Hacksaw and files


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## Joey Shabadoo (27 Nov 2020)

The main problem I'm finding just now is the wee workmate-type bench is too low and it's killing my back. But I've very little room in the shed for something a bit more solid.


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## slowmotion (27 Nov 2020)

You could try using some bits of CLS timber as packing pieces to raise your knife off the work bench. Or four concrete blocks to put the legs of the bench on.


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## shep (27 Nov 2020)

Sit on a stool.


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## Joey Shabadoo (27 Nov 2020)

shep said:


> Sit on a stool.


Yeah, I'm doing that as a stop gap


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## shep (27 Nov 2020)

Forged in fire, what a show!

The Japanese fella seems a bit too keen when he states ' Your blade will kill'.


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## Drago (27 Nov 2020)

The Japanese know a thing or two about blades. Way back when their blades made Damascus steel seem like plasticine, and even now science struggles to match it for sharpness and durability.

Watching this thread with interest. I love diy projects of this sort where the journey is as educational as the finished item is awesome.


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## Electric_Andy (27 Nov 2020)

That looks good. As with anything, start off small, as you have done, and if you start to really enjoy it then you can buy more stuff as you go. And make more space if you can. You'd be surprised at how much space you can make if you try. My garage was packed a few weeks ago, but after some new shelving, tool boards, and a lot of chipboard attached to garage walls, I've made loads more space and everything is hung on the walls so can be reached easily without rummaging through boxes


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## Joey Shabadoo (1 Dec 2020)

Doesn't look different to how it was before, but it's now been heat treated, tempered and it has an edge. Heat treating was a sod with a blowtorch, not entirely happy with the hardening I achieved.


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## Joey Shabadoo (1 Dec 2020)

Not sure about that wrap


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## Randomnerd (1 Dec 2020)

Your blade looks fine, but - you are right - the wrap lets it down. Leather may be slippery too, when wet. I’d go for para cord, or whipping twine. Learn to whip the cord for a neat finish. The go-to place for whipping pointers is Ashley’s Knot Book, but I’m sure YouTube will help. What kind of edge does it hold? I make greenwood stuff as part of a living, and would hope to get an hour of carving between stropping. Bevel both sides? Cool. Torch is painful for HT. Rig up a diy propane forge


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## Eziemnaik (1 Dec 2020)

https://www.japaneseknives.eu/c-2950902/blade-blanks-and-knife-steel/
https://www.japaneseknives.eu/c-4105443/fasteners/
This Dutch store sells some already hardened steel blanks and other materials, if you have an access to water grinder


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## Joey Shabadoo (1 Dec 2020)

It's a single bevel, Japanese style knife - good for slicing along edges. Certainly cut the leather no problem. The edge is good for about half the length from the tip but it's a bit soft after that. I'm thinking maybe a wee forge in the New Year


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## Joey Shabadoo (4 Dec 2020)

Wasn't happy with the heat treatment so I made a wee forge







View: https://youtu.be/8FsD9ddPoQg


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## Randomnerd (4 Dec 2020)

You’re hooked now!
Youll be getting Anvil Quarterly before you know it


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## Joey Shabadoo (4 Dec 2020)

😄


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## Joey Shabadoo (6 Dec 2020)

Finished in pink paracord cos it's a present for my wife. No more on this one, next project will be after Christmas


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## Edwardoka (6 Dec 2020)

Joey Shabadoo said:


> View attachment 561933
> 
> 
> 
> Finished in pink paracord cos it's a present for my wife. No more on this one, next project will be after Christmas


Very good build, particularly since it's your first blade after a 30 year hiatus.

There's a guy on the Youtubes called Freerk Wieringa who makes bladesmithing look incredibly easy - it's rather cathartic to watch a master craftsman quietly doing his thing.

I'd love to get into metalworking but I'm very awkward, plus, no space. Maybe one day...


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## Joey Shabadoo (6 Dec 2020)

His stuff looks interesting  I follow Torbjörn Åhman for the high quality stuff (no voicover which is sometimes a plus), Alec Steele because he does some amazing work but takes his time to show the work put in - often 10 or more episodes on one piece. He's also not afraid to show his screw-ups which I find almost more informative than doing it right. Also Outdoors55 because he does stuff with the most basic of tools.

However - there are a lot of people making youtube videos who talk too much or think the audience is interested in them. It's a bit like looking for videos of foreign places you're planning to visit. For every interesting youtube video, there's ten with some plonker wandering around with a selfie stick pointing at themselves going yadda yadda yadda


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## Tail End Charlie (6 Dec 2020)

Top work. Love the fact you built your own forge aswell. I'd love to get a present like that, made by someone with love.


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## Joey Shabadoo (6 Dec 2020)

Tail End Charlie said:


> Top work. Love the fact you built your own forge aswell. I'd love to get a present like that, made by someone with love.


I think it shows a remarkable level of trust.


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## Joey Shabadoo (23 Dec 2020)

Next project, a wee carving knife made out of an old file and some tulip wood


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## Joey Shabadoo (29 Dec 2020)

Another file knife, bit bigger this time. Bought a belt grinder and adapted it a bit to get the plunge lines then made a rudimentary jig to get the bevels right.






Oh and I got a gas forge.


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## Joey Shabadoo (4 Jan 2021)

View: https://youtu.be/EtcVr00HvrY


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## Joey Shabadoo (16 Jan 2021)

Finished the old file knife


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## Joey Shabadoo (28 Jan 2021)

Smart knife


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## Joey Shabadoo (30 Jan 2021)

Smarties tube gone, resin shaped and polished


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## Randomnerd (30 Jan 2021)

Have you had a play with any 1080 blade steel yet in your forge? Planning on an anvil?


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## Joey Shabadoo (30 Jan 2021)

Randomnerd said:


> Have you had a play with any 1080 blade steel yet in your forge? Planning on an anvil?


Not tried 1080 yet but the anvil should have been delivered today.


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## Joey Shabadoo (31 Jan 2021)

Incidentally, that was made out of W4241 steel and it was an absolute sod to try and drill. Even my carbide drills wouldn't touch it and giving it a touch of heat did nothing.


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## Randomnerd (31 Jan 2021)

Looks like hard stuff. The knife boys I know start on 1080. Can be stacked up with Damascus etc and is quite forgiving as I understand. 
I used to do A fair bit of forge welding and Iron work when I worked for a blacksmith, but didn’t make many knives. I now get a good few specialist tools from Sweden for green woodwork and spoon carving. Svante Djarv makes around 4000 tools a year. I reckon he uses high grade 1095 but he does several heat treats. 
See if you can get a bit of Elmax. It’s a stainless but has carbon steel properties. Supposed to be The Nuts. 
All steel is a trade off I guess. I don’t want hard steel for a spoon knife. I want something I can hone to a very sharp edge on a single bevel. But if I’m laying a hedge I want a Bill hook which doesn’t need sharpening much (which I’ve yet to find)
Have a look at Hewn and Hone. I think he’ll be selling a pretty cool sharpening set up soon.


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## Joey Shabadoo (1 Feb 2021)

Much excitement


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## Randomnerd (1 Feb 2021)

Nice one. Did you buy all the neighbours ear defenders?


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## Yellow Fang (25 Feb 2021)

numbnuts said:


> It's odd I've never made any knifes, made plenty of meat cleavers for the Indians at work, not quite true I made these as an apprentice ….Christ that was some years ago, the fork in made from one piece not welded
> View attachment 559143



Now that is what I call a knife and fork.


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## HMS_Dave (25 Feb 2021)

Nice one, missed this thread previously. Don't forget to throw them all away at the next official police knife amnesty...


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## numbnuts (26 Feb 2021)

Yellow Fang said:


> Now that is what I call a knife and fork.


 Thanks


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