I got a belt grinder on sale....

[gunwhatgun]

so guess what I decided to try.

You guessed it. I tried my hand at making my own knives. I wish I had made more pics of the process but I rarely think that far ahead.

The first one was more of a prototype just to see if my thinking on the matter was sound. I went through the whole process including heat treating and tempering. I just used cheap metal that I got at Lowes, and a piece of hickory that was in my firewood pile. I ended up with a decent looking knife, it just wo;t hold an edge. It did serve it's purpose well though as I learned i could do it. So I did it again. this time to make a one that I would not completely assemble. This would give me a practice knife. One that I could learn to sharpen and polish metal and learn how to shape, finish and attach scales to. It came out ok to so I just kept going. The next step was to get some real steel and go for it. I ordered some 1095 stell and bought some nice wood to make scales from and fired up the ole belt grinder. I now have made four knoves total two of which are actual knives. They get sharp, very sharp, and stay that way. One has become my everyday use knife and I finished the fourth one today.

I know what you are all saying to yourselves right now, "Without pics, it didn't happen." so let me give this a try. I am not very computer savy so I hope these post right.

This is the very first one that is actually made of mild steel LOL, but the plan worked,
[img]http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q734/sbj9148/IMG-20121104-00128.jpg[/img]


Here they are in the order I made them as a work progresses on them, The bottom two are actual knife steel
[img]http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q734/sbj9148/IMG-20121120-00136.jpg[/img]

Here is the last one I finished today. It is quite large actualy and 3/16th" thick. The metal was bigger than I was expecting so I figured I should make a big knofe out of it LOL.
[img]http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q734/sbj9148/IMG-20121202-00143.jpg[/img]

This is all four of them as finished items.

[img]http://i1356.photobucket.com/albums/q734/sbj9148/IMG-20121202-00148.jpg[/img]

Feel free to let me know what you think good or bad.

[Dolomite_supafly]

Good looking knives for a first try.

Only going to get better with practice.

Dolomite

[Spots]

Those look good. How are you doing your heat treatments?

[Moped]

Sweet! Pretty dang good looking knives!!!

[gunwhatgun]

[quote name='Spots' timestamp='1354490587' post='853940']
Those look good. How are you doing your heat treatments?
[/quote]

The first one I heated it in a blower fed fireuntil it was non magnetic. Then I quenched it in oil until the flames went out. After it cooled to ambient temp again I put it back in the fire until the spine was a blueish color and then back in the oil until the flames went out. and let it cool agian.

That worked ok but I did not trust the second step so I changed up a bit on the last 3. I used a different kind of forge that gets crazy hot very fast. think of it like a forced air fed jet engine. I let the blades get non magnetic again and then in the oil. after that I put them in an oven at 425 for and hour then let them cool and then back in at 400 for an hour. That got me the straw color that I was looking for. They take an edge really well. A lot better than I was expecting.

[Guest Broomhead]

Very nice work.

When tempering (the 425* part) do it for 425-450 for one hour twice, there's no need to lower the temp the second time. I'm jealous though, I don't get anywhere near enough time working on my knives. I'm on my 2nd, trying to get it done for my dad for Christmas. We should meet up sometime and talk shop, I'm not far from you. I prefer using 1084 myself as the heat treat procedure is nearly foolproof. Try ordering from [url="http://www.newjerseysteelbaron.com"]http://www.newjerseysteelbaron.com[/url], excellent prices and pretty quick shipping.

[UncleJak]

Very nice. I especially like the one in the middle left on the last picture. That blade shape is pretty cool.

[MiddTennTaco]

Fantastic! I wish I had the tools and ability to make a knife. I particularly love the knife at the top of all the photos. Great job!

Sent from my HTC Inspire using Tapatalk 2

[gunwhatgun]

Thanks for all the kind comments guys, I really enjoy making them.
[quote name='UncleJak' timestamp='1354543731' post='854190']
Very nice. I especially like the one in the middle left on the last picture. That blade shape is pretty cool.
[/quote]
I like that one to. I was thinking of it as a small hunting/skinning knife. Although I don't hunt LOL. That is just the way the knife came out of the metal. The one beside it was an attempt to recreate it with good steel. I gues it proves that with hand made knives no two will be alike.
[quote name='w0lfattack' timestamp='1354543957' post='854195']
Fantastic! I wish I had the tools and ability to make a knife. I particularly love the knife at the top of all the photos. Great job!

Sent from my HTC Inspire using Tapatalk 2
[/quote]
That one is actaully a really great knife. It has become my shop knife. I am going to try to reproduce it with the next batch metal that I get.

Broomhead, thanks for the link, definatly helpful. In regards to the 1084, what do you do to the metal to protect it? I thought 1084 was prone to rust/corrode?

[Spots]

Its no more prone to rust than any other high carbon steel. And the ht is simple, and if you ever start forging, it forges easily. If you think customs are hard to reproduce grinding, wait till you start forging them lol. But its a blast to hammer to shape

[Guest Broomhead]

[quote name='gunwhatgun' timestamp='1354558379' post='854296']
Broomhead, thanks for the link, definatly helpful. In regards to the 1084, what do you do to the metal to protect it? I thought 1084 was prone to rust/corrode?
[/quote]

Not anymore than your 1095. Any high carbon steel will rust, even stainless can rust. However, I have seen where makers use food grade mineral oil or certain waxes to coat their blades prior to selling/shipping. Also, don't store your knife in a leather sheath, it will rust really quickly. 1084 is very easy to work with when grinding also. NJ Steel Baron has 4ft lengths it at an extremely good price.

Have you been to Blade Forums yet? I spend as much time perusing the [url="http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/741-Shop-Talk-BladeSmith-Questions-and-Answers"]Shop Talk[/url] section, in the Knife Makers area, as I do here, maybe more. Be sure to read the stickies in that forum section, there is an amazing wealth of knowledge in them.

BTW, what kind of belt grinder do you have? I have an older 1hp Craftsman 2x42.

[gunwhatgun]

It is just a cheap chinese grinder. I got it at harbor freight. I get a lot of things at harbor freight LOL.

[bigbabysweets]

Nice! They look a lot better than my first ones! Look for old skil saw blades, lawn mower blades, car leaf springs and files! You can find tons of files for a buck a piece!