Sidearms & Scatterguns So I been doing a knife thing...

[Switchblade]

I've had this lifelong dream to forge a blade. Then that dream became a bucket list thing to do. I spoke to my neighbor, Kim Breed(Blade magazine writer, knife maker to 5thG, others) and he said simply, design your knife. I did that. It took months. Then he gave me a long piece of forged steel and said draw it out, next comes stock removal. A day at the forge, and there I was with a bit of help, not too much, forging a sweet little tanto. Now here I am about to get further into lessons on claying for heat treat.Every day I work on these things, and hunt for handle material.

 

[Switchblade]

The purple handled lady's knife only needs polishing and a sheath. The small tanto I forged needs a handle and sheath. The big tanto I am working on gets clayed today, then heat treated next weekend. Then I hunt for brass for my habaki and tsuba and wood for the handle

 

[flyer]

The best thing you can do is practice. The hard parts are getting even grinds and good edge geometry.

I'm lucky that I know a very good bladesmith who will make whatever I want (within reason) but if I was starting, I would make lots of Kiridashis and do simple Paracord wrapped handles hardened with rubberized CA.

Once you're 20-30 Kiridashis in, they should start getting pretty good and then you can step up to something more complicated pretty easily.

 

[El Xolo Mexicano]

Cool stuff dog. I’ve been trying to get myself into knife making for years. Haven’t finished a single project yet, but I’ve started a couple. I’m buying a drill press eventually. Nothing special of course but it’ll be ok to get started.

I got a large knife design that I think will be killer, but I’m planning on a bunch of smaller throwing knives for practice. They’ll all be made from 01 tool steel. I’ll patina the knives so they’ll be rust resistant. The large knife design is gonna have have pins holding it in place.

Here’s to you having fun on your knife making journey, and hope your project turns out well.

 

[Mr.Kirk]

Sometimes I draw a knife too. The next step is to email it to Kim Breed. You’re lucky to be in good company.

 

[J.Boney]

Dude, that’s awesome. I believe God places people in our lives for a reason.. Follow your passion and push forward.. ??

 

[Spblademaker]

Great. Been making knives for 20+ yrs. From old coal forged, wood fire and propane. Always learning something new to do or try. Enjoy it. Nothing better than using tools you made yourself.

 

[Alphatreedog]

You're a stud . I chase a buck six days and week and don't make time . Impressed that you're following dreams . Git em Devil Dog .

 

[Switchblade]

I got deep over my head with the tanto, but I learned. According to Kim, as we are killer grilled teriyaki chicken, the best single tool for stock removal is a belt and disc sander. It makes the part after forging and design way faster...but to my dillitante mistakes, Kim is can awesome mentor.


The big tanto begins the clay process today. Along the hamon line will be my fire kanji, my mark, seared into the metal

 

[Spblademaker]

I got deep over my head with the tanto, but I learned. According to Kim, as we are killer grilled teriyaki chicken, the best single tool for stock removal is a belt and disc sander. It makes the part after forging and design way faster...but to my dillitante mistakes, Kim is can awesome mentor.


The big tanto begins the clay process today. Along the hamon line will be my fire kanji, my mark, seared into the metal

If you can, spend the money on a nice bader sander setup. Got to spend a few hours with Ed Chavar, a few years before he passed. A buddy used to do work for him. So Ed wanted to see some of my work. I remember, to this day, what he said. “Spend a little more time on your finish work.” Makes a world of difference.

 

[Dendro]

Very cool man, keep us updated with pics of the progress!

 

[Switchblade]

Working on the claying process of this practice blade. Allow this to dry, then put the heavy stuff on to form my hamon line and sear my fire kanji into the blade. This was my initial sketch. I've worked it over a few times and it looks wicked now

 

[Switchblade]

I seriously need to find some good dark wood for these two blades. There is a big flooring company down the road I'm gonna look at.

Found a decent starting level belt/disc sander at harbor freight. I've been thinking on my next knife design already, but as Kim said, bet it's already been done. Me, I don't care too much about that, as this is a path after my 8 - 4 working with people with disabilities. I love doing this becuase it is with my hands, fire, and metal ????

 

[El Xolo Mexicano]

Is there a prize if the knife the knife design hasn’t been done before? It still being practical of course.

 

[AMGtuned]

Looks great! Good on ya for giving it a go, and sharing with us!

 

[Switchblade]

Nah, it was a basic discussion on how many designs of blade have been done since 'custom knives' were a thing, as well as practical fighting and utility blades that have been made over time. Some of my favorites started as swords and have very tricky shapes to play with. Until I master cannilure though, I'll play with stuff then get serious. Japanese blades are rounded and trickier to get right, while euro style is flat and easier...a little

 

[Switchblade]

I got the hamon design all done last night after the mud dried finally. We shall see two things on forge day:
How it works
How many NEW scratches I put into the blade doing this design ?????

 

[Unknown]

I started making knives many years ago, then that forced me into learning how to make sheaths...funny how one thing leads to another. Learning how to do a good differential heat treat with clay was really cool. I started with oil, then brine, then onto water. With my first water attempt I worked for a week on knife with a 12" blade and lots of file work all over. After heat treat, I tapped...not hit, but tapped it on my anvil, and it shattered into about ten pieces....all that work, just gone.

 

[Spblademaker]

I started making knives many years ago, then that forced me into learning how to make sheaths...funny how one thing leads to another. Learning how to do a good differential heat treat with clay was really cool. I started with oil, then brine, then onto water. With my first water attempt I worked for a week on knife with a 12" blade and lots of file work all over. After heat treat, I tapped...not hit, but tapped it on my anvil, and it shattered into about ten pieces....all that work, just gone.

?. Try doing in in front of a crowd. Ask me how I know. ?

 

[El Xolo Mexicano]

Switchblade,
That’s why you do the polishing after heat treatment. ;p

Proper heat treatment is what bothers me. I’d like to complete a knife just doing file work, but I don’t have the time. Especially when they can get shattered. O1 steel is supposedly friendlier for novices.

 

[Switchblade]

The Japanese technique of the water heat treat has wasted many an American knife. This is becuase the saline content must be no more than 3% water to actually work. It must also be heated to ~600*F. Noting that the salt quench is used to harden up to about 60, a basic fire quench is at 58 Rockwell. The advantage of the violent salt quench? Less deformation.
That water you see a Japanese master using, it ain't water, it is super heated salt with no more than 3% water.(A small secret I learned not from my mentor, but from a person who knew and was willing to tell this little secret.
Differential hardening is cool. Edge is Rockwell 60 or so, middle is a bit lower, and spine/center is lower still, or a very flexible, durable blade that...wait for it...will kill.?

 

[Spblademaker]

Are you normalizing before the heat treat?

 

[Switchblade]

Switchblade,
That’s why you do the polishing after heat treatment. ;p

Proper heat treatment is what bothers me. I’d like to complete a knife just doing file work, but I don’t have the time. Especially when they can get shattered. O1 steel is supposedly friendlier for novices.

Truth! I am working with high carbon forged steel to start with. It has taken me weeks of evenings, lots of dedication, to get each blade shaped. This standard sized, 4th gen tanto has stretched my skill base, my tools and at times, my patience becuase I was not seeing progress at a barely 25* to 30* filing angle. I have learned so much, but there is still handles, and sheaths to learn. I do find that working with these is very relaxing and draws my attention form the things that riff raff enjoy

 

[Switchblade]

Are you normalizing before the heat treat?

Yessir, the blades go into (forgot teh name of the cat litter like stuff) until they are completely cooled. After heat treat, they go into the oven at 400* then cool completely and into the freezer overnight and come back to room temp before final finish.

 

[Spblademaker]

?? Most of what I use is 1060-1095. Love the stuff.

 

[Unknown]

Like I said, I was learning, and that first blade I tried in water with a clay back broke as if it was made of glass... I gave the pieces to a friend who teaches industrial arts, welding and similar things at a community college. He said it is really helpful when he lectures on heat treating, grain structure, grain growth, hardening, annealing, etc. I'm just glad that my failure is finally useful.

 

[El Xolo Mexicano]

Switchblade,
I studied up on Japanese swordsmanship, and sword making for years. The brine solution quench is something tons of people don’t know about. I’d like to see people work Damascus steel with some of the more complicated construction styles. It’s look real cool in a sword or knife.

These are a couple of my projects. I made the rookie mistake of starting with S35VN steel. Yeah that was a pain to do by hand. Which is the one in the middle. The other two pieces are O1 steel, and I’ll give it an other go when the season is over. Finally invested on a cheap belt grinder.

I don’t find it relaxing though. It’s more of a survival skill to me, and it helps get the creative juices out. Took fours years of machining in high school. Never stopped using what I learned. Only now am i taking it a little more seriously.

To be honest. Knife making doesn’t excite me as much as making martial art weapons like 7075 nunchucks, steel clubs, or knuckle dusters.

 

[Unknown]

El Solo Mexicano,
I found knife making to be incredibly relaxing, but I'll admit that I was often told by other knife makers that I was going about it all wrong...that using more machines would dramatically reduce the time it took me to make a knife, and hence increase the money I made. I made knives because I enjoyed it, and it was never a money making endeavor for me..if anything, it cost me money. Spending 8 hours doing file work on the spine of a knife and all along the tang of a full tang knife was fun for me, but probably only increased the sale price of the knife by $20...certainly not a cost effective effort.

I learned a great deal from other knife makers...maybe because they realized that I would never be any kind of commercial threat to their livelihood, so they readily shared knowledge with me. As long as you are enjoying yourself making something, I don't think it matters all that much whether you make knives, martial arts weapons, kitchen utensils, or wooden boxes. Just keep having fun.

 

[El Xolo Mexicano]

Unknown,
Oh I love doing file work also. I just bought the belt grinder for fast stock removal. My jaw practically hit the floor when I found out Brownells has quality files in stock of various types. I’ll definitely be investing in a good set on that. The studded club I bought, but the others are my current projects. Don’t know about you.....but I don’t want to be stuck doing mass stock removal on something that is 40” long lol. I’ll take a few short cuts when I can.

 

[Switchblade]

Finally down to a final polish and sharpening of my forged utility tanto! As I took the block of old black walnut, affixed it with some assistance and mentorship from Kim, I started sanding. As I got down to the area where I needed to be, all the flaws in the wood came out. I was close to saying screw it, starting over with another block, then I looked at the forge marks, and other small mistakes I made on this, and said fuck it, it's my first knife from metal through forge through stock removal to completion, AND it IS a utility knife, MY utility knife!
So I applied a bit of polish with the Dremel, applied a nice thin coat of clove oil(Yes, I also made my own Japanese style blade preservative by the old ways), and am now ready t sharpen, and do the final polish, then make a sheath for it!

 

[Switchblade]

Almost finished. Purple handle is
big tanto is
utility tanto almost

 

[Switchblade]

Got my kydex. Now to find two pieces of 2x8 12" long, hinge it, add the foam, then I can shape my kydex and finish the sheth's for the 7" tanto and the 3.5" edc

 

[Spblademaker]

Awesome.

 

[Switchblade]

Trying to move forward(money pays up front in tis stuff) with three new designs. I have this posted in he Accessories section
These three are going to be fun. Four each or so.
These drawings are the initial actual size, and may get minor changes before I start.

 

[Jsmith410]

I seriously need to find some good dark wood for these two blades. There is a big flooring company down the road I'm gonna look at.

Found a decent starting level belt/disc sander at harbor freight. I've been thinking on my next knife design already, but as Kim said, bet it's already been done. Me, I don't care too much about that, as this is a path after my 8 - 4 working with people with disabilities. I love doing this becuase it is with my hands, fire, and metal ????

Check out Tim Kipps (J Hue Customs) for handle material. I have a couple Breed knives myself and love them. Good work.