How my knives are made
Here is a rough outline of the steps I use to create my fixed blade knives:
1 I usually begin by drawing a sketch of the knife I want to make on a piece of paper.
2 The sketch is then transferred to a thin sheet of plastic or plywood and cut out using a bandsaw. This becomes my pattern.
3 After selecting the type of steel I want to use for the knife, I lay the pattern on a piece of the steel bar stock and scribe the outline into the steel.
4 The rough shape is then cut out using a bandsaw and then further refined on the grinder.
5 Any holes needed for pins, bolsters, etc are laid out and drilled.
6 Primary blade bevels are ground and can be flat ground or hollow ground. This is done on a belt grinder.
7 Now's the time for decorative filework to be done on the blade if desired.
8 Blade is heat-treated. This is a 2 step process...first, the blade is heated to a prescribed temperature and held there for a period of time before being rapidly cooled. This is the hardening step and it makes the steel extremely hard so it will hold an edge. However, it also makes the steel very brittle and so hard you will have a hard time putting an edge on it. So, to make the steel soft enough so you can sharpen it and so it won't be so brittle, some of the hardness must be removed. This is the second step of heat treating and it is called tempering or drawing. This is done by placing the blade back in an oven and holding it a prescribed temperature for a prescribed amount of time. The temperatures and times used will determine the amount of hardness removed from the blade. Each type of blade steel has it's own properties and must be heat treated apropriately to get the desired end result. I have a kiln in my shop and heat treat my own blades.
9 The finish on the heat-treated blade is then refined and the rest of the parts (bolsters, handles, etc) are attached and finished. Difficult to describe all the possible steps that could be included here since there are so many options. So I'll just leave it at that.
10 Sheath is made to fit the knife. I also do my own leather work.
11 The last step is to put the final cutting edge on the blade...this way I injure myself less often :-)
1 I usually begin by drawing a sketch of the knife I want to make on a piece of paper.
2 The sketch is then transferred to a thin sheet of plastic or plywood and cut out using a bandsaw. This becomes my pattern.
3 After selecting the type of steel I want to use for the knife, I lay the pattern on a piece of the steel bar stock and scribe the outline into the steel.
4 The rough shape is then cut out using a bandsaw and then further refined on the grinder.
5 Any holes needed for pins, bolsters, etc are laid out and drilled.
6 Primary blade bevels are ground and can be flat ground or hollow ground. This is done on a belt grinder.
7 Now's the time for decorative filework to be done on the blade if desired.
8 Blade is heat-treated. This is a 2 step process...first, the blade is heated to a prescribed temperature and held there for a period of time before being rapidly cooled. This is the hardening step and it makes the steel extremely hard so it will hold an edge. However, it also makes the steel very brittle and so hard you will have a hard time putting an edge on it. So, to make the steel soft enough so you can sharpen it and so it won't be so brittle, some of the hardness must be removed. This is the second step of heat treating and it is called tempering or drawing. This is done by placing the blade back in an oven and holding it a prescribed temperature for a prescribed amount of time. The temperatures and times used will determine the amount of hardness removed from the blade. Each type of blade steel has it's own properties and must be heat treated apropriately to get the desired end result. I have a kiln in my shop and heat treat my own blades.
9 The finish on the heat-treated blade is then refined and the rest of the parts (bolsters, handles, etc) are attached and finished. Difficult to describe all the possible steps that could be included here since there are so many options. So I'll just leave it at that.
10 Sheath is made to fit the knife. I also do my own leather work.
11 The last step is to put the final cutting edge on the blade...this way I injure myself less often :-)
