guest
11-16-2001, 11:44 PM
So there I was. I had a 9" piece of 01 Flat ground stock, 3/16 X 1 3/4".
I'm an instructor at a local community college, not a metal magician but a mechanic of sorts. Never filed anything harder than aluminum. My students, however, were up to their elbows making a 'special' wrench as one of their first shop projects.
Every time we do this project there is extra tool steel left that only gets wasted. So I thought I'd try my hand at making a knife.
I read this forum for three days, bought the loveless book and cruised the net. I chose a drop point pattern I found on the net and made a print-out. Then I drew it on mylar, transfered it to aluminum and made a template from aluminum. That gave me a feel for the process and gave me an opportunity to fit the knife to my hand and liking. I used a hack saw and files only. It took about an hour.
I used two sided tape to stick the aluminum to the steel with blueing on it. I traced with an xacto knife and then a sharp scribe. I awed the extra stock off (there was alot because it was so wide) Then used a bench grinder (6" dipping in water frequently) to take the blank down to about an 1/8 or so from the line. Then I started filing and filing and filing. I've now got the blank down to the lines and am massaging out the deeper scratches. I used a file, a second cut and a smooth. I'm now using sand paper, an old broom handle and a piece of 1X1 as blocks.
So far I have about 10 hours of research and 6 hours of labour into this knife.
So, advice for any other newbies....read, think plan, plan and then do. I'm using only hand tools and common power tools. I'm going to harden, anneal and temper according to some instructions i found (knifemaking 101, i think). Apperently it can be done with an oxy-propane torch, fluid, an oven and such.
So far so good...thanks for all the advice, even though you didn't know you gave it to me....further, my students are very impressed...the teacher doesn't just teach, he can do also...
I'm an instructor at a local community college, not a metal magician but a mechanic of sorts. Never filed anything harder than aluminum. My students, however, were up to their elbows making a 'special' wrench as one of their first shop projects.
Every time we do this project there is extra tool steel left that only gets wasted. So I thought I'd try my hand at making a knife.
I read this forum for three days, bought the loveless book and cruised the net. I chose a drop point pattern I found on the net and made a print-out. Then I drew it on mylar, transfered it to aluminum and made a template from aluminum. That gave me a feel for the process and gave me an opportunity to fit the knife to my hand and liking. I used a hack saw and files only. It took about an hour.
I used two sided tape to stick the aluminum to the steel with blueing on it. I traced with an xacto knife and then a sharp scribe. I awed the extra stock off (there was alot because it was so wide) Then used a bench grinder (6" dipping in water frequently) to take the blank down to about an 1/8 or so from the line. Then I started filing and filing and filing. I've now got the blank down to the lines and am massaging out the deeper scratches. I used a file, a second cut and a smooth. I'm now using sand paper, an old broom handle and a piece of 1X1 as blocks.
So far I have about 10 hours of research and 6 hours of labour into this knife.
So, advice for any other newbies....read, think plan, plan and then do. I'm using only hand tools and common power tools. I'm going to harden, anneal and temper according to some instructions i found (knifemaking 101, i think). Apperently it can be done with an oxy-propane torch, fluid, an oven and such.
So far so good...thanks for all the advice, even though you didn't know you gave it to me....further, my students are very impressed...the teacher doesn't just teach, he can do also...