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The Newbies Arena Are you new to knife making? Here is all the help you will need.

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  #1  
Old 07-24-2015, 12:41 AM
iamnobody iamnobody is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Indianapolis, IN
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Introductions I guess.

Didn't see anywhere else to post this so, I'm going to just introduce myself and give a little info on what I'm about.

I work in a restaurant and after using the junk knives that are supplied to us I started sharpening them as part of my sidework... one thing lead to another and I started designing a custom set of kitchen cutlery.

It's all just schematics at this point but the planning and details got me a little excited. Next thing I know I'm researching ways to start making not only chef's knives but an array of blades. Now I'm rearranging my garage and looking at different tools needed to get serious about knife making.

Looking into stock removal first and eventually building my own forge (have a 5yr plan but I'll spare you all the details).

Before I go off and ruin a couple of bars of m390 I was gonna hit the local scrap yard and look around for some industrial steels to practice on. Concerns here are heat treating mystery steel as well as whether or not it would produce anything that would be useful as blade and not just a prison shank.

Now that's all said I'll hit you guys with my first question....

Stock removal for beginners... belt sander or bench grinder? which would be better?
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  #2  
Old 07-24-2015, 05:08 AM
jmccustomknives jmccustomknives is offline
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A bench grinder is handy, but not much use for stock removal. A belt sander/grinder is the only way to do it unless you want to use files. Since you aren't forging your blades you have no business messing with junk steels (industrial saw mill blades being the exception, but still can be a crap shoot). Buy new steels and save the headaches.

Ray Rogers does a Sunday chat for newbs, think about dropping in on it.
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  #3  
Old 07-24-2015, 05:21 AM
DimaK DimaK is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Baltimore, MD
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I am in similar place as you are now and I recommend getting a couple of bars of steel from NJ Steel Barron and working on quality steel. Its not very expensive compared to the other tools and the time you invest. And in my opinion, a little more investment into the steel might lead to better effort on your first knife. At least it would for me.
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  #4  
Old 07-24-2015, 06:17 AM
pcpc201 pcpc201 is offline
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Location: South Alabama
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Welcome aboard. I agree with the others as far as the known steels are concerned, it will save you a lot of work and headaches.

NJ steel baron (Aldo Bruno) handles pretty much any thing you might be in the market for, also as DimaK said the steel cost is negligible when compared to tool costs.
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  #5  
Old 07-24-2015, 08:20 AM
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Ray Rogers Ray Rogers is offline
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There is a Sticky thread at the top of this forum that lists the places where you can buy good steel.

A journey of one thousand miles begins with a single step ...


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  #6  
Old 07-24-2015, 05:46 PM
iamnobody iamnobody is offline
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Location: Indianapolis, IN
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Thanks for the info guys.

I was looking at some belt grinders today. Can't afford the massive industrial ones but did see some that could be in my price range. Just gotta find the right belts to make it work.

No chance zirc would work or does it have to be aluminum oxide?
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  #7  
Old 07-24-2015, 08:54 PM
jmccustomknives jmccustomknives is offline
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The better the belts the longer they last. I should say that I use a 4x36 sander from Lowes and Norton Blaze belts for grinding. Made more knives than I can count on it. It's not the best tool for the job as it does have limitations, but on a budget it can get you started. As your tool collection grows it will be replaced by a real grinder (unless you are like me). That 4x36 is a nice tool for other things too, so it will always have a place in your shop.
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  #8  
Old 07-24-2015, 09:02 PM
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ATalley ATalley is offline
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Welcome iamnobody! Here YouAreSomebody! Good luck, these guys here are great. Sounds like you are off to a great start. Read plenty and ask if you can't find it. Also stop by Rays chat room

Alex


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  #9  
Old 07-25-2015, 09:19 PM
PoolQs PoolQs is offline
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Welcome iamnobody !!! I started out the exact same way that you have described. Been in the restaurant
biz for over 25 years and over half of that in the kitchen. Owned and used just about every knife known in
the kitchen. I have been making my own knives now for about 18 months and have made 28 to date.
Every knife I made has been on a Sears 1x30 stock removal.
You don't have to have the best equipment out there, just the will and the patience to use what you can
afford.
The Knife Network Forums are a GREAT source of knowledge and get to know others with the same passion.
Always ask questions !!! There are many here that are more than welcomed to help.
As mentioned by Alex, Ray Rogers (mod here) has a Sunday night chat room that many of us visit frequently
and talk shop. I always get great advice from all that are there.
A shameless plug for Ray, he has a great video (DVD) that he has made that shows all the ABCs of knife
making. A very instructional video that shows the internal workings of building a knife from start to finish.
Good luck !!!
Troy
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  #10  
Old 07-25-2015, 10:35 PM
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GHEzell GHEzell is offline
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My suggestion would be, buy a few bars of 440c (a good quality but inexpensive stainless) and have at it. You can rough in a bevel with a bench grinder, then clean it up with files and sandpaper... then send it off to have it heat-treated. Once you have a way to heat metal yourself you could try 1080/1084 steel and heat-treating it yourself... every knife you sell, invest the money into better equipment.

Welcome to the obsession...


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  #11  
Old 07-26-2015, 12:33 AM
iamnobody iamnobody is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Indianapolis, IN
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thanks guys.

I was talking to one of my coworkers about all this and he's going to be drawing up some schematics for a knife he wants. Figure that will be a great first project to try out with the 440C.

Not sure why but the jersey barron webpage hasn't been showing up for me. USAknifemaker works fine.

Made my first purchase into the craft yesterday by upgrading my sharpening kit. If I can't properly maintain an existing blade, I shouldn't think about creating one from scratch. At least that was my thought.

Next purchase is a 1x30 belt sander/grinder. Not ideal but it's in my budget and should work well enough to get me going. Plus it comes with a little round sander on the side.
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  #12  
Old 07-26-2015, 05:28 AM
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Crex Crex is offline
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Welcome aboard.
First things first - fill out your profile. You might be living right around the corner from one of us or some other experienced knifemaker. A visit with anyone of them(us) would save you a lot of trial and error grief and frustration and get you headed down the "practical" path to a very rewarding craft.....cause if you gotta make knives, you gotta make knives.

You can get a lot of excellent advice and info here no doubt, but it's very hard to beat that one on one visit with possible hands on learning. What you can pick up from a 1 hour visit will be worth two years of nights sitting up with your computer trying to piece things together.

Again welcome aboard, be sure to tighten the laces on your boots, it's a heck of a ride.


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