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  1. #1
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    Default Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Having spent about a year on and off doing the research for knife making I finally got the tools and materials I needed to start as a hobby knife maker. I spent hundreds of hours consuming knife making videos mostly focusing on Walter Sorrels and Aaron Gough.

    I learned a lot and my first project was Walter's file knife which I think is a fantastic project to cut your teeth on. Having learned a ton just from youtube I did however find it hard to get materials and advice locally so I thought I would post some of my experiences here in the hopes of helping others and learning even more with the help of a community I did not think to tap into; the vast GS community. I also do not want to flood Oom Gert's grinder thread with off topic knife discussions, as much as he may enjoy it.

    As a side note, my experiences will strictly be limited to the stock removal knife making process. Forging does interest me but as a beginner I have decided to concentrate on stock removal exclusively to keep costs low and make the most of my limited free time. Some feel stock removal is not real knife making, personally I think stock removal is the advancement of knife making - being able to use much more advanced steels compared to forging with simpler carbon steels. Each to their own and nothing against forging, I would love to learn the art of it one day.

    Steel:
    In PE we have access to Bohler Steel's N690 which is a stainless steel. You cannot heat treat it yourself but Bohler will do it for you. It's around R250 for 5 knives. If you're lucky and make friends with the heat treater he will throw your first knife in with another batch mahala.

    Handles:
    Sourcing wood was also tricky, first knife handle was some hardish wood, I think it was meranti but it was a mystery piece I got for next to nothing. My wife was gracious enough to let me visit http://www.rarewoods.co.za/ while we were on honeymoon in Knysna a few weeks ago. There I picked up some Indian Ebony, Rosewood and Wild Olive. Very helpful people at Rarewoods and they have a good selection, they cater for knife makers by selling samples which are a good size for even bigger handles. They will also cut certain types, like the wild olive. The ebony they would not cut which was quite a pricey chunk but well worth the money I feel. They come through to PE once a month so I will order some more when they get the exotic stuff in stock, I am keen on some purple heart for a japanese style knife handle.

    Recently I also made an order from http://www.kmts.co.za/ for some G10 which is like a fiberglass type of handle material. I got the order today so I don't have any experience with it yet but seems easy to work with. I also got some G10 'liners' in various colours to spice things up.

    Pinning:
    For now I have gone with simple brass pinning, I got brass rod from a local art shop in 3mm and 5mm. I will order some decorate pinning from KMTS at a later stage as well as some blind rivets.

    Tools:
    The biggest purchase was a cheap belt grinder, one of the 1"x30" (25mm x 720mm) Royobi jobbies. You really don't need it but it makes things a big easier. This is however a very basic and barely capable entry level belt grinder. Its not terribly well built so requires some tinkering to make sure everything is square and accurate. Works great for wood, quite slow on metal but gets the job done.

    I also bought files in various shapes and cuts, quality drill bits, small grinder etc - most established workshops and garages may have most of these, I had to supplement my existing tools. This playlist is super useful:



    Also clamps, you can never have enough clamps, spring clamps, F glamps, G clamps. I also bought a Lansky 3 stone sharpening kit, awesome sharpener and I can upgrade the stones as I need.

    Abrasives:
    I have used the standard brown 1x30 belts from www.livecopper.co.za, I ordered via e-mail from Dean. Delivery was like next day kind of thing and the belts are dirty cheap at around R3 a belt. They are not well suited to steel but I did fine with them on the N690. I do however end up using about 1x 60 grit belt per bevel, bit of a pain to change belts but at R3 a belt they are not impacting me economically. I have purchased some blue zirconium belts in 1x30 from Measure Cut, a local abrasives supplier in PE. They are a little more expensive but apparently much better suited for steel stock removal. I have not tried the belts yet.

    I also bought a ton of waterproof sheets ranging from 100 grit up to 1200.

    Resources:

    Walter Sorrels is an amazing knife maker, also makes Japanese swords. His work is beautiful and to top it all off he is a shooter too, he is an IDPA master. I followed his guide to making a file knife and use a lot of his techniques and tips: https://www.youtube.com/user/slappybuckshot

    Aaron Gough is an Australian Canadian knife maker with an exceptional eye for detail. I used his filing jig to get accurate bevels for my first few knives. I also use his sanding block design. https://www.youtube.com/user/aaronmarkgough

    Feel free to add or correct!

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Subscribing to this thread. I think its a great idea. I'm working up the courage to get started in hobby knife making myself. (Not to mention gathering funds) Thank you for sharing!

    Sent from my SM-J500F using Tapatalk

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Apocsa:

    My hat is off to you, it is great to see another forum member with all the acquired knowledge through research and trail /error. I really have great admiration for the members who like the Afrikaans proverb states: '" Om die hand aan die ploeg te slaan en te werk" you members really are great in making your own knifes and any other items ..... I will be calling on you for assistance regarding the finer points of knife making in the future...
    I am subscribing to this post as well, thank you again it really is much appreciated....

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Well, this is a hobby I have been seriously considering for a while. Will be following closely until I acquire the prescribed brass balls to approach the wife for more hobby funds.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Nice write up, Walter Sorrells has great videos and he was the reason I started.

    Just a tip with the 1x30 if you haven't done it already get rid of the left side cover, taking it off and putting it on every time you change a belt is a pain.

    Also just remember to drill all the holes before you heat treat or you will end up with expensive carbide drill bits as school fees like me.

    Sent from my SM-G900F

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    If you have some time on your hands:

    https://www.airrifle.co.za/threads/2...f-Merwe-Knives

    75 pages of great writing, awesome photos and some serious craftsmanship talent.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by Gert Odendaal View Post
    Apocsa:

    My hat is off to you, it is great to see another forum member with all the acquired knowledge through research and trail /error. I really have great admiration for the members who like the Afrikaans proverb states: '" Om die hand aan die ploeg te slaan en te werk" you members really are great in making your own knifes and any other items ..... I will be calling on you for assistance regarding the finer points of knife making in the future...
    I am subscribing to this post as well, thank you again it really is much appreciated....
    Thanks oom Gert, the same goes to you with your posts. I am especially interested in the belt grinder build.

    Quote Originally Posted by Erebus View Post
    Nice write up, Walter Sorrells has great videos and he was the reason I started.

    Just a tip with the 1x30 if you haven't done it already get rid of the left side cover, taking it off and putting it on every time you change a belt is a pain.

    Also just remember to drill all the holes before you heat treat or you will end up with expensive carbide drill bits as school fees like me.

    Sent from my SM-G900F
    Thanks, I was considering it and now that you confirmed it I threw it in the scraps bin.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Apocza, congratulations on starting, this is a rabbit hole well worth jumping into!

    As for the belt. those brown belts are only good for wood. that is why you use 1 per bevel, and you say it is slow. Order belts from KMTS, they are avout R8 - R11 per belt, but last 10 times longer, and work faster. They are proper belts for steel/stainless steel. if you buy 60, 80, 180 and 400grit belts you are sorted. 60 and 80 is for rapid material removal. 180 is for almost finished, and 400 for final finish and sharpening. Trust me, once you get the proper belts, you will definately have a new respect for the little machine. yes, not the perfect knife grinder, but good enough for most amateur and hobby knife makers. I have the exact same machine. and as Erebus said, take off the cover on the side. makes belt changes much quicker. Also, make sure your work bed is fastened propely, else it will slowly move while you are grinding, changing the angle of your grind.

    AND COOL YOUR METAL OFTEN WHEN GRINDING! SERIOUSLY COOL IT OFTEN!!!! helps for belt life, and finger life... :)

    A last hint, build yourself a grinding jig. many youTube videos. The basic is simply using a mettal angle iron, or 90degree bracket to which you add a screw on the back side (flat side away from the grind) and clamp your blank to the front. you then adjust your bolt to set the angle you would like to grind. this helps a lot! Have a look at Erebus' thread, he has some images of his jig.

    good luck and post your pics of progress.

    Oh, and you can also pop over to saknifeforum.co.za

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Thanks for the post apocza, I will be following this thread closely as I do with the threads by Erebus and Oom Gert.

    Congratulations on taking the plunge into the whole which is knife making, truly a craft that I appreciate!!

    All the best and happy grinding!!

    Ps. Keep your fingers out of the way

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Novice Knife Makers Thread

    Quote Originally Posted by fkritzinger View Post
    Apocza, congratulations on starting, this is a rabbit hole well worth jumping into!

    good luck and post your pics of progress.

    Oh, and you can also pop over to saknifeforum.co.za
    Thanks fkritzinger, super useful tips. I did build a jig, my second knife was done on the jig. I also put a bucket of water next to my grinder and dunk my knife often, one doesn't realize how quickly that steel gets hot. I got proper belts from a local supplier, cheap and they have a huge variety. The blue belts really work so much better, I used them for the first time last night. Like you say, the little machine is more than capable. I will pop over to the forum, thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by HJordaan View Post
    All the best and happy grinding!!

    Ps. Keep your fingers out of the way
    Thanks HJordaan and yeah, I had an early lesson with the belt and my fingers - I had a very squared off and painful thumbnail for a while :D

    Some progress pics on the current knife can be found here: http://imgur.com/a/yiVM7 It's my second knife and a clone of Aaron Gough's Resolute. My first knife was an ugly (but sharp and hard) file knife. Third knife you can see in the heat treating pic is going to be a small Santoku.

    Anyone got suggestions for a finish on the wild olive? I was thinking of just going with boiled linseed which would look pretty, but probably not the most durable finish. This will be a camp knife, it wont see much abuse but I would like to give it a rinse under the tap if I need to.

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