[Gizamo]

Guess this is the first in a series of steps to make my first homegrown working knife

Decided to do it the hard way and forego a kit knife. Couple of reasons. The need to learn about annealing and hardening metal and understand the process makes sense. Being thrifty is another good reason ~ as files can be had at flea markets, yard sales, etc...The one in the picture set me back .50 cents Because of my trade, I already own much of the equipment for the stock removal process ~ due to the need to sharpen and hone my tools.

Used my shop woodstove as a makeshift forge.


So here is the file sitting on a good bed of softwood embers at the start of the process.

I then built a fire over it, using hardwood blocks...

And finally got things going to get the hardened file up to a cherry red...

The file was allowed to cool slowly and was pulled out of the ashes this morning...right now I have completed testing it. Drilled a pilot hole and made some hacksaw cuts in it to see if the metal has softened...so far so good.

Next will be to flatten the bar and smooth it. Then I will rough out a blank in the shape of the knife using nothing but a disc grinder..

 

[Leighton]

Giz, Do you have a bellow's?? It would make keeping your fire hot enough for all the times you'll need to heat the blade during the shaping process.

 

[Gizamo]

Leighton,

I used a hair dryer and it worked like a charm...The fire was hot enough so that a magnet would not stick to the metal. I increased the heat a little more and let the fire die out. I've just finished rough shaping the blade. I noticed a slight curve at the bolster end. I will do the three pin trick in the vice later today to get rid of the tweak...After that I will set up to grind the bevels and finish with a file.

giz

 

[Leighton]

Sounds good! Never thought of a hair dryer, I guess that would work!! Another peice of steel you might want to look at is a straight harrow blade, very thick and tough steel. Here's a pic of one my grandfather worked on, but never finished. I may finish it one day. Its the one all the way on the left.

 

[Gizamo]

Hope you do finish it someday And pass it down...

Anyway, I messed around for about half an hour today before calling it quits. Here's the sequence...with the handheld grinder.

Cut the file to length...

Grind it flat, getting out the file teeth..

And rough shape the blade...

giz

 

[Hunter]

Giz that is looking great!! It is addicting.

 

[Leighton]

Looking good!!!!!!

 

[azmick]

Awaiting part Two!

 

[Gizamo]

Tomorrow, I'll show the 3 pin method used to get the blade straight again...Then a bit of file work to establish the edge. Debating doing a hollow grind or not, but leaning towards file working the blade.

giz

 

[carl418]

Most impressive, Giz!

 

[Gizamo]

Next step, taking the kink out of the handle of the knife. The annealing process allowed a slight warp in the blade's guard area. To fix this, it's going to be alot easier before it is hardened again. So by placing two pins on each side of the kink (same side) and one single pin at he apex of the kink on the opposite side ~ it's possible to cold bend the blade back to flat....using vise pressure only - a little at a time...

A bit more rough shaping with a file and bench grinder with a wire wheel...

 

[Leighton]

WOW! Its looking really nice!!! What kind of scales are you planning to put on her??

 

[xtimberman]

Giz's got skillz!


xtm

 

[Gizamo]

Leighton,

Most likely ~ none...Or a fitting of pinned antler (if I find a moose drop). This knife is going to be used with a 3-tine fork in my possibles bag. I intend to let the metal stain and make a leather roll for the pair... They are exactly the same length and will go well together. My intent is to use this set for all my meals daily, until the knife is well worn and aged.

I've been building up a collection that would serve a Buckskinner well. Collecting the acoutrement's, and there are a few personal pieces that fill the bill. This will be one of the ones that I made to use.

What do you guys think, leave it as the original 3 tine in metal and let it age....or put the Moosehorn on it?


giz

 

[Leighton]

Giz, I wonder what kind of majic you could weave on that old blade of my Grandfathers???

 

[xtimberman]

I vote to put on the antler - then use it and let it age.

xtm

 

[Leighton]

I'd use it the way it is! They both look good together.

 

[onenut58]

Wow that turned out nice. I would put the antler on it and let it age like xtimber man says.Extremely interesting thread here Giz. You gonna make another one ?

 

[Gizamo]

Think I'll finish this one off first, then try my hand at a skinner...right now I'm looking for a nice barky horn. Will be putting on the bolsters...Thought I'd show how to heat treat the blade and quench it in olive oil, then what to do to temper it....I'll post pics of that next weekend.