got a new hobbie

We may earn a small commission from affiliate links and paid advertisements. Terms

chadcharb

Well-Known Member
VIP
So a friend of my dads has been designing and building his own custom knives for years and recently took me under his wing to teach me his trade. i have 3 under my belt now. heres a skinner im just about done with. ive got around 30 hours into the skinner and its not quit finished


On this knife i started with a piece of 1/8x2 1/2x? pg barstock. draw the pattern onto the steel and cut out a rough shape with the band saw.

knifemaking019.jpg


this is after the rough cut on the band saw.

knifemaking021.jpg


now i move on to the belt sander with some 80 grit to finish getting the final shape of the blade.

knifemaking023.jpg


now the "hollow grind" is made on the blade, which is what takes the blade down to a narrow edge which will later be honed to a razor edge. ill add another picture of it being done so it makes more sense. this is the only part i didnt do my self because it is really easy to screw up and i didnt want to ruin the blade.


knifemaking027.jpg


knifemaking025.jpg



next i started my file work. this is just a looks, style thing but it looks good and adds personality.

knifemaking033.jpg


here you see the filework finished the blade polished and the handle pins drilled. the rest of the holes are to help the epoxy hold and reduce weight. by this time the blade has been tempered and cryo treated. the handle scales have been roughed out and drilled for pins and ready to glue. for this knife a chose palm wood

knifemaking001.jpg


here it is all glued up. i let it sit over night next to the wood stove. i used 5/32 mosaic pins to add a little extra. ill get better pics of them when i get a chance.

knifemaking002.jpg




knifemaking003.jpg


not it goes back to the belt sander with som 80grit again to get the scales to size. after that i switch to 400 to get the big scratches out and then hand sand with 600 for the final sand before buffing.

knifemaking006.jpg


in this picture you can see how the epoxy fills the filework and looks really good

knifemaking010.jpg

knifemaking018.jpg

knifemaking017.jpg




and a fillet knife i just finished a few days ago

knifemaking054.jpg

knifemaking055.jpg
 
Last edited:
Nice amigo. Looks awesome.
 
wow man very nice....how about some more background how how they are made

What tools, what kind of steel? Are the knives already pre-designed and your just following a pattern?
 
You'd do well in Prison. lol


Nice knives. ^ Same questions as corvetteguy.
 
I would like to start selling eventually but as long as I'm working in someone elses shop I probably won't. The fillet knives are fairly easy to turn out though so I would sell those if anyone was interested. Depending on handle and pin material they would probably start around $60. I'll go into more detail on everything when I'm not on my phone
 
Do you have someone that makes sheaths? Or have you thought about doing a bit of leather working yourself? Are you looking to focus on a core group of styles or are you going to branch out?
 
My stepdad used to do this, still have the forge and tons of blanks out in our shop. He made a bowey knife out of a leaf spring that is amazingly awesome!

Good work!!!
 
wow man very nice....how about some more background how how they are made

What tools, what kind of steel? Are the knives already pre-designed and your just following a pattern?

^^ same..

my grandpa used to make them, but not as fancy. im not sure what kind of metals he used, but the method was pretty much like how samurai swords are made (not as meticulous or thorough): get a hot ass fire going with bellows (sp?) and beat the shit out of it.

anyway, looks pretty awesome.
 
Do you have someone that makes sheaths? Or have you thought about doing a bit of leather working yourself? Are you looking to focus on a core group of styles or are you going to branch out?
he uses someone to make his sheaths but i am looking into getting a leather sewing kit pretty soon to save money and add to the options. i am going to slowly start aquiring my own tools (belt sander, band saw, and a couple of buffing wheels) and start making my own desings but for now i just use the designs he already has which are all primarily hunting and fishing knives.

the 2 blades you see in the pictures are both 440c stainless as is pretty much everything else we make but i am looking into getting a couple of damascus billets to try out this winter. he doesnt have the tools or space to forge his own steel so we just order 1/8"x2" presicion ground stock as we need it. most of the handle material is bought in scales as needed since there are so many options. anyting we make that has a guard is made from nickel stock and hand shaped and polished. the skinner pictured would go for around $220+ depending on handle file work and pins. that skinner alone i have around 25hours of hand work into.
 
I may be sending you a message to discuss pricing and availability on something in the next few days.
 
I may be sending you a message to discuss pricing and availability on something in the next few days.

yea the sooner the better. I think I sent you my # on fb a bit ago text me if you still have it
 
Last edited:
wow man very nice....how about some more background how how they are made

What tools, what kind of steel? Are the knives already pre-designed and your just following a pattern?
i added step by step's with the pics in my first post
 
THat's really cool. I'd love to have a backup blade, especially right now while I'm relatively handicapped.
 
little update. i ordered a piece of hand forged damascus steel to start my next project. its .120x3.25x14.75 i am gonna do a skinner gutter set with it. still deciding and handles and pins. more pics when i start
 

Attachments

  • damascus.jpg
    damascus.jpg
    109.8 KB · Views: 234
thats some beautiful steel right there
 
Back
Top