This beginner-level guide explains, step-by-step, how to make a fixed-blade hidden tang knife and a matching leather scabbard. Used by hunters and fishermen the world over, hidden tang knives have tangs that are completely hidden by the handle material, which makes for a more comfortable grip on the knife. Knifemakers will find the 200+ photos and diagrams, the tools and materials lists, and the detailed instructions perfectly suited to creating this knife. The guide requires minimal use of power tools and equipment and also provides knifemakers with an understanding of various types of steels and handle materials for subsequent knife projects. The section on tools and steps necessary for making a sheath round out this guide.
It's a tool, a collectible, an aesthetic object, and even a piece of art. Knifemaking has experienced tremendous growth as a hobby, and now you can learn this craft.205 color images and illustrated step-by-step instructions provide all stages of the knife's construction, from selection of the steel, to forging the blade, assembling the handle, and constructing a holder.Includes sections on safety, sources for materials, and 10 templates and designs to inspire your own ideas.
The next installment to this knife workshop series explains how to design and build an integral knife, a knife made out of a single piece of steel. From basic patterns and principles to technical solutions to various variations in design and process, this guide is ideal for the intermediate to advanced knifemaker. Through step-by-step instructions and images, three integral knife projects with varying levels of difficulty are explained. Learn how to make a hand-filed knife that doesn't require much equipment, a knife made using a milling machine, and a knife made with a piece of steel that has been professionally prepared with a wire-erosion process. With 350 photos and illustrations, this comprehensive guide is ideal for mastering how to make integral knives.
Learn the Secrets of Knifemaking From the Masters of the Trade With an all-star cast of renowned knifemakers, BLADE's Guide To Making Knives 2nd Edition brings you the most up-to-date, inside information available on fashioning edged implements. In this full-color, meticulously illustrated volume: John Lewis Jensen, designer and fabricator of one-of-a-kind ornamental edged weaponry, presents a step-by-step guide to creating your own art knife in "Desk Daggers: A Limited Edition Jensen Knives Trio." Tim Zowada, forger of damascus and smelted steel, reveals his trade secrets and methods in "Making the Using Knife." Allen Elishewitz lends his knowledge and know-how in "Making Patterns and Using a Pantograph," for those in the design stages of fashioning fine knives. Don Fogg, arguably one of the best sword makers on the planet, shares his expertise in "Forging Steel from Raw Materials." Vince Evans, crafter of Scottish dirks, Viking swords, Central Asian weaponry and other exotic and historical pieces, reveals his methods for "Making and Carving a Scottish Dirk." Rick Dunkerley, known for his mosaic-damascus masterpieces, opens his world of knowledge in "Building a Damascus Locking-Liner Folder." Kevin Hoffman unlocks the mysteries of "Lost Wax Casting for Guards & Pommels," illustrating each and every step of this tedious yet rewarding process. It's All Here! Forging — Grinding — Heat Treating — Etching — Polishing — Sharpening Blades — Guards — Pommels — Bolsters — Handles — Sheaths Whether your interest in making knives is new or you've been crafting blades for years, BLADE's Guide to Making Knives 2nd Edition arms you with knowledge to help you reap the rewards of a fruitful and fulfilling knifemaking hobby or career.
Takes the approach that you can teach yourself with guidance from the book. Making knives is one of the most popular applications of smithing Backyard metalsmithing is gaining popularity
The art of forging multiple layers of steel together into beautiful, strong, and sharp Damascus steel blades started millenia ago. Now, with this guide, novice blacksmiths and bladesmiths have a practical and budget-conscious approach to forging their own Damascus steel knives. Starting with the basics, this practical guide shows how easy it can be to build a simple Damascus-grade forge; forge Damascus steel into different patterns; and forge a blade into shape, harden it, and turn it into a finished knife. Sketches, step-by-step instructions, and tools and materials lists help you prepare and work through the project methodically and safely. Complete with tips for sharpening Damascus steel blades and insights on the metallurgy behind this special steel, this guide is ideal for the metalworking hobbyist.
The best way to start in knifemaking is usually to make a fixed-blade knife, and this photo-rich guide with carefully detailed instructions offers a full tang knife and a hidden tang knife. Make each of these two projects by following the individual construction principles here, and learn all phases of the knifemaking process. A few simple tools and a suitable workplace are all you need; materials are inexpensive. In their decades of teaching, the authors have often heard "I've never worked with metal before" and offer quick ways to understand the basics. Enjoy clear answers to the questions they often hear from their beginning students, such as "Is the steel hard yet?" or "What kind of wood works best for the handle?" With this complete guide, there is nothing standing in the way of you starting your knifemaking hobby.
Wood carvers understand the feeling of satisfaction, ease and higher quality of carving that comes when using a well sharpened, honed and polished tool. In a process handed down from his grandfather, Jim Watson explains and illustrates sharpening techniques for numerous woodcarving tools and knives of various sizes and shapes including pocket knives and kitchen knives. The necessary materials for proper sharpening are listed and discussed with methods for reconditioning and making your own new knives and tools as well as information on resurfacing the sharpening stones. By following Jim's instructions and adding a little practice and patience, everyone will be able to achieve and maintain a superior edge, as keen as the piece of steel will allow.
"This book will teach you to hand build a knife using the traditional method of blacksmiths of old-forging. Traditional forging of a knife blade is a process which uses the ancient techniques of moving hot steel with hammer and anvil alone into a knife-form that is ready for filing, heat treating and sharpening with no or very minimal electric grinding. Almost anyone with basic hand tool aptitude can learn to make a knife by forging. Forging skills are not outside the average person's facility or capacity. If this is a new encounter for you it will necessitate your swinging a hammer; not at a nail but at a piece of hot steel, learning and applying some ten or twelve blacksmithing techniques and secrets, and experiencing some trial and error. I have probably taught hundreds of men, women and a few children to do this and I am confident you can learn to do this too. As a wise man said: "Life is trial and error, mostly error". I make errors every time I go to my anvil. So will you. This book also teaches traditional fit-and-finish skills with hand tools alone. It explains an ancient riveted full-tang handle construction system that surpasses modern methods. This book is designed for both first-time, back-yard beginner smiths to experienced knifemakers and any general blacksmiths in between wanting to build a knife using these ancient ways"--
