Hello. In this instruction, we will look at how you can make a simple knife by forging. The author’s knife turned out to be quite compact, it can be used in a fairly wide range. It will come in handy both on hunting and fishing, and you can take it for mushrooms. If you choose high-quality carbon steel to make a knife, the blade will not go dull for a long time. The knife is assembled quite reliably, the handle is solid, and a beautiful brass guard is installed in the front. For convenient carrying of a knife for it it is possible and necessary to make a sheath, it is easy to make of leather. So, let’s take a closer look at how you can make such a knife!
Materials and tools used by the author:
Material List:
- wood for the handle;
- brass rods (for pins);
- a piece of brass for the guard;
- epoxy adhesive;
- high-quality carbon steel for a blade;
- leather for sheath and paint;
- oil for wood impregnation.
Tool List:
- blacksmith furnace, anvil and others fixtures for forging;
- grinder;
- belt sander;
- vise;
- drill;
- a circular saw;
- clamps;
- gas-burner;
- sewing tools.
The process of making a knife:
Step one. Main profile
We begin to manufacture the main profile, and we will do it by forging. As for steel, you can use an automobile spring or something similar for similar purposes. If the selected steel is springy, then with a high degree of probability there is carbon in it and the blade should turn out to be of high quality. We heat the metal to a red glow and work with a hammer. The better the work is done at this stage, the less work will be left after grinding and so on. Thanks to forging, the density of the metal increases and this is good, the steel becomes even stronger.
Step Two Grinding
After forging, we proceed to grinding, here we need a belt sander. We work well on the plane, and also walk along the contour of the blade. Excess can be cut with a grinder.
Step Three Metal tempering
In the future we will need to drill several holes in the metal for the pins. After forging, this can be problematic, we need to release the metal. To do this, heat the blade with a gas burner and let cool in air. And you can immerse the blade in some kind of insulating material so that the cooling process takes place as slowly as possible. After that, the steel should become soft and easy to process.
Step FourMaking guards
We will make a guard from brass, for this we need a bar. Cut off the desired piece and make a cut under the thickness of the blade. For reliable fixation of the guard we will fix it with a pin, under it and drill a hole.
Step Five Pen making
The handle will be made of wood, it will be solid. For such purposes, you need a suitable bar. We cut off the excess and do a saw cut along the handle under the shank of the knife. We also need to drill holes in the handle and shank for the pins. We cut out the main profile of the handle, here you will need a jigsaw or a band saw. It’s not necessary to perfect the pen; then grinding is still to come.
Step Six Blade hardening
We proceed to hardening the blade, this will allow him to hold the hardening for a long time. For such purposes, a gas burner and oil are suitable. But it is important to understand that for professional hardening conditions must be selected depending on the steel grade. After that, try to scratch the blade with a file, if there are no scratches, then the hardening is a success.
Usually, metal is still tempered after hardening, otherwise it may turn out to be brittle. But the author did not show this moment. Usually the blade is warmed up until a straw coating appears on it. Vacation can be carried out in the oven, the temperature should be around 200 ° C.
Seventh step. Grinding
The blade is almost ready, it remains to clean it of scale. The author performs the main grinding using a drill and a disk grinding nozzle. Well, then we move on to the final processing. It must be done manually. Here we need sandpaper and water. We fix the blade with a clamp and get to work. If desired, the metal can be brought to a mirror shine.
Step Eight. Bonding knife
To assemble the knife, we need epoxy glue. The author decided to use natural dyes for epoxy so that it was not visible. So, for gluing a guard, the author added brass chips, and wood chips were used for the handle. We install the pins, wipe the excess glue on the blade. Everything, now it remains only to wait until everything is dry.
Step Nine. Final grinding
When the glue dries, we carry out the final grinding. We form the handle profile using a belt sander. The pen of the author received sharp edges, as conceived in the design. Final processing is carried out manually using sandpaper.
That's all, the knife is ready, now we just have to soak the handle with oil. To do this, the author immerses the handle entirely in oil for the most effective impregnation. Then you need to erase the excess and allow the residue to dry. As a result, we get a great knife, but for it you still need to make a sheath!
Step Ten Scabbard
We need the scabbard in order to keep the knife for a long time, as well as to carry it safely. Here we need the skin, cut out the sheath profile from it and glue it. To give the sheath a final shape, we need boiling water. We cook the scabbard in the water for a while, and then set the blade in them and squeeze it. So that the blade is not wet once again, wrap it with a film.
That's all, now let the scabbard dry and stitch. After that, they can be painted, the author chose black.
That's all, the knife is ready. You can sharpen it to the state of the blade using Japanese water stones or other tools. The author turned out to be very sharp. That's all, the project is over, good luck and creative inspiration. Do not forget to share your homemade with us!