Most hunters agree that, in addition to a gun, you must have a knife when hunting. Its purpose is very different: for cutting up a carcass and protecting it from an attack by an animal, for performing various household tasks - chopping firewood and branches, building a hut, cooking, making other tools and self-defense. Thus, taking into account the functions performed, it can be extremely difficult to purchase a universal knife in a store. But every hunter can build a hunting knife with his own hands, taking into account all individual requirements.
Hunting knife
Making a hunting knife is not accessible to everyone, because it is necessary to take into account a number of its features. A hunting dagger is a weapon with a short blade. The handle is separated from the blade by a limiter, which allows you to protect your hand during a strike. The weapon is designed to cut rather than pierce, so its blade is designed with a curved upward shape with a large bend in the cutting edge to make long cuts in one motion. The shank and blade are a single whole, with only the cutting edge remaining sharp, and the second part of the blade being blunt - this is the butt.
The blade is equipped with special grooves that give it rigidity and reduce its weight. Its length is usually 12-15 cm, and its width is 2.5-3 cm. Stainless carbon steel grade 65G is used to make the dagger; tool steel grade R6M5 is often also used. You can learn more about how to make a hunting knife with your own hands.
DIY hunting knife: video
Before making a hunting knife, it is necessary to develop a detailed drawing of all its structural elements. The drawing will help you determine the shape and size of the blade, handle, stop, and sheath.
The manufacturing process at home includes several stages; the complexity of this process can be assessed after watching the video and photographs.
First of all, you need to decide on the shape and dimensions of the knife, to do this, sketch a sketch on paper, thus creating a detailed drawing.Sketch of a hunting knife
Choice of material. To make a homemade knife for hunting, it is not necessary to have a block of R6M5 steel on hand. You can use items made from it: cutters, cutters, hacksaw blades. It is best to use the last option, namely, a blade from a pendulum saw for metal 2 mm thick, 400-500 mm long, and approximately 30-40 mm wide. The material must be smooth. Please note that with a butt thickness of 2 mm and a blade length of 150 mm, such a homemade hunting knife will not be a bladed weapon, since it complies with GOST R No. 51644-2000. For the manufacture of the handle, suitable wood is birch, beech, maple, cherry, pear, mahogany.
After the material is selected, a sketch of the dagger must be applied to the hacksaw blade.
The workpiece is processed on a hacksaw machine, turning along the contour. It is important not to forget to make the transition from the blade to the semicircular shank. To prevent the material from overheating, you need to periodically dip it in cool water.
Preliminary grinding of the slopes is carried out on an emery machine with a coarse-grained belt.
Sanding the blade
It is quite difficult to make a hole for a rivet using a drill or a Pobedit drill. But this can be done using an electrolysis reaction. The electrolyte is water with table salt diluted in it. A 27 volt DC source is used to supply electricity. A circle is cut out in place of the hole, and the shank is placed in an electrolysis solution. After three hours, a hole will form that needs to be processed with a needle file.
Then you need to harden the knife steel. To do this, it is placed in the oven, then in oil and again in the oven. After this, the scale is removed using coarse sandpaper, the butt is processed and the required thickness of the cutting edge is formed. It is also important to periodically cool the steel at this stage.
Finishing the blade with finer-grain sandpaper
Grinding the blade is done using sandpaper, water and lapping. Processing is carried out in the opposite direction to the previous one.
Polishing the blade is done using trowel paste and a felt grinding wheel.
Making a bushing. A sleeve is cut out of brass or bronze by boring holes with a drill, and placed on the handle close to the blade. Before making the handle, a piece of leather is placed between it and the sleeve - it serves to prevent moisture from entering the place where the handle is attached to the blade, as well as to fix them more firmly.
How to make a hunting knife at home: making a handle
Making the handle
A photo of DIY hunting knives shows that most often the handles are made of wood. It fits comfortably in the hand and is comfortable when used in the cold in winter.
It is necessary to make a blank from a wooden block, on one side of which make an even cut to fit the sleeve, and on the other, drill a cavity to accommodate the shank. It is also necessary to drill a hole on one side for the rivet. Using epoxy glue, the handle is placed on the shank, a brass rod is inserted in place of the hole for the rivet, the excess part is cut off and soldered. The surface of the wooden handle is processed and polished. It can be coated with oil to protect the surface of the wood, or varnished. For the convenience and safety of carrying weapons, you can make a sheath. In this case, you can use the same wood, for example, birch bark, or leather. At the same time, guides for the knife are formed inside the sheath, as well as a hole for water drainage, and metal rings for attaching to the belt.
With such a knife, hunting will only be a pleasure.
Make a quality hunting knife. The material we use is 1080 steel. This is a fairly strong steel that can be hardened and processed well. The knife is made with simple common tools; the main work is carried out using a grinder with a good supply of wheels.
Materials and tools used
- steel blank 1080 ();
- grinder with grinding and cutting wheels;
- different sandpaper;
- drill with drills ();
- rods for pins;
- epoxy adhesive;
- wood for finishing handles;
- paper, pencil, etc. (for making a template);
- marker;
- sharpener;
- heat source for hardening;
- pliers, hammer, etc.;
- household oven;
- clamps or vices;
- files for metal and wood;
- preferably a belt sander ().
The process of making a knife with your own hands:
Step one. We make and transfer the template
First of all, you need to make a template. We find a ready-made one on the Internet and print it out, or draw it ourselves. Next, you will need to cut it out, then attach it to the workpiece and outline it with a marker. By the way, if you cut out a template from cardboard, you can hold it in your hands to make sure that the future knife will be comfortable.
Step two. Rough work with the profile
Next, we arm ourselves with a grinder and slowly cut out the rough shape of the profile, always remember that steel heats up quickly, and this is bad for it. When working with a grinder, be sure to cool the workpiece with water and slowly cut it out by hand.
Step three. Finalizing the knife profile
After rough cutting, there will be uncut areas on the profile, these are various roundings and so on. To cut out all these areas, the author used a sharpener. You can also use a grinder with grinding wheels. As for the case when there is no such tool, you can use files of various shapes and so on. In addition, when working with hand tools, there is again less chance of overheating the metal.
You will also have to form bevels on the knife. Some people do this with a grinder, but it is best to use a belt sander. All cutting characteristics of the knife will depend on the bevels. The thinner the blade, the better the knife cuts and the easier it is to sharpen. First, mark the bevels on the knife and be sure to mark the center line on the future blade. It will allow you to make bevels at one angle. To split the blade into two halves, you can use a drill of the same diameter as your workpiece.
Step four. Drilling holes for the pins
If you plan to harden your knife, always complete all major metalworking work before hardening. Otherwise, it will be very difficult to work with metal, or you will not be able to complete some work at all. For example, it is extremely important to drill holes for the pins. At a minimum, there should be two of them, this is quite enough to securely fix the linings. They do more, but it’s more for beauty.
Step five. Hardening
Hardening includes two stages, first the steel is made as strong as possible, and then softened a little so that it is not brittle; this procedure is called tempering. For hardening you will need a stove or a good fire. The temperature needs to be quite high, the workpiece needs to be heated until it glows bright red, and then cooled in oil, motor oil or vegetable oil will do. To understand that you have definitely reached the desired temperature, bring a magnet to the workpiece; if it does not attract, the steel is ready for cooling.
After hardening, the metal will be very fragile, the knife will easily break into pieces if you drop it. To make it more elastic, you need to temper the steel. Here a household oven will come to the rescue, heat it to a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius and put the knife on for an hour and a half. After this, the oven should cool down along with the knife; do not open it. That's all, the release has been completed, you have a very durable, high-quality metal in your hands.
Before further work, sand the surface to a shine.
Step six. Cutting out the handles
Now we need to make the handle covers. We select the right material, it can be wood, animal bones, antlers, plastic and much more. We cut rough blanks to size and drilled holes for the pins.
Step seven. Glue the overlays
For this step you will need epoxy and a clamp, or a vice. You should also prepare two pins. Pins can be made from brass, copper, and so on; if you don’t have anything at hand, you can even use ordinary nails. We dilute the resin with the hardener and glue the halves together. Then firmly clamp the handle with a clamp and leave until completely dry. Epoxy usually takes about 24 hours to dry.
Step eight. Processing the handle
When the glue is completely dry, you can form a handle. First, give it the desired profile; you can work with rasps. A grinder or sharpener will also work, but in this case, be careful and do not grind off too much. We slowly draw out the main profile, and then sand the handle with sandpaper. Gradually reduce the grit of the sandpaper to make the handle perfectly smooth.
Step nine. Completion
Another important step is impregnation of the handle, since wood actively absorbs moisture, and for a hunting knife this is generally unacceptable. Wood that has been saturated with moisture may crack after drying; however, when wet, it expands quite a lot, which is also bad. The handle should be soaked in linseed oil, especially good if it is boiled (natural drying oil). After soaking, let the oil dry and then polish the handle until it shines. If you plan to store the knife for a long time, oil the metal as well.
The selection of knives in stores is quite large. Kitchen, shoe, hunting, pocket - the list can be continued for a very long time. But there are situations when there is no cutting object at hand, but you desperately need it. For example, travel is always full of surprises; any thing can end up at the bottom of an abyss or lake. Or maybe you need a cutting tool for some special work? In short, there are not so few situations when such a homemade product may be needed. What is the best way to make a knife? We will now talk about this, as well as how best to do it in this or that case.
Where will you do it?
The need to make a cutting tool can arise anywhere:
- Houses:
- in the country;
- on a hike.
At home, as a rule, they make knives for some special work, as well as for gifts or collections. If you don’t do this professionally, then you don’t have any special equipment yet. But there may be a lot of suitable ones in the tool cabinet.
There will probably be a lot of useful things at the dacha. Most likely, there is almost everything there - a broken hacksaw, an old file, etc. If you are left without a knife on a hike, you will have to think and carefully look around. Oddly enough, the answer to the question of how to forge and make a good knife or blade from start to finish with your own hands may be right in front of you.
What makes a good knife?
What can a knife be made from? The material for making a knife must be hard enough and hold an edge well. Suitable for this:
- metals;
- stone;
- glass;
- mollusk shells;
- animal bones;
- tree.
Metal
Not just any metal is suitable. So what metal is best to make a knife from?
- It’s unlikely that you’ll think of messing around with aluminum - with such a knife you’ll be more tired than you’ll be able to work.
- The most suitable material is steel, preferably stainless.
- The ideal option is hardened, but it depends on your luck.
Important! At home you can do the heat treatment yourself, but on a hike it’s unlikely.
Stone, glass, shells
On a hike, you will certainly find stones that can cause sharp chips:
- obsidian;
- slate;
- quartzite.
Important! These are layered materials, and the chips when separating the layers are quite sharp.
In the places you visit, it’s not difficult to find a suitable shard of glass - here’s a simple solution for what to make a knife out of. On the banks of rivers there are shells of mollusks - for example, toothless. When they delaminate, they also give sharp chips, which makes it possible to make a good, albeit small, blade.
In case of urgent need, even wood will do; however, a wooden knife is only suitable for small kitchen work.
Bone blade
Bone is an ancient material for making knives. In many regions of our planet such tools are still used. To make a blade in the absence of sandpaper, stencils and other useful things, you only need a few stones. One of them should be rough enough to sharpen the edge of the bone. The other two are necessary to give the workpiece a more or less suitable shape.
What is the handle made of?
The handle is an important part of any tool. Convenience and safety depend on it. It can be made from different materials:
- plastic;
- wood;
- ropes;
- wire.
Plastic
At home, the ideal material for the handle of a metal or glass knife is epoxy. However, hardware and construction stores now sell a variety of compounds that, when hardened, turn into beautiful and durable plastic. It is quite possible that you have some left over after renovating your apartment or building a summer house.
Tree
Wooden overlays are a traditional way to design a handle. The handle can be given any shape, it is comfortable, does not heat up and is easy to attach.
Important! Many nations have knives with wicker handles. You can braid with cord or coated wire.
Homemade rope
It is possible that a traveler who finds himself without a knife on a desert island or even just on a long hike has lost his rope. There's nothing you can do, you'll have to get out of the situation. A rope can be made, for example, from nettles. It has fairly long fibers:
- Remove the skin from the stem.
- Collect the fibers and dry them (for example, by a fire or just in the sun).
- Remember fiber.
- Then all that remains is to weave a rope from the “threads” - you don’t need much for a knife, half a meter will be enough - the shank is braided with a ready-made rope.
What metal is best to make a knife from?
Despite the abundance of suitable materials, the best knives are still made from metal. This was understood in ancient times, when they learned to process iron. And now the vast majority of cutting tools are made of steel. Suitable for a homemade knife:
- blade from a hacksaw for metal;
- broken saw;
- old file (preferably Soviet);
Important! The ideal option is a hacksaw blade for metal. This is the simplest material, which, moreover, does not require hardening and tempering.
Good DIY knife
To make a small knife with your own hands that does not need hardening, in addition to a hacksaw blade, you will need:
- sketch;
- marker;
- epoxy or other material for the handle;
- rivets;
- hammer;
- emery wheel;
- center punch;
- drill.
Sketch
Any work begins with an idea. A homemade knife in this sense is no exception. First you need to make a sketch. You can simply draw it, but it is much easier to find a suitable picture (so that the blade is no wider than the hacksaw blade) and print it on paper with a self-adhesive layer.
Important! The method of transferring it to the blade depends on the material on which your sketch is made.
Option 1:
- Place the cut-out image of the blade with the shank on the hacksaw blade.
- Circle with a marker.
- Grind along the contour using sandpaper - at this stage it is not necessary to maintain extreme precision; the processing can be quite rough.
Option 2
In this case, the stencil is cut out, pasted onto the canvas, after which the workpiece is ground using sandpaper.
Lever
The handle needs to be made before finishing. The workpiece should be comfortable to hold.
Plastic
The easiest option is to fill it with epoxy according to the method of application indicated on the package:
- Let the plastic harden.
- Sand it with sandpaper.
- Sand it down.
Wooden handle
The wooden handle consists of two identical plates, between which the shank is inserted. First of all, you need to cut 2 wooden blanks, absolutely identical. You don’t have to do the final processing yet - it’s important that they just match exactly in shape.
The entire structure is held on by two rivets, for which you need to make holes:
- Make marks for rivets on the wooden blanks and the shank - when you assemble the handle, you should have through holes.
- Use a drill to drill holes.
The rivets themselves are best made from a copper tube from the heat exchanger of an old refrigerator:
- Cut 2 pieces of copper tube - the length is equal to the width of the intended handle (2 layers of wood + a layer of metal) with a small allowance for riveting.
- Place the wooden pieces together, placing the shank in the middle.
- Insert the rivet so that it protrudes slightly above the holes on both sides.
- Lightly rivet the edges using a center punch to slightly widen the ends.
- Rivet the ends with a hammer (on a metal plate).
Wire or rope handle
If you know how to weave, it will not be difficult for you to make a handle from wire (insulated) or rope. You can also use a leather cord.
Important! Any type of weaving is suitable, making it possible to obtain a three-dimensional object. For example, macrame.
You can also make a temporary handle, which is extremely simple. To do this, just wrap the shank with electrical tape.
Blade finishing
Once the handle is ready, you can begin the final finishing and sharpening of the blade. This is done on an emery wheel. The process continues until you are satisfied with the shape of the knife.
Homemade knife with hardening
To make such a knife with your own hands, you will need a file.
Important! It is best to take an old Soviet one - cheap Chinese models, which most often break, almost always use low-quality steel.
Base material
The file should have a width of 30-40 mm and a rectangular or diamond-shaped cross-section. The second option is preferable - the knife will be more durable.
Tools
Prepare other materials and tools. You need:
Making a knife with your own hands
Start work in the same way as when making a knife without hardening, that is, prepare a sketch, cut out the blade and tang. Then proceed like this:
- Clamp the workpiece in a vice.
- Pre-sharpen with a file.
- Sand the surface of the workpiece with a grinder on a grinding wheel.
Hardening
An important point is hardening.
Important! This procedure is necessary because files are usually made of carbon steel, a rather brittle material.
We do the work:
- Place the workpiece in a roasting pan with burning coals - the coals should completely cover it.
- Leave for 20 minutes.
- Remove the workpiece and let it cool completely.
- Place the workpiece in the oven.
- Preheat oven to maximum temperature.
- Set a timer for 60 minutes.
- After keeping the future knife in the oven for an hour, turn off the heat and let the entire system cool completely.
- Repeat the procedure.
Hardening with heat shield
In fact, the ideal temperature for hardening is 700º. But it can only be achieved in a forge - neither a gas stove nor a Russian stove provides such heat. However, a way out can always be found. The space above the workpiece can be heated almost to the desired level if a heat shield is built. This is simply a thick metal plate larger than a file and rising 1 cm above it:
- Place the file on a baking sheet.
- Place several nuts around the perimeter of the workpiece.
- Place a thick sheet of metal (such as a small cast iron skillet) over the nuts.
It is very convenient to heat metal in an oven with a transparent door. If you see that the metal has become an even cherry color, it means the process is going correctly. You can perform hardening without a stage with coals, just in the oven. But then you will need to keep it at maximum for at least four hours. In this case, the metal should cool down simultaneously with the oven, that is, there is no need to remove the workpiece.
Important! You can use table salt as an indicator - as soon as it starts to melt, this will mean that you have achieved the desired temperature.
Hardening in a furnace followed by tempering
An oven is still not the most convenient device for hardening metals. This is an urban option. It is much better if you have a Russian stove. In this case, the heat shield is installed in exactly the same way as in the previous case, but the metal can not only be hardened, but also tempered, which, naturally, will improve the quality of the future product.
Important! You can use a magnet as an indicator. It naturally reacts to cold steel. As it heats up, it reacts less and less, and at one point it stops doing so altogether. Then you need to take the workpiece with pliers and put it in a bucket of cold water. And you will have a knife made of the best steel you can think of. This material leaves scratches on the glass.
To prevent the blade from rusting
A good knife should not rust. In order to avoid corrosion, the workpiece must be treated in ferric chloride. A gray matte film is formed.
Ferric chloride is not always available, but can be substituted:
- vinegar;
- raw potatoes.
The blade is dipped in acetic acid and simply rubbed with raw potatoes. The effect will be the same as when treated with ferric chloride.
Further actions
After the blade has been hardened, you can begin making the handle. It is done in exactly the same way as in the previous case. As a last resort, you should make a temporary handle so that you can safely pick up the workpiece without fear of injury:
- Clean the workpiece.
- Do final sanding.
- Sharpen the blade using sandpaper.
DIY glass knife
Making cutting tools from glass is not a very pleasant task, but sometimes it is necessary, for example, in camping conditions. You will need:
- a suitable piece of window glass;
- sharpening stone;
- rope or duct tape.
Important! If necessary, window glass can be replaced with bottle glass. The main thing is that there is a long piece with a more or less even edge. It is better to immediately remove chips that are too protruding by placing the workpiece on a large flat stone and working with a smaller stone.
Once you have a blank of approximately the right shape in your hands, make a handle. This is especially necessary when working with glass. You can simply wrap the shank with something. Do the final sharpening on a flat, rough stone. But in any case, this tool can be used more like a scraper, although it can also cut meat, vegetables, etc.
Glass knife at home
At home, you can make a real masterpiece out of glass, which will both cut and decorate, for example, the kitchen. A product made of colored glass will look especially impressive:
- Make a sketch - you can just do it on a sheet of paper.
- Place a piece of glass on the paper.
- Cut along the contour with a glass cutter.
- Make a handle from transparent plastic and sand it.
Such a knife does not need sharpening or polishing if you just cut it fairly evenly.
Now you know what is best to make a knife from in any conditions, how to do it, so in any unforeseen situation you will not be left without a cutting tool. And perhaps, using the tips and instructions from this article, you will begin to create real decorative masterpieces. And if so, we wish you creative success!
A knife is a mandatory attribute of a hunter. The areas of its application are varied - finishing off game, protecting against attacks by wild animals, cutting up carcasses, skinning, solving everyday problems (for example, cutting branches or opening cans). Some functions are performed by universal hunting knives, while in other cases you will need a special knife designed for a specific job. If you wish and have the skills, you can make a hunting knife with your own hands.
Types of knives
There are differences between types of knives in the geometric shape of the blade. The purpose of a particular knife depends on the shape. With some weapons it is more convenient to make piercing movements, and with others it is more convenient to make slashing movements.
Hunting knives have the following types of blades:
- straight edge at top;
- the upper edge (Drop Point) smoothly descending towards the centrally located tip;
- an upwardly extending edge and a blade located at the top relative to the axis of the tip (Trailing Point);
- a blade in the form of a Bowie knife, which has a straight, sharp upper edge with a steep descent at the tip (Clip Point);
- with a straight spine and a bent cutting edge (Skinner);
- with a double-sided wedge-shaped blade, like a dagger.
According to the type and size of the design, hunting knives are divided into the following groups:
- Classic. Standard length - from 10 to 13 cm. Blade width - 3–3.5 cm. Weight - from 120 to 180 g. Blades of any type are allowed, except double-sided sharpened. The purpose of classic knives is long-term work on cutting carcasses and skinning.
- Big ones. Size - from 13 to 17 cm. The blade can have any shape. Weight - from 180 to 300 g. A large mass must be accompanied by an appropriate guard and a thick handle. Large knives are used for slashing. They are not very suitable for other purposes.
- Foldable. Sizes vary. Folding knives are equipped with one or two blades. They perform best when performing small, short-term work.
In order for the blade to gain sufficient rigidity, grooves are made in the metal. They also have another name - valleys. The presence of fullers not only increases the rigidity of the blade, but also reduces the weight of the knife.
The best option for a hunter is to have two knives. One is designed for finishing off large game and cutting up carcasses. It should be long and heavy. The second is for cutting small game and utility work (for example, cutting branches in the forest).
Materials for making a blade
Not all steel is suitable for making a good knife. The material must be strong but flexible, and also resistant to humidity and low temperatures. Carbon, alloy and powder steels are used in production. Bulat and Damascus steel perform well.
Blades made of Damascus and carbon steel are susceptible to rust. In this regard, special treatment after washing is recommended. The blades are wiped dry and then oil is applied to the metal. Corrosion does not develop on knives made of tool, alloy, powder and damask steel.
Making a knife for hunting with your own hands
Materials and tools
To create a homemade hunting knife at home, you will need a set of tools and materials.
List of materials:
- carbon steel (blade);
- wood (overlays);
- sheet of brass (handle);
- pins (brass or steel);
- epoxy adhesive composition.
Tools:
- belt sander;
- orbital sander;
- grinder and discs (cutting, grinding);
- grinder;
- electric drill or drilling machine;
- drill;
- calipers;
- forge furnace;
- metal hardening oil;
- hammer;
- sandpaper;
- blade sharpening tool.
Step-by-step manufacturing instructions
You can make a hunting knife yourself in several stages.
Cutting the base profile
We prepare the material from which we will make the knife and apply a template to it. You can find the template online. After scaling the drawing, we print it out on a printer. We cut out the resulting image.
Advice! It is better to use cardboard as a material for the template. It is durable and will last more than once. In addition, cardboard is hard, you can hold it in your hands and get an idea of what a metal knife will look like.
Transfer the template to the material. We glue the paper stencil onto the workpiece. Next, cut the template around the edges. For this we use a grinder. During cutting, the workpiece must be securely secured using a clamp.
It's easy to cut along straight lines, but you'll have to tinker with curves. To cut out bends, we create transverse slits and remove metal in sectors.
Below are several sketches for making your own hunting knife.
Throwing knife drawing
Drilling holes
At this stage you need to make a hole for the pins in the handle of the blade. Their number depends on the handle - the wider it is, the more pins are needed. On average, holes for 5–6 pieces are needed. For large hole diameters, first use a small diameter drill. For hardened steel we use a carbide drill. The job will be easier if you apply lubricant to the drill.
Blade hardening
To harden the blade, a forge is needed. If it is not available, a household hairdryer will suffice to fan the coals.
Carbon steel gives a yellowish glow. As soon as the glow becomes just that, the steel is cooled in oil. However, it should be borne in mind that there are many grades of steel and the hardening methods for them differ significantly.
A sign of hardened metal is that it cannot be processed with a file. Next, we temper the metal so that it is not brittle.
Remove the oil from the cooled blade. We do this using detergents in running water. If desired, you can polish the blade with fine-grained sandpaper.
Making the handle
In this case, the handle will be combined - based on brass or wood. We start by creating brass trims. We need sheet brass, from which we will make 4 blanks: for the front and back of the handle.
We cut brass with a grinder. Then we drill holes for the pins in the linings. We install the lining on the handle. This is necessary to adjust the plates to the shape of the handle. In order not to create dissonance, we use brass pins. This way they will look like one with the overlays. We select the pins of such a diameter that they fit into the hole with some effort. We complete the installation of the pins by riveting them.
Let's move on to making wooden overlays. We use small boards of suitable thickness. We cut pieces of boards to the required length and drill holes for the pins in them. We attach the pads with epoxy glue.
We use steel pins for the boards. Instead of pins, you can use regular nails. There is no need for riveting as we previously used glue.
We tighten the linings with clamps. We wait a while until the glue completely sets.
Handle grinding
The dry handle needs to be sanded. First, cut off the pins with a hacksaw or file. Then we grind the planes with a grinder. We also grind the handle along the contour.
There will definitely be areas where the grinder cannot reach. A drill with a sandpaper attachment will come in handy here.
Finishing
We install a polishing attachment on the drill and process the surface until a golden shine appears on the brass. In the same way we polish the blade along the contour. Not all areas can be polished, so we additionally go over them with fine-grained sandpaper.
We also process wooden overlays with a polishing machine. We apply oil to the finished handle, it will prevent the destruction of the wood. The oil will also protect the blade, since brass is not affected by oxidative processes.
The last thing to do is sharpen the blade. To do this, you will need Japanese water stones with different grain sizes. Rocks are only useful if you water them. This removes dirt from the stone.
Features of the sharpening angle
Sharpening the cutting section of the blade requires a lot of time and a set of sharpening stones with different degrees of grit. It is important to maintain the correct angle. It is the angle of sharpening that determines the further direction of use of the knife.
For different types of problems the following angles are used:
- 30 degrees or more - heavy work;
- 16–20 degrees - moderate work;
- 10–15 degrees - fine work.
We begin sharpening with coarse-grained stones. We are gradually moving to smaller grains.
Conclusion
It is possible to make a knife at home, but this task is not feasible for everyone. You will need not only materials and tools, but also considerable practical skills. It’s easier to order a ready-made knife in an online store or personally visit a hunting store to purchase.
The knife has long been the main weapon for humans. After all, people have neither fangs nor claws to defend themselves - the blade became their replacement. Initially it was made of stone, but humanity moved forward, and knives also improved. Steel appeared, and then they learned how to make different grades of it, thanks to which it became possible to give different properties to products. A knife is still indispensable for humans. Here we will study in detail the question of how to make a knife with your own hands so that it meets all the owner’s requirements.
A good blade is especially necessary for people involved in extreme sports far from civilization, as well as foresters, rangers, fishermen - that is, all those whose activities or hobbies are related to wild nature. If something unexpected happens in such conditions, then a durable and convenient knife, when used skillfully, can save a life. The most important thing is that the blade should be comfortable to perform various types of work. For example, cutting fish, cutting wood, and also defending yourself when attacked by an animal. Nowadays there are many different variations of knives on sale, but in most cases their quality is very poor. There is nothing left but to make a knife with your own hands at home. Only then will it be possible to know that the blade will definitely not fail and will be able to fulfill all the obligations assigned to it.
What is the easiest way to make a knife?
Depending on the material and manufacturing technology, blade is different from blade to blade. The simplest way is to make a knife using cold forging. The material can be various garden tools: shovels, hoes, saws - there are a lot of options. This material is quite pliable, and a knife made of this steel does not become dull for quite a long time.
Manufacturing process
When thinking about how to make a knife with your own hands at home, the first thing you need to do is acquire tools. We will need:
- Hacksaw for metal.
- Files: one large, and the rest are smaller.
- It is not necessary to have a vice, but with them the process will be more convenient and faster.
- Sandpaper.
- Drill.
- Hammer.
- An anvil or piece of rail.
We take a broken or unnecessary garden tool and draw a sketch of the future knife on it. Then we begin to create this form. To do this, you can use a drill: drill many holes according to the shape of the workpiece, then break off the excess and smooth the surface. If the shape of the knife is simple, then we immediately begin sawing with a hacksaw. To do this, it is easier and more convenient to clamp the material in a vice - this way it will hold tightly without jumping out. When the shape is cut, it needs to be finished with a file. Where it is necessary to remove a lot of metal, use a large file, and then process it with a smaller one. So, the knife blank is ready, let’s move on to understanding how to make a knife with your own hands.
Secondary processing
In order for the cutting edge of the blade to hold its edge well, it must be riveted. This is called the cold forging method because, without heating the metal, it is simply riveted. The garden tool is made of carbon steel, but it can be riveted. On a rail or anvil, we rivet the workpiece in the place where its cutting edge will be. During this process, the shape of the blade may bend slightly because the metal is deformed, compressing on one side and expanding on the other. However, such deformation is insignificant and almost does not change
Final processing of the knife
After the cutting edge is riveted, the knife is ground - this is required in order to remove bumps from impacts. Some people like to see these marks on their knife and leave them. But here everyone has their own preferences regarding how to make a knife with their own hands and what its appearance will be. However, from a practical point of view, it is better to make the blade smooth so that all dirt can be easily wiped off its surface. After all, moisture can be trapped between the dents, which will lead to corrosion, and this is undesirable. Also, when cutting hard wood, it is better for the blade to pass well through the fibers rather than cling to them.
Hot forging method
To make a serious knife, the blade of which could cut nails, requires a more complex processing process. To begin, select the appropriate material. You need steel with a high carbon content. What you can find at home are files, drills, car springs, and spring steel. You can make it with your own hands from this material, which will be much better than those offered in stores.
Hot forging process
To do this, you need a furnace in which you can heat the metal very hot. It can be built from red brick, coated with clay and heated with coal, providing a strong air flow so that the temperature is higher. Once the iron is hot, you can begin forging. And then - shape the workpiece until the blade takes the required shape.
Knife hardening process
Blacksmiths spend a long time learning to determine by the color of hot metal when it is time to harden it by immersing it in water or oil. However, for the average person there is one universal method. When the steel is hot, you need to bring a magnet to it: if it is attracted to the blade, then it should be further heated, and if not, then you need to immerse it in water or oil to harden it. Knowing the basics of how to make a knife with your own hands, you can improvise to create various models of bladed weapons.
An excellent knife can be made from a drill. It is heated and, clamped in a vice, untwisted. After an even rectangle is obtained, the blade is given the desired appearance. You can make it with your own hands of excellent quality from such material. After the workpiece has acquired the shape of a blade, it is hardened, as described above.
How to do it yourself?
To make such a weapon, it is not necessary to have good steel. After all, if you take material with a high percentage of carbon, then if you throw unsuccessfully, the knife may break. Therefore, softer steel is quite suitable, but with a thickness of 5 mm. This is necessary so that, firstly, the blade has sufficient weight, and secondly, it does not bend. It is easy to make using the cold forging method, after which you just need to sand it so that the surface becomes smooth.
However, you need to remember that the center of gravity should be strictly in the center or shifted more towards the blade. The process of making such a knife is quite easy, on the one hand, but, on the other hand, it is quite painstaking due to the fact that it is necessary to center the knife. The handle can be made lighter by drilling it.
Switchblades
They are quite convenient for the city because they take up little space and are very convenient, but with prolonged use their mechanism can become clogged and work poorly. It is not very convenient to constantly use such a knife when working, but if there is no alternative, then for a short period of use it can become an excellent assistant. To make a switchblade with your own hands, you need to choose a reliable mechanism in which the blade will not become loose. It is better to give preference to a model in which the blade pops out from the side. After all, as practice shows, if the blade is well tightened and equipped with bearings, it will not come loose for a long time. But in knives with frontal blade ejection, blade play is inevitable and only increases during operation. It's more of a stylish toy than a tool.
This article discussed all the ways to make a knife with your own hands. Of course, this is a rather labor-intensive process that requires considerable effort, and in some cases, technical devices. However, the result is worth it and the item will last for many years.