# Made my first knife!



## OutdoorFreak97 (Oct 22, 2012)

I made a knife yesterday, cut it from an old drag saw my grandpa had 
The most time consuming part was making the handle, its curly maple so it was hard to work with the grains.

I plan on making some more in the near furture, maybe start working on one tonight for my brothers birthday..

If anyone has a knife they have made out of saw blades or blacksmithed out post up pictures!


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## OutdoorFreak97 (Oct 22, 2012)

The first post didn't post the picture, hope this works


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## cherokee96 (Jan 4, 2013)

Looks pretty good. Used to make my own throwing knives from leaf springs. If i come across any of them soon ill try to post some pics.
Did you do the metal work with hand tools or grinder?


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## Rick Howard (Feb 25, 2012)

Cool! Nice work!


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## OutdoorFreak97 (Oct 22, 2012)

I did most of the cutting with a grinder, some filing with a hand file to clean up the edges
I used a dual wheel grinder that gave it a hollow grind for the bevel, but I filed it flat with a hand file.


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## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

nice knife

i have made several from steel and even more from stone

yes handles can be the most time comsuming part of making knife

i usually use circular saw blades for my steel knives as the good ones usualy have a high carbon content in them to start with.

i have more that i plan on making,if time allows for it,come summer time.it to cold this time of year to heat treat them in my charcoal grill and then try to get them in the house to the pan of hot veg oil and the oven with out them cooling off too much and warping

did you heat treat/temper?

i only have one steel knife that i kept for my self and use it for hunting

hers a pic of two knive i made

the top one i gave to friend,the lower one is my hunting knife


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## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

for me it usually takes about .5-1 hr to cut it out of the saw blade

then about 2-3 hours in the coals of my grill,you want it to heat up cherry red to the point it is no longer magnetic

then you let it cool off to aneal it(makes the metal soft,so its easier to work with)

about an hour to two hours to bevel,drill the holes for the pins on the handle, and to do file work on the spine of the blade

then back into the coals untill once again cherry red

then dip it into a pan of warm(approx 130* veg oil),then into a preheated 350* oven for an hour,then shut the oven off

and let the knives cool down in the oven untill completely cool

then you clean the metal

buff the blade(time spent on this depends on the finish you want,more shine = more time )

then use the handle as your template on the wood

cut out the wood,glue and pin to the knife handle

shape and finish the handle

so i suppose one could quite possibly have ten plus hours into each one

but i am also pretty anal on my projects as i strive to make them as perfect as possible with my skill level

i have been known to remove handles from knives and start that process all over just because i didnt like the contuor of the handle when it was done

once summer comes, i have an old 32" diameter saw blade from a farm that is about .25" thick that i plan on making some more knives from.these will me real sturdy knives.much thicker than circualr saw blades

but they work just fine

but i will hopefully be starrting my new career to,so that will make it tough to actually do some of my hobbies


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## beavertrapper (Dec 31, 2012)

Those r cool guys....my stepfather use to make all our fillet knives...if I can find some pics ill post.....I've made ice fishin poles using deer antlers,ill post pic later....


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## sneakygroundbuzzard (Nov 1, 2012)

Well i was an auto tech for over 20 years and was let go in december from my job of 17 years.
I realy dont want to go back to turning wrenches again,burned out on it and with my arthrits etc.
I decided i will do something else,something i have always wanted to do.
So i got my class A cdl permit and will be going to one of the best truck driving schools in the state in march.
Then depending on what job offers i get i want to be an over the road truck driver. 
Which is one reason i bought the wife that new sig saurer 9mm.
And she WILL be taking her conceal carry class.
So if i get an OTR job,i wont have as much free time for all my hobbies.
But will sneak them in when i am home.


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## jswift (Dec 24, 2012)

OF97- Nice knife- It will always mean something that it came from your grandfathers equipment


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## youngdon (Mar 10, 2010)

Nice knives, you both did some fine work.

This site belongs to Chuck Richards, he's a member here and does awesome work. I bet he'd be more than happy to answer any questions you al have on knife making as well.

http://www.custommade.com/by/acrichardscustomknives/


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## OutdoorFreak97 (Oct 22, 2012)

Freak97......that is an awesome job!! Making your own knife is pretty cool....I'd imagine that you'd be really popular in prison!!LOL....what are the dimensions?

It's 12" 1/4 long 
Blade width is 2" 3/4 
The handle is just under 5" 

Thanks for the props guys!


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## OutdoorFreak97 (Oct 22, 2012)

OF97- Nice knife- It will always mean something that it came from your grandfathers equipment

I'm not sure if it was his, he may have picked it up at a garage sale or something 
If not, it would have been used by my great grandfather, he cut timber with a cross cut saw for 3/4 of his life.


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