Knife maker wanna be...

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penhead

penhead

Local Chapter Leader
Joined
Aug 21, 2004
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Location
Chesapeake, Virginia, USA.
I have an interest in learning to make knife handles and knifes.

I have no idea where to start.

I see that Woodcraft has a few fairly inexpensive kits on sale, are these good to start learning on? It's just that I see in the info for the kit that they require a countersink - and some require different type countersinks?

Thanks..!!
 
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Do some Googling. There are many suppliers of knife making products out there. And, there are many-many more knife making discussion forums on the Internet. There is no shortage of information available at your finger tips.
 
Here is a couple good forums for learning knife making - both from kits, as well as from raw steel:
http://knifenetwork.com/forum/index.php
http://www.bladeforums.com

I strongly suggest starting with kits - either the ones from Woodcraft or from the dozen or so reputable suppliers out there. Just until you get a feel for how the knives go together. Once you've got the assembly down, then you can take the leap and start grinding in your own bevels and profiles. Some folks jump right in with grinding their own, but I think that's a really steep learning curve. I found it was better to start by learning how everything went together before trying to make my own parts.

Some great kit and blade suppliers (Not at all a complete list):
http://www.knifekits.com
http://www.texasknife.com
http://www.northcoastknives.com
http://www.jantzsupply.com
 
Sorry for the spam guys but I just wanted to add a reply so that I can easily find this thread later on. Knife making is something I've been thinking about trying and there's some good information in this thread.
 
Being an avid hunter, I use a lot of knives and have even made a couple. I have found overwhelmingly that the people who use a knife frequently prefer a smaller knife with a really good blade. I have a decent sized Bowie that I made with an elk antler handle, and I barely use it anymore. My little 2.5 inch blade is all I use to clean and prep an entire deer.

Just my $0.02.

StatProf
 
Thank you all for the information in this thread, compiliation of really good stuff...

yea, I could have googled, but the info you people supply is much more likely to be the best, including information and suppliers...
 
I'm pretty thankful for this thread. One of the pieces of wood that I have (and hadn't yet decided what to do with) is a set of very nice corrugata burl knife scales. Maybe I'll delve in and actually make a knife out of them...
 
I'll add in one quick hint here. Wherever you get your first blade kits from, don't jump in and try a $25 dollar upswept skinner for your first knife. Some of the simplest, cheapest and most usefull blades are the kitchen knives. Make as many of your newbie mistakes on a $5 blade as you can, and when you get it done, you can still use it to chop onions with.
 
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