Knifemaking Information
Hi,
My name is Greg Brannon. I'm a retired Marine and hobbyist knifemaker.
This page is provided to make some information I've found on knife making
available to other makers or anyone interested in making knives.
Many thanks to the individuals who have made this information available.
Regards,
Greg
This is a boot knife I made from a recycled file; 9.5 inches oal, edge quenched with a brass guard and elk handle.
There are links on this page for:
Knife and knife making forums, groups, and chat rooms.
Instructional links: with single tutorial/information pages and multiple tutorial sites.
Recommended books, more on books and videos.
Tools and shop information; with separate grinder, forge/anvil, and power hammer/press sections.
Miscellaneous, but good to know information
If
you are looking for something in particular, please use your browser's "find on
the page" function
(located in the edit drop down box).
There is a search engine at the bottom of this page, but it will only search the linked pages; not all multiple tutorial site tutorials are linked (as explained here).
To recommend a link or report a bad one; please email me using the button at the bottom of this page.
- denotes special interest to beginners
Forums, groups,
chat room,
and e-magazine:
Armas Blancas (Translate this page or use Babelfish, Spanish to English)
BladeForums - Registration (no cost involved) required for some parts of the site.
Bladesign Forum
Bladesmith's Forums
Evolution Forge Forum Registration (no cost involved) required
Forgefr.com (Translate with Babelfish,
French to English)
Knifeforums
Knives Forum
MesserForum (Translate this page or use Babelfish, German to English)
PaleoPlanet - Metallurgy/Knife Making
Plainsman's Cabin
Primal fires
Schmiedecafé.com (Translate this page or use Babelfish, German to English)
The Black Hole forums - Registration (no cost involved) required
Usual Suspects forums - Registration (no cost involved) required
Weapons.be (Translate with Babelfish, Dutch to English)
MSN groups:
Newsgroups:
Yahoo groups:
CustomBladeSmiths · A Forum for Blade Smithing Knives
HowToSharpen - Sharpening Discussion and Forum
knifecraft2005 · Knifecraft 2005
knife_making · Hand Crafted Knife Making
Chat:
Knifemakers Chat Room - Hosted by Bruce Evans (JS) every Thursday 8 pm until ?
Primalfires Chat - usually someone there around 9 P.M. (eastern time) on Saturday and Sundays.
E-magazine:
The Finer Edge - free digital knife magazine
Single
tutorial/information pages:____________________________________________________
This section is categorized, but not all inclusive of the tutorials for that category on the page. What you are looking for might be found on a multi-tutorial site or in another section of this page.
There are tutorials for building complete knives in this section. They are in the following categories: Fixed blades, folders , Forged knives and forging.
Safety:
Please
read this link:
Safety concerns for knifemakers
-
Health hazards associated with welding/high heat
Anodizing Aluminum by Ron Newman
Anodizing Titanium by Jason Howell
D.I.Y. anodizing from Popular Science
MrTitanium's Introduction to Anodizing Titanium
Tutorial on Multi-Stage Anodizing
Also see "Tools and Shop" or "Multiple tutorial sites" for anodizer plans.
How-To Pin And Soldering Guards And Bolsters -- Part I
How-To Pin And Soldering Guards And Bolsters -- Part II
How-To Pin And Soldering Guards And Bolsters -- Part III
Making a "half penny" style quillon guard
Making an oval guard with bells on the end
Marking out where to drill when making a hidden tang guard.
Pinning ferrules/spacers to guards
Solder a guard by Bruce Evans
Soldering the way that seems to work for me by BobVan Gelder
Solderless Guards by Terry Primos
Visualize your design - Bolsters from bar stock
also see "Soldering"
Buffing:
see "Finishes"
Carving a Scottish dirk handle
How to carve leather by Ron Ross
Casting pewter bolsters by Chuck Barrows
Lost wax casting (Microsoft word document)
104 templates and 300 drawings by Lloyd Harding - hosted by Hurley Custom Knives , thanks Wil
Bob Engnath's patterns:
Plating, Anodizing and Metal Finishing
Engraving:
Etching Instructions for Thunderforged™ Damascus
Etching to show quench lines/hamon
Tutorial on Selectively Etching a Blade
Also see: Marking your blade
Filework by Mark Terrell
Filework made easy......well,.....easier.
How to do file work on a fixed-blade knife by Rocket Knives
How to file work a folding knife by Rocket Knives
Other File Patterns and Tips by Mark Terrell
Some more file work info by Ruben Calo
Also see Bruce Evans' site
for two
more file working tutorials.
-
Draw filing. more about draw filing
File Guides and File Jigs -- A Primer...
Hints and Tricks on using File Guides and File Jigs...
Also see the etching section above
An approach to hybrid polishing
Cleaning up the fullers by D. Fogg
Finishes: Tools and Applications
Grinding and Polishing Procedure Comparison
Hand rubbing a blade by Bruce Evans
Hand rubbing being a pain? can't get the flats as smooth as you want? Try this trick - palm sander with micarta plate
How to Hot Blue you Knife Blades For Less than $75.00 By Wil Hurley
Info on the etch and polish of hamon
Restoring Finishes: Florentine, Hammered and Stippled
Absolute Cheapskate Way to Start Making
Knives Great tutorial using only hand tools -
As to make a qualitative knife on the knees
Cutlery From Junk: stock removal knife making by serger
First of 3 part stock removal tutorial
by Nick Wheeler
Part 2
Part 3
Full tang tutorial by narsil
How I make a knife... by LongRifle
How I make a Knife by Ray Rogers
How I Make a Kitchen Knife by Ray Rogers
"How to build a knife" in the Miscellaneous Tutorials.
How_To_Build_A_Knife by Jim Small e-book (.pdf) Right click and save as.
How to make a fixed blade knife by Rocket Knives
How to make a knife back yard style by Bossman (photos missing)
How To Make an Eating Dagger from a File by Al Massey
How to make knives by ginsengavenger
How to make your favorite carving knife by Rick Ferry
How to make your own hunting knife from an old saw blade by David Boye
Kitchen knife tutorial by Lone Shepherd
Knifemaking (Japanese text) Translator (cut and paste the url; use the lower set of characters in the url drop down box for English)
Knifemaking (Japanese text) Translator (cut and paste the url; use the lower set of characters in the url drop down box for English)
Knife making with titanium by Mission knives
Let's make a little skinner by
Terry Hearn from
The Knife Network
Make a Marking Knife by J.R. Buchanan
Make a "Po'boy Puukko"
by Sylvrfalcn
(registration required, but
no cost involved)
-
Make a skew knife and a camp knife by Chuck Barrows
Making a bird and trout knife by Steve Sando
Making an Authentic Belt Knife
Making and throwing knives (no detailed making information, but some nice designs)
Making an integral bolster camp knife
"Old Hickory" skinner to Nessmuk conversion
Oupa's Old Hickory Skinner to Nessmuk conversion
Photos of the knife making process - Japanese page. no pertinent text, but nice photos of some knife making techniques.
Saw blade knife & PVC water pipe sheath by Junior Doughty
The 60 minute knife by Jason Cutter
"The Anyone Can Make It Copperhead Survival Knife"
The Shade Tree Knife Mechanic knife making tutorial
Braided Leather Knife Lanyard—2 Tailed
Non-snagging lanyard loop tutorial - Registration (no cost involved) required
Tying a lanyard - Chris Reeves
Tying a lanyard - Chris Reeves
Bose Back pocket Knife Construction
Building an Interframe Folder by Neil Charity from The Knife Network
Building a No Tang Pin, Sandwich Constructed Balisong by Terry Guinn
