Crafted Knives – Manufacturing

Making knives - The process

Crafted made knives are unique wares that are essential for a wide variety of needs. Knives, made by the master by hand, amaze with their appearance. Usually such products have all the qualities necessary for a future owner. And unlike shop knives, they have more excellent properties. In our article, we will talk about the manufacturing of knives, the crafted knives algorithm, as well as what is preferable to make them out and what tools to use.

Type of handcrafted knives

Before the creation of crafted knives, the type is usually selected. The method of crafted manufacturing largely depends on this factor. Typically, craft knives are:

• Hunting, they are necessary for butchering mined animal meat. Such knives are required to have a high toughness (impact), since this factor affects how much the blade will be damaged. Increased wear resistance is also one of the most important properties for such a product.
• Tourist. Such knives are used in tourist outings. Typically for small tasks. The main difference between this is that the cutting part must be extremely durable.
• For survival (tourist subspecies). With them are included other gadgets that are important for tourists.
• Knives for kitchen use. They focus on the cutting part, that is, the blade, as well as the hardness of the knives, which allows them to remain sharp even with frequent use.

Using the same blade for all needs will not work right away. Knives differ in their properties, and improper use of knives can lead to blade breakage. Manufacturing of craft knives that could be used for everything at once is impossible, since you cannot make a crafted blade that meets all requirements at the same time. In stores, sometimes you can choose a product that meets the goals, but you cannot be sure that it will be of truly high quality. Therefore, craft manufacturing of knives has undeniable advantages, including:

• Initially, knives are drawn on paper. An example of a drawing appears, its sketch. The type of product is selected based on the tastes of the future owner.
• The craft manufacturing allows you to endow crafted knives with all the necessary properties, this gives the product a long service life.
• It becomes possible to choose the composition that would best suit the type of craft knife.
• The method of hardening the metal parts for creation of the crafted blade is also chosen. This allows you to adjust the parameters of the elasticity of the craft knife, its plasticity, hardness.
• The handle is made based on the tastes of the future owner.
• Experienced artisans will avoid the mistakes that often occur when the crafted knife is made in batches.

The first step in getting the job done is designing. The main part of any knife is the blade. This part can be almost anything. Initially, it is better to prepare a drawing of craft knives, where all the nuances should be taken into account. One of the easiest manufacturing techniques for craft knives is crafted from solid steel or solid iron. The blade can be made of steel and iron. The handle needs to be a comfortable, attractive, it is usually made from:

• Plastic.
• Wood or birch bark pieces.
• Leather.

The compositions for manufacturing of crafted blades are selected very carefully. The choice is greatly influenced by where the knives are planned to be used, the likely loads. The most common compositions for the manufacturing of knives - pieces of steel and iron. They are quite popular for crafted blades. They are distinguished by the following characteristics:

• Strength prevents foreign particles from entering the material. It can be obtained after processing at high temperatures under a special regime.
• Thanks to the toughness (impact) of knives, it is possible to reduce chipping, the same characteristic is responsible for resisting destruction.
• No corrosion. This is necessary when working with knives in difficult conditions and in contact with water.
• Resistance to wear of knives. Allows you to avoid changes in shape, abrasion.

It is great if the knife, made by the master, is made of steel. However, the creation of such crafted knives requires access to professional equipment. Simple models are made of alloy steel, which is easier to process. The next most important step for making knives is the selection of tools. If the craft knife is done independently, then some of the equipment will have to be bought. For the manufacturing of knives, hammers, anvil, sandpaper, and a number of other tools are useful. It is also possible to use a simple kit, which is available to almost any amateur, but the craftsman must be prepared that the product will turn out to be more fragile and prone to wear and tear. Remember! A file blade can be a base for future handmade knives. In addition to the listed tools, you will also need to take a hammer. Forging gives the knife additional strength and resistance to various damages. The easiest handling takes place with knives with simple shapes. Therefore, many beginners give up making crafted knives with fancy elements. Once the entire set of tools for manufacturing the crafted blade is ready, you can start working. The following points have to be fulfilled:

1. Execution of drawings and sketches of crafted knives. An example would be a photograph of a favorite blade.

Before manufacturing, it is important to have preparatory step, which consists from the execution of the drawings. They will become the basis for the template of the future product. Photos are good examples. The process begins with the preparation of raw materials, transferring the template to a steel piece. Then you can start cutting the profile. To perform a preparatory sample, it is necessary to duplicate the template on a piece of metal. Pruning occurs with a grinder. The workpiece must be secured. Particular attention must be paid here to making bends. Next, the knife shape is being cut.

2. The workpiece is ground along the contours.With the help of a grinder, everything unnecessary is removed, and the contour is processed itself by using a special apparatus. Bends are processed with a drill. The best processing tool is sandpaper.
3. Beveling. This is a necessary element of the job, as bevelling is essential to get the correct sharpening angle of the blade. The workpiece is marked with a caliper. Visually, the knife is divided into two halves. The line is drawn with a drill, which is equal in size to the thickness of the blade.

The end of the bevel of the blade is marked with a file. The excess layer is removed with a grinder, on which a sanding pad is installed.

4. Next, the bevel of the blade is cleaned with a file, and the knife is finally sanded with emery.
5. The surface is polished.
6. Forming the bevels of the knife. This happens by drilling holes.
7. Holes are also made to install the pins in the handles. Their number depends on the type of handle. As a rule, their number is 4-6.
8. Tempering the workpiece is the next step in making craft knives. It is important to do this according to the rules. For example, you need a special oven. However, if this one is not available, then a special dryer can be used, with the help of it, the coals will be inflated. The hardening method depends on the selected steel.

NB! When the hardening step is complete, the knife cannot be filed. When it cools down, it is necessary to remove the oil from the surface. For this is used a special agent, water. The polishing process is carried out with sandpaper.

9. Etching is another step in making knives. It allows you to make any drawing or pattern on the blade. For this, a special solution is used, vitriol, salt, warm water are applied. The drawing is applied with a marker, and the remaining areas are varnished. Then the knife is placed in the solution for half an hour. Rusty deposits are washed away with water. The finished product is then completely rinsed with running warm water, and then wiped with a solvent.
10. Handle execution. The shade is selected individually. As a rule, wood is the ideal material. To make the handles, blanks are made (2 pieces), which are pulled together with clamps. The holes in the handle should line up with the holes in the base. The workpieces are glued with epoxy glue, and then pulled together and squeezed with a vice. Next, the pins are inserted.
11. Grinding the handle. As soon as the glue hardens, the vice can be removed, and the handles can be sanded. For this you need to use a special machine. The pin is removed with tools.

Tip: Wooden handles can be soaked with linseed oil. It will help protect the handle from water.

12. At the end of work on a craft product, final processing takes place. It includes polishing using a drill. A special polishing pad must be installed on the machine. It is necessary to grind until the knife starts to shine. The same process is then repeated for the outline. And hard-to-reach places are polished with a special fine-grained sandpaper. In addition, grinding difficult areas can also be done with a drill.

The finished product is sharpened using special procedures. This stage is very important, since further comfort in using knives depends on the correctness of its implementation. The roughing stage is completed, and the final work is done with a sharpening device or sandpaper. The blade is coated with a protective anti-corrosion agent. The part of the cutting knives is sharpened using special stones of equal grain size. It is very important to pay attention in the process to the correct angle, it decides how much the knife will be functional in the end. For difficult conditions, an angle of at least 30 degrees is needed, for medium - from 16 to 20. For fine work, an angle of 15-20 degrees is suitable. Initially, stones with large grains are taken, gradually a transition to smaller ones is made. Important! You can get a strong and durable knife with a good set of tools, and when having chosen high-quality materials.