Read this before you make a knife.


My experience has taught me that there is nothing like investigating and starting. I have often said that the hardest part of the hardest project that I completed was passing the decision to start. Once I start, it becomes a matter of problem solving and never give up. The great inventor Thomas Edison wrote: "Many of the failures of life are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."

I have some strong opinions on how a new damascus steel hunting Knives maker should start. I recommend that the first knives are made with simple tools and even improvised. That's the kind of thing that allows you to make knives without spending a lot of money. If the simple method is not for you, it will not hurt my feelings, just take your checkbook and credit cards and head to the city. Do not forget the list of basic tools.

About the design

It has been said that good designs evolve, and I believe it. When I started making knives, I did not have a clear idea about the design. I grabbed the only suitable material to make knives that I could find and started working on it. The proportions of knives and design principles were not considered. I had built a grinder, and the excitement of shaping the steel boosted my activity.
The result was a blade that was not practical and a handle that was too short. See the related illustration. The knife models that I have developed to date are good designs because they evolved. It's just not possible to do everything right the first time. A manufacturer that starts today has some advantages. He or she usually has access to books and magazines filled with good knife designs to study and analyze. Today, there are not many excuses to make ugly knives.
Perhaps the best I can teach about design is to consider the flow of the lines that define the shape of a knife. Do not do things that interrupt the floating lines of the knife. The new knife maker should try different styles, shapes and sizes when starting in this field. With experience he or she will have a unique style.

Length of the blade and the handle

Years ago, I decided on a length of 3 7/8 inches as the ideal size for a hunting knife blade. A blade that extended 4 inches seemed too long, but a blade similar to 3 3/4 inches was too short. Dividing the difference gave me a sheet length of 3 7/8 inches and I felt comfortable with that size.
When you get used to using a knife with a 4-inch blade and then switching to one that is slightly shorter or longer, you will notice a difference and may not feel comfortable. I offered a basic 3 7/8 inch hunting blade to my clients as a standard size since I decided to do it and they seem comfortable with that length.
An ideal handle length can be difficult to determine, mainly because people's hands come in different sizes. I have short arms and small hands for my height, and at the beginning, I made knife handles that were too short for some people. I finally learned to make the longer handles to accommodate the general public. Sometimes, it could even oversize the handle in an attempt to prevent the grip from being too short.
Overcome the "project knife" for this book with my standard 4 1/4 inch handle. A knife handle of this size can be used in sheets that are up to half an inch longer than the project sheet. See attached photo for two versions of the knife. The knife on the right in the photo is the full-size project knife, and on the left is a computer-enhanced version with a slightly shorter handle. Use your judgment on the length of the handle, but do not opt ​​for a grip less than 4 inches.
Over the years I have received many beautiful drawings of proposals for both fixed knives and folding blades. Many of the fixed-blade drawings were not practical because the handles, as they were drawn, were too short.
Paper knives look quite different from what they do when they make fun of wood or cardboard. The drawings of the folding blade were often attractive in appearance but had leaves that did not fit the handles when they were bent. For these reasons, it is always good to make models of new designs. This gives you models that do not work to get your hands on, and that's just one more step towards the real knives of good designs.
The drawings on paper do not work too well for me because I cannot draw a straight line or a uniform curve. What I can do is use the belt sander to rectify straight and curved lines that are what they should be.

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