Knives are essential tools in daily life. You use knives to cut food, cut objects, defend yourself, hunt, etc,… . It will be very interesting if you have a knife with unique characteristics, bearing your own stamp. So how to make a knife properly? This article will guide you to do that.

Basic Types of Knives

First, before making a knife you need to learn about the form of some basic knives to choose the most suitable knife shape.

According to the type and size parameters of the design, knives are divided into the following basic types.

1. Classic knife

Standard length – from 10 to 13 cm. The blade width is 3-3.5 cm. Weight – from 120 to 180 grams. The blade is sharpened on one side. The purpose of this knife is very diverse such as peeling fruit, skinning animals, cutting ropes, …

2. Long knife

Length – from 13 to 17 cm. Blades can be of any shape. Weight – from 180 to 300 grams. The handle is big and rough. Knives are often used for chopping and slicing. This knife is not very flexible.

3. Folding knife

Folding knives vary in size from small to large, and can have more than one blade. Perfect for carrying in your pocket on long trips.

The type of knife we ​​guide you to make is a normal knife. Do you know how to choose the size and shape of the knife? Some notes when deciding on the design of a knife:

The choice of size depends on the purpose of the knife. The short knife models often do not have the flexibility in the needs of self-defense, hunting. If you need flexibility you can consider making knives with a length of 10 – 12 cm.

– If you are passionate about exploring, hunting large animals, your knife must reach a length of at least 16 – 25 cm.

– In the process of making knives, you need to pay special attention to the shape of the blade. The simpler the blade, the higher the applicability.

The blade material should be carbon steel. It has the required hardness, excellent sharpness, and is highly resistant to corrosion. The chromo volume XB5 frame steel, known as diamond steel or ShKh-15 steel, is also excellent for knives, but requires steady care, as they are prone to rust.

– To make the knife handle you can freely choose different materials, be it wood, ivory, or hard plastic. The best material is wood. The wooden handle is adjustable to all configurations and sizes of the palm.

How To Make a Knife

List of Materials And Tools Needed to Make a Knife

• Billet steel
• Grinders, cutters, and disc grinders
• Sandpaper
• Power drill
• Epoxy glue
• The wood
• Pens, pencils
• Hardcover
• Furnace
• Hammer

First, you need a detailed drawing of the knife’s parts, with standard dimension ratios. You can find designs available online to print. Then, place the drawing on the workpiece and mark and sketch it again on the workpiece. Then follow the steps in turn:

1. Making the Blade

Use a grinder to cut out the original shape of the billet. The ice grinder is very helpful in sharpening the blade. The cutting characteristics of the knife are completely dependent on the bevel angle. The thinner the blade, the easier it is to sharpen and the sharper it is. Regularly cool the workpiece during grinding. If you sharpen with hand tools, the risk of the steel becoming too hot will be reduced.

Drill holes in the blade before hardening the steel for easier shaping.

Next, you harden the blade by heating it. The blade needs a quality furnace to get the right temperature. You can use a home oven to heat steel billets at a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius for about 1.5 to 2 hours.

After heating the workpiece to a bright red, dip the blade in vegetable oil. At this point, you can test the blade quality with a magnet. If the magnet does not attract the steel, it is ready to cool the blade. After hardening, the steel becomes very brittle and breaks easily. Leave it alone for a while.

2. Making A Knife Handle

As for the handle, you can choose whether the material is alloy, aluminum, polymer, horn, animal bone, or wood,…You cut the material to the size and shape you want. At the top of the handle, cut holes to fit the bottom of the blade and drill holes for them to fit together.

To shape the knife handle, a sharpener is an essential tool. A good sharpener will help you sculpt a great knife handle. If you make a knife with a wooden handle, you need to soak it with natural linseed oil after sharpening and before sharpening to give the handle a nicer shine.

Attach the blade and the handle together with nails or glue. After the glue dries, polish the handle on the grinder.

3. Make A Knife Sheath

After a long time of use, your handmade knife may wear out and rust. To overcome this problem, you can sew a leather knife sheath yourself. Here are detailed instructions for you:

You need to prepare: leather fabric, sewing machine, sewing needles, sewing thread. If you have basic knowledge, using a sewing machine will be very simple.

You cut the piece of leather so that the length and width are 2.5 times that of the blade. Use a pen to mark and cut to the shape of the blade.

When sewing, fold the top of the holster to sew it inside out to fit the knife handle. You can sew a hole for the decorative string. If you like, you can also engrave your name on this special holster and knife.

FAQ

How to make a stone knife?

Fortunately, stone knives are easy to make and quite useful on outdoor trips. Usually, people will find stones with sharp edges near creeks and streams. You can search for different types of stones near your living quarters to see which works best for you.

You will need a hard hammer rock, tools–bi-polar percussion or direct percussion, gloves, protective glasses.

With bipolar percussion, place the rock you are trying to break on a large rock, it will act as an anvil and provide great resistance to the rock you want to break. Place the rock you want to break on its highest axis. This allows the shock waves from the impact of the rock hammer to travel through the rock in the most efficient way.

Use a large, flat rock hammer to hit the rock you’re breaking. The hammer rock should be 4 to 5 times larger than the rock you’re hitting. If you’re lucky, you’ll break some nice, thin, sharp stone blades with a few hits.

For live percussion, you don’t necessarily need an anvil. Choose a rock the size of a sandwich in thickness and width. This will be the rock you break to get the blade. Choose another rock that is round and slightly larger than an egg. This round stone will be your hammer. Use the hammer rock to hit the thinnest edge of the “sandwich” rock. Hit hard – right up to the edge like hammering a nail.

How to harden the blade?

Hardened steel keeps the blade from dulling and the tool from bending or breaking. By simply heating and cooling, you can greatly increase the strength of your knife.

Step 1:

Use a torch to heat the blade. Hold the lighter near the tip of the burner and start lighting it. The burner will ignite after being ignited. Turn the air valve to reduce the flame, as a large flame produces a lower temperature than a small flame.

Step 2:

Insert the blade directly into the flame. Use metal tongs to hold the knife with your non-dominant hand so that the flame is away from you. If you cannot hold the object with forceps, place it on a refractory surface. Use your dominant hand holding the torch to heat up the entire object before focusing the flame on the blade.

• Wear thick gloves to avoid burns.
• Work on metal or steel anvil surfaces, to avoid fire hazards.

Step 3:

Wait until the steel turns red. The steel will turn red as it heats up. When the steel is bright red, about 760 degrees Celsius, that’s when the steel has enough temperature for hardening.

The actual temperature of the steel depends on the carbon content inside. The higher the carbon content, the longer the heating time.

Another way to check if the steel is hot enough is to see if the magnet attracts the steel. If the magnet doesn’t attract, that means you can take the steel out of the heat.

Step 4:

Transfer the heated steel to the cooling medium. Use tongs to dip the hot steel into the tank of water or oil. Stand back when you’ve dunked the entire steel object into the barrel, as water or oil may splash.

The rapid cooling process will cause the alloy inside the blade to bond together.

Put on thick gloves and a mask before hardening to prevent water or oil from splashing into your hands.

You should prepare a fire extinguisher nearby as a precaution.

Water can cool hot metal very quickly, but there is a risk of deforming or cracking the steel.

Vegetable oils have a higher boiling point so hot steel takes longer to cool, and therefore the risk of cracking is lower. However, oil can spill and cause a fire if you dip the knife in too quickly.

Step 5:

Remove the knife from the cooling medium when it is no longer bubbling.

Hardened steel will be harder, but more brittle. Do not throw or try to bend the blade after hardening is complete.

Step 6:

Wipe off any water or oil remaining on the blade. Residual water on steel can cause corrosion. Remember to wear gloves while using a towel to dry the knife completely.

Many people choose to harden the blade with a torch or oven. We do not really recommend you to use the above two methods because the safety is not high.

Conclusion

Hopefully, through our article, you have understood how to make a knife and how to harden the blade at home. Good luck creating your own knife.