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Material for making homemade knives. What is the best way to make a knife? What can a hunting knife be made from?

How to make a knife

Knives have become such a part of our lives that it is impossible to imagine cooking or outdoor recreation without them. Depending on the functions performed, knives may vary in shape, size and blade characteristics. And, if choosing good kitchen knives is usually not difficult, then choosing a quality one hunting knife can be difficult. That is why many outdoor enthusiasts prefer to make such edged weapons themselves.

In this article we will look at how you can make a sharp hunting knife from scrap materials, and we will pay attention to detailed step-by-step instructions for making edged weapons at home.

Homemade knife: features and advantages

There is a huge range of knives on the modern market. It would seem that such a huge variety only makes the task of choosing a weapon easier, but in fact this is not the case. Among the products offered on the market, it is not always possible to choose a hunting knife of optimal hardness and sharpness, and some characteristics of the weapon will not meet the individual requirements of the buyer.

We should not forget that some blades are made from low-quality metal or in violation of technology. As a result, the blade quickly loses its sharpness, and the knife itself becomes just a useless piece of metal.

If you still haven't been able to find suitable model, there is only one way out - to forge a hunting knife with your own hands (Figure 1). Having a custom blade made by a qualified smith can be expensive, so many people prefer to do this kind of production themselves. For example, you can always make a simple knife from cable, but remember that in the process you will have to handle the metal correctly so that it acquires the necessary characteristics.

In general, homemade edged weapons have many advantages:

You can choose the appropriate type of blade not from the offered range, but solely according to your own needs, and combine all the desired characteristics in a finished product.
You will always have the opportunity to choose the right steel for the blade.
During the manufacturing process, you will be able to independently select the optimal heat treatment mode (hardening and tempering), during which the blade will acquire the ideal ratio of hardness, strength and ductility.
When making it yourself, you avoid unpleasant errors or defects that are often present in finished products and directly affect the operation of the weapon.

Figure 1. Homemade hunting knives

In addition, in a homemade knife you can develop individual design handles or think over unique decor for the blade. As a result, your blade will become not only sharp and reliable, but also beautiful and original.

Types of products

The first stage of purchasing or making a knife is choosing its model, depending on the purpose of using the blade (Figure 2).

All bladed weapons are divided into types depending on the scope of application:

Hunting: Such knives are most often made to order, because such a blade must successfully combine very serious characteristics. Since such blades are most often used for cutting game, the blade must be durable, extremely sharp and not dull for a long time. In addition, such products must be wear-resistant, because during the hunt you will not have the opportunity to replace the blade.
Tourist: perhaps the most versatile option, since with the help of such a knife you can cut branches, plan wood chips and perform a number of other tasks. If you want to make such a folding camping knife with your own hands, keep in mind that its blade must be strong enough and wide, because such camping knives are often used as a replacement for an ax.
Survival knives: a subspecies of tourist blades, which were separated into a separate group because of their versatility. As a rule, such models are equipped with additional devices that may be needed on a hike. But in practice, it is better to have all these devices separately, since when they are included in the knife itself, the width and performance characteristics of its blade deteriorate.
Kitchen: Such knives are also often made by hand, for example, from metal saws, since finished products industrial production high quality ones are usually very expensive.

Figure 2. Types of bladed weapons: 1 - hunting, 2 - tourist, 3 - survival knife, 4 - kitchen

In fact, you can make a knife with your own hands from almost any material - a bearing or a file, the main thing is to adhere to the correct heat treatment regime so that the finished blade is moderately hard, sharp and wear-resistant. Since many are interested in how to make a high-quality hunting knife with their own hands, we will look at all the nuances of this process in more detail.

What is required for production

When planning to make your own knife, you should keep in mind that it is impossible to make a universal blade. For example, tourist ones are designed for rough work, and you won’t be able to cut up game with their help. Hunting blades must be sharp and hard so that jagged edges do not form on the blade if it accidentally hits a bone.

The performance characteristics and scope of use of the future product directly affect the type of steel that should be selected for manufacturing.

The steel must be hard, although this indicator is achieved during heat treatment in a certain mode. In addition, the material must be moderately tough so that the blade is resistant to chipping and brittle fracture. It should also be taken into account that the steel must be corrosion-resistant and wear-resistant, because in wildlife you will not have the opportunity to sharpen or properly clean the blade.

Necessary materials

Making a quality hunting knife requires correct selection materials. For example, such a blade can be made from a spring, because such steel is perfectly suited for this purpose in terms of its characteristics (Figure 3).

If you can't get high-quality steel, you can always melt down a piece of blade from a hacksaw or resharpen another blade.

The most suitable steel for making a knife with a wooden handle is considered to be 1095 or 1070 steel. For other materials, you will need paper and a pen (or a ready-made blade template), material for making the handle, as well as copper or brass pins with which the handle will be connected to blade.

Figure 3. Required drawings and materials

Optionally, you can make the handle of the knife from stone, and the blade from a drill, but in in this case the finished product may be too heavy.

What tool will you need?

If there are usually no problems with materials for making a miniature hunting knife, then you will have to be more careful in selecting tools for the job. This requirement applies to the manufacture of kitchen knives and blades that are used by tourists, fishermen or hunters.

Figure 4. All necessary tools must be prepared in advance

For all manufacturing processes to be successful, you will need editing table with a vice, sandpaper for grinding, a set of files and a drill with pobedit drill bits, sandpaper of various grits, several abrasive stones and diamond files, a set of chisels and hammers and other small tools.

In addition, you will need a tape grinding machine, oven or other similar device for hardening the blade and linseed oil for impregnating the handle material. Naturally, you need to prepare drawings with dimensions in advance finished product(Figure 4).

Instructions: how to do it step by step

To make it correctly quality knife do it yourself from start to finish, you should strictly follow the instructions and follow all the recommendations of specialists. First of all, you need to prepare diagrams and drawings of homemade knives that will help you make the product you need in the shape and size.

Because for self-made There are many nuances to consider when making a hunting and camping knife; we will look at all stages of this process in more detail.

Preparation of components

At the first stage of making a knife for hunting with your own hands at home, you need to cut out the blank of the future blade from metal. To do this use finished drawing, which will help you make mistakes in sizes (Figure 5).

Further production of a blade from a steel sheet is carried out as follows:

We sand the finished workpiece to remove excess metal around the edges. At the same time, try to leave rounded edges where the blade meets the shank: this will help increase the strength of the structure.
Now you need to drill holes in the workpiece for pins to attach the handle. For reliable fixation, two will be enough, but if you want to make the blade more attractive in appearance, you can make more holes. The most convenient way to make holes is on a drilling machine.
After this we begin sanding. First you need to remove excess metal with sandpaper, and too rough edges can be completely removed with a grinder. Further sanding is carried out using a belt sander. It is at this stage that the workpiece can be given the shape that you want to see in the future. During the process, you must use a respirator to protect your respiratory system from metal dust.

Figure 5. Blade manufacturing steps

The final process of this stage will be the formation of bevels, and it is this activity that can safely be called the most responsible. The fact is that the cutting characteristics of the blade will depend on the sharpening angle. Already at this stage, it is important to understand for what purpose you will use the knife. Products for cutting should have a thin blade, and if you are going to chop branches with it, it is advisable to make the blade thicker. Also keep in mind that your product must still go through the hardening stage, so do not try to make the blade as thin as possible: it is better to finish it on a file after hardening.

Hardening the workpiece

After the blade blank according to the drawing is ready, you can begin to harden it. Thanks to this process, the steel will become elastic, and the metal itself will not bend when cutting hard objects. It is important that the hardening temperature depends on the type of metal used. For example, steel with a high carbon content requires a temperature of 800 degrees.

If you don't know what kind of steel you are using and what temperature it should be heated to, you can use a permanent magnet during the hardening process. As soon as it stops being attracted to the blade during the heating process, the steel can be cooled.

To effectively cool a knife blank made from a saw or other material, oil is usually used, but some also use water or simply cool the steel in air. However, oil is considered the best option for improving performance characteristics blade (Figure 6).

Figure 6. This is what the blade hardening process looks like

After hardening, it is necessary to perform one more step - steel tempering. This is an extremely important stage, since steel without tempering will be too brittle, and when dropped on a hard surface it will simply shatter into pieces. To increase the blade's resistance to mechanical stress, the blade must be placed in an oven heated to 200 degrees and left for one hour. Next, turn off the fire and allow the blade to cool down along with the oven. This is exactly how metal is tempered.

Etching rules

Etching is an optional manufacturing step, as it involves applying a specific pattern to the blade of a forged knife. However, if you want to make your blade truly original, you should not skip this stage (Figure 7).

For etching you will need the blade itself of the desired shape, a pencil or marker, solvent, nail polish (you can use the cheapest one), 200 grams copper sulfate and sandpaper of varying degrees of grit.

The rules for etching a self-made blade are as follows:

First, we grind the blade with sandpaper and treat it with a solvent.
Next, use a marker to draw a sketch of the intended design and carefully paint it over with nail polish. Don't worry if the varnish protrudes slightly beyond the design: this error can be easily removed with further etching.
The metal under the varnish will not be etched, so it is advisable to varnish the ends of the blade as well.
When the varnish dries a little, the design can be corrected with an awl or a regular needle.
Now you can begin the actual etching process. To do this you will need a solution of salt and copper sulfate. The optimal ratio is 100 grams of salt and a similar amount of vitriol dissolved in water. To reduce the chemical reaction time, it is advisable to use very hot water.

Figure 7. Etching will help make your knife more original.

The blade must be immersed in the resulting solution for 25-40 minutes, depending on the desired etching depth. To speed up the reaction, you can increase the amount of copper sulfate in the solution.

It should be remembered that during the etching process a characteristic red coating will form on the blade, which will slow down the processing, so such a coating will have to be washed off periodically with a jet warm water. When you notice that the metal has already been sufficiently etched, remove the workpiece from the solution, rinse it with warm water, wipe it with solvent and sand it (in increasing order).

Making a handle

The handle for the knife is usually made of wood, but you can use any other material to your liking. However, experienced craftsmen recommend making a knife handle with your own hands from wood, since this material is easy to process and has the necessary performance characteristics.

Figure 8. Handle manufacturing steps

First, make two handle blanks, tighten them with clamps and drill two holes (at the end and at the beginning). These holes must line up exactly with the holes in the metal.

It is advisable to further process the holes in the blade with a drill to remove nicks and clean them.

Then everything happens quickly and simply: the surface of each workpiece is completely covered epoxy glue, connect them with clamps and clamp them with a vice (Figure 8). At the same stage, the pins are inserted. When the glue has dried, remove the vice and grind the handle to perfect shape on a grinding machine. To provide the tree with additional protection from moisture, it is advisable to soak it linseed oil.

Sharpening the finished product

Sharpening the finished product is the main stage that plays a key role in the successful operation of the knife in the future. Since the roughing stage has already been carried out, after attaching the handle, you can bring the blade to perfection on a special sharpener or using regular sandpaper (Figure 9).

Figure 9. Sharpening is done on a special machine

At the end of the sharpening process, you can coat the blade with a compound for additional protection against corrosion, and walk over it with felt to add shine.

You can make a knife from damask or Damascus steel, an old file, a shovel, even wood. First, a shape is selected in accordance with the purpose of the weapon and a sketch is made. A metal blank is cut out using a machine or a grinder saw, and it is narrowed from the butt to the blade. And the handle can be made of wood, plastic, micarta, and attached using metal rivets.

The sheath is made of leather or rough fabric. The blade must be hardened in a forge furnace at a temperature of 700 C, cooled, and tempered in an oven heated to 200 C, only then will the weapon be of high quality.

Read in this article

How to make a knife: preliminary preparation

To make a real knife of any model, you need:

Draw a sketch. It is important to consider the dimensions of the product and the type of handle attachment.
Create a steel blank. Can be remade old file, shovel, other unnecessary tool, or buy a piece of grade steel grades 95Х18, 50Х14МФ, Х12МФ, ХВГ.
Cut out the outline on milling machine or using a hacksaw. To eliminate imperfections, it is better to use a milling cutter, but you can also use an emery sharpener. At the same stage, holes are made in the metal part of the handle (shank) for fastening the linings and slopes on the blade.
Harden the metal in a furnace and temper the steel. This will make the knife more durable. Use a forge furnace.
Make lining for the handle. Wood is suitable as a material, but also plastic, soft metals, and brass.
Assemble the product. The shank is attached to the shank using adhesive and selected trim fasteners. At this same stage, the blade is finally sharpened and the weapon is polished.

To complete the task, you need tools and materials, but it is also important to understand the ban on creating bladed weapons.

What to make from

The knife can be made from:

Kuska of stainless steel, which was formerly a pan, pipe or piece of furniture. This is the simplest option, but the product will have to be sharpened often.
An old saw, file or hacksaw. They are made of a material that does not dull for a long time, but the product will be fragile and susceptible to corrosion.
Planer blades. The metal will first have to be heated to give it the required form, and this type of steel quickly rusts if not cared for.

The knife can be made from an old scythe or the cutting element of a lawn mower, or a drill of a suitable size. The main thing is that the workpiece material is larger in length and thickness than the product that will be created from it.

What metal?

The knife is made of metal with the following qualities:

resistance to abrasion during operation, deformation;
immunity to high temperatures;
strength, that is, the tool should not break under load;
viscosity, therefore, retention of the original shape after repeated use;
hardness that does not allow other inclusions to disturb the structure of the steel;
resistance to corrosion.

Several types of steel meet these conditions:

damask and damask, but they are difficult to work with at home;
95Х18, which can be hardened to high strength;
50Х14МФ, does not dull for a long time;
X12MF, hard and “long-lasting”, but requiring careful care;
HVG, capable of withstanding high loads without compromising the quality of the knife;
50HGA, not afraid of harsh operating conditions, but susceptible to corrosion;
40X13, spring, like the previous type, stainless, but not very durable.

What other material is needed?

In addition to the steel sheet, you will need a choice of material for making handle linings:

animal bone or horn;
wood (birch, pear, oak, ash, maple, apple tree);
plastic, plexiglass;
expensive metal alloys (gold, silver, bronze);
textolite, ceramics, ebonite;
brass.

Watch the video on how to make a knife from bone:

Instead, a thick cord or electrical tape may be useful if you need a very simple and small knife. They wrap the shank.

With a higher quality and more complex handle, parts and means are needed to fasten it to the base:

rivets;
hairpins;
bolts and nuts;
glue, epoxy resin.

To process the blade you will need oil to cool the steel, sandpaper, different types grinding pastes.

Making tool

To make a knife at home, the following tools are required:

hacksaw, grinder saw or Grinder, grinder;
vice;
forge furnace and tongs;
a drill or drill for making holes for attaching the handle;
file;
safety glasses and earplugs.

How to make a blank

The workpiece must be made so that the blade and shank form a single whole:

How to make a blade

The blade, that is, the cutting part of the tool, should be done like this:

mark the bevels on the workpiece cut out of steel in accordance with the knife model;
holding it in a vice, grind off the excess layer of metal on both sides of the blade, but not completely;
Finish the lines as intended using a belt sander or by hand.

This difficulty in sharpening the blade is due to the fact that it cannot be made too thin, because then there is a stage of hardening the blade. And it may turn out to be of poor quality or fail at all, that is, the knife will turn out fragile.

What are the risks of making bladed weapons at home?

The production of edged weapons by craftsmen at home is punishable by Part 3 of Article 223 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, that is, a prison term of up to 2 years.

You can make knives with the following indicators:

blade length up to 9 cm;
butt width up to 2.6 mm.

Knife structure

Such instruments are not prohibited for manufacture and use. If the product comes out larger, you cannot sharpen it too sharply, make a handle with finger grooves more than 4 mm deep and a guard.

Advantages of a DIY knife

A knife made by yourself has many advantages compared to factory products:

meets the requirements of its owner;
with the right choice and good heat treatment, steel is of high quality, but costs less;
has the appearance that the owner likes;
it does not contain any defects found in finished products.

DIY knives

The simplest homemade knives

Homemade knives, as simple as possible, are obtained from:

scissors of different sizes;
bayonet shovel;
old knife;
saw, hacksaw;
car springs.

You can even make a product from a fairly thick stick. The simplest option is a homemade knife with a wooden handle. And if you use a file as a base, you can do the work without power tools.

Watch the video on how to make a knife from a bearing:

From scissors

Scissors can even make 2 knives for economic needs, if them:

divide into 2 parts by pulling out the fastening from the center;
take one half, process the blade on a sharpening machine to the required thickness (the dull side is the butt, the sharper side is the blade);
make slopes, sharpen a sharp edge;
make suitable linings from wood, make recesses in each corresponding to the thickness of the metal part of the handle;
attach the wooden parts using glue and fasteners screwed into the hole left from the scissors;
Give the handle its final shape, remove any burrs, and polish it.

The knife will come with a ring at the head of the handle left over from the scissors.

From a piece of metal

From a piece of metal, if it is large enough, you can make any type of product. First, a sketch is prepared on paper, then a blank is cut out using this pattern. It is processed on a machine, bringing the blade into the desired form. 2 holes for bolts are drilled on the shank.

If the metal needs to be hardened, this is done using a forge furnace, and the steel is tempered. Cleaned, sanded and polished metal part. After cutting out the pads, they are attached to the handle using industrial glue and metal fasteners. If they stick out, this part should be cut off and sanded so that it does not interfere with holding the knife.

From a shovel

A shovel can be used to make any kind of knife as long as they don't have to cut very hard objects. Because this steel is usually of low quality and bends easily, even if the tool is bayonet-type. The manufacturing steps do not differ from what was described above. But due to the fragility of the metal, it must be hardened. And the handle should be made with wooden plates as long as the shank.

From an old knife

You can make a new tool out of an old knife if you simply replace the handle pads. To do this, the product will have to be disassembled. You can change the type, and hence the purpose, of a weapon if it is large enough. All you have to do is cut a blade of a different shape and combine it with an updated handle. The steel does not need to be hardened since it has already been heat treated at the factory.

From a stick

From a stick, that is, a knot with a diameter of 3-4 cm, you can make a fairly sharp weapon:

cut a piece about 15 cm long;
grind into lathe the blade is about 6 cm, the remaining 9 cm will be the handle;
thin the sharp edge using a machine with an emery attachment;
bring the blade to the maximum possible sharpness using an abrasive stone.

The quality of the product cannot be compared with metal, but it can be used for cutting.

From other available materials without tools

A knife can be made from scrap materials and, in addition to those mentioned above, from:

a mechanical saw, the blade of which has good cutting properties;
hacksaws for wood, they make decent kitchen tools;
automobile springs requiring forging and heat treatment;
a large drill, but it also needs to be heated and given the desired shape.

After converting the available material into flat sheet The manufacturing technology is still the same:

drawing on paper;
cutting a metal blank;
sharpening, hardening, finishing;
handle manufacturing, assembly.

Sample drawing of a knife on paper

Knife without tools type band saw, a grinder can be made from a file. It is enough to heat it with a blowtorch and let it cool so that the metal can be processed with a hacksaw. This is what gives the workpiece the desired shape. Then heat treatment is carried out, grinding with hand tools and emery. And you can assemble the product.

DIY knife at home from start to finish

You can make a knife of any kind with your own hands at home, if you have the tools, material for the blade and handles, fixing pins, and glue. Production available:

small or large implements;
hunting;
marching;
kitchen;
wooden;
homemade folding;
forged;
dagger type.

From start to finish, you create a knife with your own hands in stages:

choose steel for the blade (preferably carbon or tool steel);
draw a sketch, where the dimensions of the product are marked in accordance with the purpose, the shape is determined;
cut out the workpiece, make holes on it for fastening the linings;
subject the metal to forging, hardening and tempering;
overlays are made and attached to the frame.

If desired, the knife can be made in hiking conditions from wood, quartz, tin cans, and other available materials.

Made of wood

It is better to make a monolithic product from wood for greater strength. You need to take a metal knife as a sample, mark the lines of the handle, the cut of the blade and the blade. The excess is removed with a hacksaw and a pen tool, since the work is quite delicate. When the whole weapon is ready, it is sharpened using a whetstone.

Hunting knife

A hunting knife is made using:

carbon steel;
brass and wood for the handle;
steel pins and epoxy glue during assembly.

The technique is the same as given earlier, but there are some nuances:

you need to make fullers on the blade;
for more accurate formation of bevels, a caliper is used in measurements;
metal requires hardening in a forge and tempering;
brass linings on the handle are hidden under wooden ones.

Kitchen knife

A kitchen knife is made of spring metal (for example, a hacksaw), which, after cutting the workpiece, is heated in an oven and cooled in oil or air. Hardening is carried out at a temperature of 200 C.

The bevel can only be made on one side. After this, the knife is sharpened using a damp whetstone. If it has a wooden handle, oak (or ash, pear) linings are impregnated with linseed oil. It is applied with a brush or swab, wait 20 minutes for absorption, remove excess and dry for several hours. Then you need to spread another layer. After drying, the knife can be assembled.

Dagger

The dagger differs from other types of products in that both edges of the blade are sharp. This means that bevels are made on both sides, just like sharpening. Otherwise, the technology and set of tools do not change.

Forge a knife

To forge a knife, you need to prepare:

An oven with thick walls where they will burn charcoal and ensure air access. This way it will be possible to reach temperatures of up to 900-1200 degrees.
Hammers weighing 4 kg and 1 kg, as well as an anvil or its imitation. You will also need tongs to remove the hot product from the oven.

How to forge a knife at home:

heat the metal in the oven to 900 degrees, that is, until it turns orange;
remove it with tongs, place it on the anvil;
tap with hammers to give the desired shape and thickness.

After this, you can cut out a blank corresponding to the drawing.

If the knife is made from a file, an old product, a saw, it only needs hardening:

heating in an oven to 700 C (the metal will become cherry color);
placing in heated oil to cool or leaving in air;
sending to an oven heated to 200 C;
cleaning from scale with sandpaper.

small knife

A small knife requires more accurate measurements when marking slopes, precise movements when cutting a metal workpiece, but in general the process is no different. For the product not big size Almost any piece of steel will do. That is, you won’t have to forge it; it will be enough to provide hardening and tempering before assembly.

Mini-knives made by yourself do not even need to make linings for the handle, since the shank can be wrapped with a thick cord or electrical tape. If desired, make a wooden cutting using standard technology.

Big knife

It is more practical to make a large knife from a piece of tool steel purchased at a hardware store. There are no differences in the manufacturing process, except that:

You need to make a fuller on the blade near the butt. It is done with a file, making the tool lighter and stronger.
It is necessary to drill holes in the handle for attaching the linings and additional ones. The latter are needed to reduce the weight of this part of the product.
It is imperative to harden and temper the workpiece. It is heated in an oven until cherry-colored, after which it is placed in oil. And then the blade is kept at a temperature of 200 C and cooled.
The overlays should be made of lightweight materials, but wide enough. Textolite and plastic are suitable, which are glued in 3 layers. This will make the knife heavier in the blade area, which will make it possible not only to cut, but also to chop with it.

For the forest

Forestry tools are manufactured following the same steps as others, but:

it should be small with a blade that is not too wide;
have straight or concave slopes;
the edge should be made like a Finnish or Scandinavian knife, that is, less than 70 degrees;
use wood for the handle.

You can make a knife in the forest from oak or pine (these are hardwoods), pieces of silicon, quartz, glass, or even a tin can. If there is metal part, you can build an improvised furnace and forge a blade. The handle is wrapped in fabric, tufts of grass or made of wood.

Homemade folding

A homemade folding knife is made from the same materials as previous versions, and the technology does not change, but:

You will also need a brass pin to hold the blade in the open position;
the cutting part should be shorter;
blade head - have a hole for screwing fasteners into the handle and a tooth to cling to a brass pin;
the handle is made of two wooden parts (outer layer) and the same number of Kydex material elements (inner);
On all parts, holes are drilled for the blade retainer and handle, and below and to the right - a brass pin.

Camping knife

A camping knife is made according to the same scheme as described earlier, but it is important to observe the parameters of the weapon:

classic blade no more than 100 mm, so as not to take up much space in the backpack;
the most comfortable handle and bright lining for easy searching if you get lost;

You will also need a tool case.

How to assemble a knife

To assemble a homemade knife, you should:

make 2 holes for clamps on the metal part of the handle;
drill the same grooves in the linings;
glue the component parts of the cutting with epoxy or other industrial glue, if it consists of several layers, dry it by squeezing it with clamps;
attach the finished linings to the shank using pins;
If parts of the fasteners stick out after screwing, they need to be cut off and these places sanded.

Making knives at home

Making a homemade sheath at home includes the following steps:

making a pattern from paper (you need to put a blade wrapped in tape on it, add 1.5 cm from each edge and circle);
creating a pattern from leather or thick fabric (the pattern is traced 2 times in a mirror image);
cutting out from the material 2 side inserts 1.5 cm wide and a T-shaped part, which will then become a clasp;
processing the edges of the cross element with wax, grinding on a felt wheel of the machine;
sewing a T-shaped part and one of the main patterns with nylon thread;
gluing the inserts of this part of the sheath;
fixing the second half of the pattern with glue;
turning the edges of the workpiece on a grinding machine;
stitching glued parts;
polishing the surface of the sheath, applying cream if it is leather;
making holes at the ends of the fastener to secure the button parts.

Watch the video about how the knife is made:

DIY myocardium for a knife

The myocardium, or, with your own hands for a knife, is made from several layers of dense tissue different colors(for example, denim) and epoxy resin(10 parts to 1 part hardener). The material is cut into equal strips. They need to be placed in a container where the mixture with resin has already been poured so that the fabric is saturated. This multi-layer “cake” is then taken out and pressed tightly with your hands to remove air and excess liquid.

Now you need to wrap it in wax paper and place it between two wooden planes, holding it with clamps. After 2 days, micarta is ready.

DIY knife blades

Knife blades are made by hand:

according to a sketch, which is an image of the entire product, and not just the cutting part;
from sheet steel using band press or grinder saws;
with drilling holes for fastening handle linings;
with machine grinding or filing;

DIY knife handle at home

The handle of a knife is often made at home from wood. More precisely, these are the overlays, and metal carcass(tang) is connected to the blade into a single unit.

Two wooden parts are cut to match the dimensions of the steel one. They need to be shaped as in the sketch. Grooves are cut on the inner sides, equal in thickness to the shank. Be sure to make holes in the top and bottom of each element for fasteners (pins or bolts). Wooden parts need to be coated with linseed oil. When the tool is assembled, the handle is polished.

Making even a simple knife without experience is not so easy, but it is possible. To do this, you need to own at least hand tools, and it is better to do everything using machines. But you can get a unique product that fully meets the wishes of the owner.

A hunting knife is essential for every hunter. First of all, it is used for finishing and butchering prey, but besides this it remains faithful assistant in the most different situations on the hunt. Nowadays you can find a huge number of different models and modifications of blades on sale. But despite this, the need to make your own knife may arise. This usually happens due to the inability to buy the blade you need, either to replace a lost or broken one you love, or one you saw from friends and liked, or the knife you need is not on sale.

Making a knife from a 9HF saw

In this article we will not focus on the shape and design of the blade, the type and width of the sharpening, etc. We believe that finished project or we already have a sample and will focus on the production itself.

In order for a homemade hunting knife to meet the basic requirements for such blades, it is recommended to make it from high-carbon alloy steels. For example:

9HF– tool alloy steel, used for the manufacture of frame, band and circular saws, punches, trimming dies and a number of other tools. Usually saw blades are used as blanks;
R6M5– high-speed alloy steel of high strength. It is used to make many types cutting tool, drills, saw blades, the latter can be used to make a workpiece;
65G– spring steel, with high wear resistance, can be blued and blackened. They make springs, springs, gears, etc. In addition to sheets, rear springs of trucks are used for blanks. Considered one of the cheapest knife materials;
X12, R3M3F2 and a number of others are also suitable.

The material for the workpiece can be taken from the above products, although now on the Internet you can order a plate for the workpiece from almost any steel. As a recommendation, take a canvas pendulum saw for metal, the usual dimensions are 400x30 mm, thickness 2 mm, rough surface, color black or gray.
If you want to make a homemade knife at home, in addition to the material for the workpiece, we will need:

Angle grinder (grinder)
Wheels for it, cutting wheels for alloy steel, for example inox A54S BF, sharpening and grinding.
Drill or drilling machine
Vise
Pobedite and other special drills
Files and diamond files
Emery machine (very desirable).

The knife making process will be as follows:

The handle of the knife can be wound using paracord or made of wood; in the latter case, we drill holes in the handle according to a template, according to a sample or drawing. Holes are drilled using special drills with accompanying cooling using oil. It is more convenient to do this on a drilling machine.

To simplify the process, holes are first drilled with small diameter drills and then gradually drilled out to the desired size.

Handle

Knives decorate different handles. The choice of material for their manufacture depends on the purposes for which the knife is intended, ease of use and personal preferences of the owner. Below are two ways to make a knife handle at home.

Wrapping the handle with paracord in a few minutes

Using a paracord cord as a knife handle is not only easier and faster, but also more practical. You will always have a couple of meters of cord with you, which can be used for a variety of purposes when surviving in extreme situations.

For the winding we need:

cord, 2 – 2.5 m;
thick adhesive tape or electrical tape;
lighter or matches;
scissors;
gloves;
screwdriver.

Before you start winding the cord, decide whether you need a lanyard loop and if so, where it will be, on the side of the blade near the stop or at the end of the handle. If it is available, in addition to the ability to hang a knife, in the first case you can thread it thumb, to make it more convenient and reliable to hold the knife, in the second, you can use it to remove the knife from the sheath, etc.

Paracord is wound in the following order:

We wet the cord, and it stretches better, and when it dries, it will sit more solidly on the knife.
We seal the knife blade with tape or tape to avoid accidental cuts or cutting the cord. It is better to perform all operations with gloves.
We press one end of the cord on the head of the handle so that 10 cm remains free.
We form a loop from the cord, laid along the handle so that the top of the loop protrudes a couple of centimeters beyond the cord winding area.
Then holding the knife in your left hand and pressing both ends of the loop with your thumb, right hand We begin to wind the cord around the handle, starting from its head.
We make the winding tight, turn to turn, do not tighten it too much, keep in mind that the cord will still shrink after drying.
Having brought the winding all the way to the blade, we thread the remaining end of the cord into the protruding part of the loop.
We cut off the excess cord, leaving about 3–5 cm, and burn the end of the cord.
After this, pulling the free end of the cord from the side of the handle head, we pull the loop under the winding until the end threaded into it is hidden under the winding. Avoid pulling the loop completely out, otherwise the entire winding will unravel.

Winding is complete. With this option of winding, we will not have a loop for a lanyard. If we want to form it, the winding is somewhat more complicated. Initially, two loops are placed on the handle on both sides of the knife.

To form a loop for a lanyard on the head of a knife, the end of the cord is pressed onto the head of the handle and one loop is pulled to the blade, then the cord is thrown over the head and a second loop is placed on the other side. The winding starts from the head of the knife. Having finished the winding, the remaining end is threaded through both loops near the blade and pulled under the winding by the loop in the headband, thereby forming it.

So that the loop is near the stop, we do the same thing, but on the contrary, we start laying and winding from the stop, and pull the loop there to tighten the clamped end under the winding.

Making an overhead handle as an alternative to paracord

If you are a classicist and want to make a regular handle, use wood for this purpose. It is more accessible, easier to work with, wooden handle more pleasant to the touch, does not feel cold, slips less in the hand, and if processed correctly, does not absorb moisture. The handle of the knife can be made of oak, beech, maple, birch, walnut or mahogany. In order not to waste time and effort on preparing and drying wood, there are two simple ways get her. The first is parquet, you can buy it in a special store, where, by the way, expensive varieties are sold individually. Second - old furniture, in the attic, in the garage, at the dacha, with friends, you can always find unnecessary household rubbish and use it.
For the handle you need two dies if you have a hand standard size, then 10 - 15 mm thick, this is with a margin for processing, so that the thickness of the future handle is about 20 mm. The length of the workpieces is 150 - 200 mm, so that there is room for fixing them during initial processing.

In addition to the tree, we will need:

dowels made of aluminum, copper, brass, iron according to the number of holes and the corresponding diameter;
drill with drills or drilling machine;
drills according to the number of holes in the handle of the same diameter;
a sharpening or grinding machine, it can be replaced by a wood file and a lot, a lot of time;
jigsaw or hand jigsaw, or see previous paragraph;
an engraving machine or a file with a needle file;
sandpaper of different numbers down to the finest;
epoxy based adhesive;
linseed oil;
thick adhesive tape or electrical tape;
vice, clamp.

We make the handle as follows:

Before starting work, wrap the knife blade with tape or tape to avoid accidental cuts.
The first step is drilling. We place the knife blank on a wooden block, press it with a clamp or, at worst, wrap it with tape and drill holes. To make the hole neat, first drill with a thin drill, and then drill out to required diameter. After the first hole has been drilled, we insert a key or a drill of the same diameter into it, this is done to fix it so that the die does not move. Let's move on to the next hole.
We drill the second die in the same way.
After drilling, we assemble the dies on a knife, using keys or drills, to make sure that all the holes match.
Then, attaching the dies one by one to the knife using dowels or drills and a clamp, we outline the contour of the handle along the contour of the knife. It is advisable to mark the handle with a slight indentation, 1 - 2 mm, for subsequent processing.
After marking, we cut out the handle with a jigsaw or grind it on a grinding wheel; in extreme cases, the file is in your hands.
Preparing the dowels. To make the homemade knife look aesthetically pleasing, we will not rivet the dowels, but glue them in. To do this, use an engraving machine or a file to make chaotic cuts on the keys, in which the glue will harden and set. At the ends of the keys we remove an inclined chamfer at 450.
Since after gluing it will be inconvenient to process the cheeks of the stop, we finally process and polish them using sandpaper.
We carefully sand the handle halves from the inside so that they fit tightly when gluing to the plane of the knife shank.
Before gluing, we make a final test assembly.
We carry out the gluing itself according to the instructions for the glue. The assembly procedure is as follows: lubricate inner side one half, insert dowels greased with glue into it, put a knife on them, and then the greased second half.
We clamp the assembled handle in a vice and remove the excess squeezed out glue. Leave the clamped handle for a day.
After the glue has hardened using files, emery, grinding wheel and so on, we finally shape, sharpen and polish the handle of the knife.
When the handle is completely polished, it is time to soak. It is best to saturate wood with linseed oil. You can buy it in a store for artists, they breed it oil paints.
The handle is kept in oil for three days to a week. The process can be speeded up by boiling the handle in oil for a couple of hours, but you must strictly monitor the temperature, otherwise the glue may leak.
Then the handle should dry at natural temperature for about a month, during which time the oil will polymerize and the wood will harden and become impervious to moisture.
After drying, the handle is finally polished with a soft cloth.

Sharpening for beginners

Before we talk about sharpening a hunting knife, we need to remind you that homemade knives made from the metals recommended in the article are very difficult and take a long time to sharpen, since the alloy steels used have high hardness. This must be remembered when using a knife for purposes other than its intended purpose.

Now about the sharpening itself. IN living conditions knives are sharpened on special sharpening stones. Such stones are ceramic (the cheapest and most common), diamond, natural and Japanese sea stones. The principle of sharpening on them is approximately the same, so in the future, by default, we will talk about the most common ceramic sharpening stone.
In order to sharpen a knife efficiently, it is advisable to have either two sharpening stones of different grain sizes, or, what happens more often, a sharpening stone whose sides have different grain sizes. For ease of sharpening, the size, or rather the length, of the stone should be greater than the length of the knife blade.

It is advisable to sharpen a knife with both hands, so it is advisable to place the sharpening stone on a separate board, securing it either in a hole specially cut for this purpose, or using six nails driven into the sides.
Sharpening the knife begins on the roughest stone. At this stage, the whetstone does not need to be wetted. We place the stone arbitrarily on the table, the main thing is that it is convenient for you to sharpen on it.

The entire sharpening process consists of giving the edge of the blade an acute angular shape. When doing this, you need to remember a few basic rules:

you need to choose the optimal knife sharpening angle and stick to it throughout the entire process;
the knife is driven across the stone with the blade forward, as if cutting off a thin layer from it;
in one movement you need to sweep the entire edge of the blade for uniform sharpening;
the edge of the blade should always be perpendicular to the direction of movement;
each next time the blade must be turned over and held with the other side so as not to displace the center of the blade chamfer;
movements should be smooth, without pressure;
It is better to sharpen both sides with a unidirectional movement, either towards yourself or away from yourself, since moving the hand away from you is always worse and weaker than moving it towards yourself.

Now regarding the sharpening angle. It can be from 450 to 300, in the first case the knife will hold an edge longer, in the second it will be sharper. It is better to sharpen a hunting knife exactly at 300, this is not difficult to achieve, just when sharpening, move the knife as if you were cutting a thin slice of butter or cheese.

After you have turned the initial sharpness and brought out the angle of the blade edge, you can move on to a stone of lesser dispersion. It is advisable to periodically moisten it with water so that the edge of the blade glides better and metal dust does not clog the pores.
You can finally sharpen the blade to a mirror shine and razor sharpness by sharpening it on an old leather belt with GOI paste. main feature editing with GOI paste is that the knife is directed in the opposite direction to the blade, i.e. butt forward.

Making a sheath (case) from leather

One of the necessary accessories for a hunting knife is a sheath. They are needed to protect the blade from dulling, and everything around from cuts and damage to things.

You can make a homemade sheath yourself at home, from a small piece of leather about 3 mm thick.

To do this, in addition to the skin, you will need:

scissors;
a sheet of thick paper for a template;
pen;
an awl (a sharpened nail or nails can replace it);
small nails and a hammer;
universal glue;
fork;
paraffin candle;
fine sandpaper or grinder;
nylon thread and one or two large needles;
pliers;
snap closure;
wax or cream.

The procedure for making the cover will be as follows:

Making a template. Applying the knife blade to a sheet of paper, trace it along the contour.
Then around this contour with a centimeter indent we draw another contour, it will be the main one. Cut out the template along the outer contour. Separately, we cut out a T-shaped part for the fastener, the width of the harness is about 20 mm, and we measure the length of the harness along the handle of the knife.
Mark the details on the skin. Having attached the template to the leather, we outline the part for one side of the sheath, then, moving the template to the side by 5 - 8 mm, we outline only one side to get a part for half of the insert.
Then, turning the template over, we repeat the steps, outlining the second side and the second half of the insert. We apply and outline the T-shaped part of the fastener.
We take scissors and carefully cut out all the details from the leather.
Applying it to the knife, we try on all the details to see if they match.
We rub the ends of the insert on the clasp with paraffin candles, and then sand them using sandpaper.
We apply the fastener to one half, and using an awl and nails we mark and punch holes for the thread, in two rows.
We sew the fastener; the thread can be pre-lubricated with paraffin.
For ease of subsequent stitching, we glue the parts together. We cut out a part from the template along the contour of the blade itself. We place this part on the half of the sheath and coat it with glue so that the glue does not come out beyond the inserts. Glue according to the instructions on the tube. Lubricate and glue the inserts.
At the tip of the sheath, between the inserts, we cut a groove for ventilation.
Glue the other half. We place the sheath under the press for a while for high-quality gluing.
We check how the knife fits and sits.
Use sandpaper to sand the edges of the sheath.
Using a fork, running two prongs along the edge of the sheath, outline the outline for stitching. Use a fork to mark the holes for the thread.
If you want, you can get fancy by cutting a thread groove into the face of the scabbard so that it is flush with the leather. In this case, it will then need to be polished with wax or cream in the same color as the scabbard.
Punch holes for the thread with an awl.
We sew the cover. You can sew with one thread, or with two threads, threading them through the holes one at a time.
Attach the button clasp.
We finally grind and polish the scabbard with wax or cream.

The scabbard is ready.

Knives are hand tools, differing in purpose. Products that can be bought in stores are not always good in quality. Therefore, people who know how to work with tools are often interested in how to make a knife with their own hands. By carefully studying the information on this topic, you can create a blade that has all the properties a master needs.

DIY knife.

Types of knives and their purposes

Before you start making knives, you need to choose the type of future product. The manufacturing method will depend on its purpose and conditions of use.

Craftsmen often make the following types of tools:

Hunting knife - they are mainly made at home. High demands are placed on them. The main task of hunting knives is to cut prey, so the blade must be made hard and capable of holding an edge for a long time. It is necessary to ensure high impact strength - the degree of damage to the blade when hitting bones depends on it. It is not always possible to change a knife during a hunt, so it must have increased wear resistance.
Tourist - designed for hikers. They are used for planing wood chips and cutting branches, and with their help they perform small tasks that arise in field conditions. Tourists sometimes do not have the opportunity to correct or sharpen a dull blade, so the strength of the cutting part must be quite high.
Survival knives are a type of tourist knives. They are equipped with devices that help cope with the difficulties of the hike. This name does not mean that it is necessary to provide the product with a large number of additional properties. Due to the expansion of the configuration, the manufacturer has to resort to tricks - for example, reducing the blade or reducing the thickness of the butt. This may adversely affect the performance of the product.
Kitchen knives are a variety that is no less popular among homemade knives. Models with high-quality cutting parts, presented in stores, cost a lot - carrying out the work yourself is more profitable. A kitchen knife must be hard to hold an edge and do a good job of slicing food. The blade material should not crumble if it hits bones when cutting meat or a board.

The purpose of knives often causes misconceptions. You cannot use the same blade for both hunting and tourism. The requirements for them are different; if the knives are used for other purposes, they may break. It will not be possible to create a universal model - you have to reduce some characteristics in order to ensure others.

Various shapes products.

Advantages of homemade knives

Among the models presented in stores, you can find one that suits your purposes. But there is always a chance of getting a blade of poor quality or a model that does not meet your wishes.

Forging a knife with your own hands has the following advantages:

Sketch of a knife.

You can choose the type of product to your liking.
Provide all the necessary properties that will allow the knife to serve for a long time.
Select materials that can give the desired characteristics to the product.
Select a suitable hardening mode for the metal, which will help ensure necessary indicators elasticity, plasticity and hardness.
You can create the handle of the product in accordance with your ideas about decorativeness.
The master will be able to avoid mistakes that happen when making knives in large batches.

Necessary materials

Before you start working on your future knife, you should design it.

The main part of the instrument is the blade. For its production they use different technologies. This part of the knife can have any shape, so when choosing a handle you should carefully consider its appearance. It is recommended to prepare a drawing that will take into account the nuances of the future product.

According to manufacturing technology, all-steel and all-iron knives are considered the simplest. Welded blades can be made of steel and iron.

The raw materials for the handles are:

Plastic.
Tree.
Birch bark.
Leather.
Various artificial materials.

The handle should be easy to use and visually attractive.

Steel selection

The type of knife determines the conditions in which it can be used. Materials must be selected that can withstand the loads during use of the knife.

Damascus steel blade.

When choosing iron or steel, you need to consider the following properties:

Hardness is the ability to prevent the penetration of foreign particles into the structure of the material chosen for the blade. It can be obtained after heat treatment using the required mode.
Impact toughness, which is responsible for resistance to fracture and minimizes chipping.
Corrosion resistance, which is necessary for possible contact with liquids and for working in special conditions.
Wear resistance - important property at increased loads on the blade, increasing resistance to deformation and abrasion.

For blades self made the best options Damascus and damask steel are considered. But their use requires professional blacksmithing skills. You can purchase a blank, but it has a high price. More often, in order to make a simple knife, alloy steels are used, which are more convenient for processing.

What tool will you need?

When planning to make a knife yourself, you need to prepare for the fact that you will have to purchase some equipment. Some technologies may require special devices that are not always included in the basic set of tools available to the master at home.

To make a good knife by hand forging, you will need the following equipment:

Coal.
Bake.
Forging hammers - large and small.
Blacksmith's tongs.
Pliers.
File.
Sandpaper.
Adjustable wrench.
Grinding and grinding machine.
Grinder drill.
Anvil.

After preparing a set of tools, you can begin to work.

Step-by-step instructions for making a knife with your own hands

When making knives yourself, you must act according to pre-prepared instructions. You can use the guide, which outlines the entire process step by step.

Before manufacturing, it is necessary to prepare a drawing or sketches. Using them, a template is made for the future product. You can use a photo of your favorite model as an example. After manufacturing all elements of the product, assembly, sharpening and polishing are carried out.

If the production of knives is not on stream, the craftsman has little experience, and difficulties may arise with preparing the blade. When planning to make a handicraft knife, you should pay attention to such hardware, such as files, scythe fragments, cutting elements of lawn mowers, drills of a suitable diameter. They are well suited for blanks.

Cutting the base profile

After preparing the material that is planned to be used to make a knife, a template is applied to it. It is better to use thick cardboard for it. After cutting, the template turns out solid, you can take it in your hand and roughly see what the product will look like when the work is completed.

The template must be transferred to a metal strip to create a blank. Then it is cut around the edges using a grinder. Before this, the workpiece must be securely secured using a clamp.

It is not difficult to trim along straight lines, but when working with curves you will have to put in more effort. To efficiently cut curved sections, you will need to make transverse slits, and then remove excess material by sector.

We cut out the profile of the future knife.

First grinding

After the workpiece is cut, its contours should be sanded. To completely remove excess fragments from the blade, you need to use a sharpening machine. The contour is processed using a belt sander. To process bends you will need a drill. It is better to use sandpaper as a processing element.

Forming bevels

Processing of bevels is necessary to form correct angle for sharpening the blade. First you need to mark the workpiece using a caliper. It must be visually divided into halves - this facilitates the stitching procedure. When drawing a line, use a drill whose diameter matches the thickness of the blade.

Using a file, mark the boundary where the bevel of the blade ends. After this, the excess layer of metal is removed using a grinder with a sanding pad. The surface is processed with a belt sander, the bevel is cleaned with a file. Final sanding is done using sandpaper. Finally, the surface can be polished.

We prepare the knife for forming bevels.

Drilling holes

The next step is to drill holes in the handle of the workpiece intended for the pins. Their number is determined depending on the handle - the wider it is, the more holes will be needed. On average, 4-6 pieces are required.

If you need large holes, you must first mark them with a drill smaller diameter. When working with hardened steel, carbide tools are used. To make the process easier, you can apply lubricant to the drill.

Drill holes in the knife handle.

How to properly harden a workpiece

To harden a blade, you need a forge furnace. If this is not available, you can use a powerful hair dryer to fan the coals. Hardening methods are chosen depending on the steel grade.

A sign that the metal has been sufficiently hardened is that it cannot be processed with a file. It is also necessary to temper the material so that the knife does not become brittle. After cooling, you need to remove the oil from the blade. To do this, you need detergents that dissolve grease and running water. For polishing use fine-grained sandpaper.

Etching Features

To give the knife an original appearance, a pattern can be applied to the blade using the etching method. To do this, you will need a solution prepared from copper sulfate and salt 1:1. The water for dissolution must be hot. The image is applied to the surface of the blade with a marker. Areas not to be etched must be varnished. The prepared product is placed in the solution for 30-40 minutes.

During etching, a reddish coating forms on the surface; it will need to be washed off from time to time under running warm water. When the process is complete, the workpiece is removed from the solution, washed with warm water, wiped with a solvent and treated with sandpaper.

We apply the design to the blade.

Making the handle

The handle for a knife can be of any shape; wood is often chosen for its manufacture. Other materials are also suitable, but wood is considered more convenient for processing.

For the handle, two blanks are made, which must be tightened using clamps and two holes drilled - at the beginning and at the end of the parts. They must match those drilled in the metal.

Epoxy glue is applied to the surface of the workpieces, then they are connected using clamps and clamped in a vice. Now you can insert the pins.

Wooden knife handle.

Handle grinding

After the glue has hardened, the vice is unclenched and the handle is ground on a machine. The pins are trimmed using a hacksaw or filed with a file. Then the surface is leveled by grinding with tools. The same procedure is performed for the outline of the handle.

Finishing

A polishing attachment is installed on the drill. The surface is treated until it begins to shine. Then the same is done for the outline of the product. For areas that cannot be polished, use fine-grained sandpaper.

Rules for sharpening the finished product

Sharpening knives is a stage that affects the ease of use of the product. The roughing has already been done, the final part is done using a sharpening device or sandpaper. The blade is coated with a compound to protect it from corrosion.

Angle Features

To sharpen the cutting part of a knife, you will need a set of sharpening stones with different degrees of grit. In the process, it is important to maintain the correct angle, which determines the future capabilities of the product.

For different types of products, the following angles are created:

30º - severe operating conditions;
16-20º - average conditions;
15-20º - products for fine work.

Start sharpening by using stones with large grains, gradually moving to fine-grained ones.

The nuances of making a product from a file

If a file blade is used as a blank for a knife, the craftsman will need a hammer for the work. This will help remove excess thickness from the workpiece. Using forging, you can obtain a product with high strength and elasticity, resistance to mechanical damage.

It is better to abandon the figured blade and the fancy shape of the knife. The rougher the outline, the easier the processing will be. It is worth considering that such material requires special equipment. If you don't have it, you can use simple tools, but in this case they will undergo accelerated wear.

To get a strong and durable blade, you must use quality tool and carefully select materials for production. Raw materials made in China won't do.

If a wooden handle is chosen for the homemade product, it should be soaked in linseed oil - this will create additional protection from moisture.

When grinding hard-to-reach areas, it is better to use a drill.

A knife is a mandatory attribute of a hunter. The areas of its application are varied - finishing off game, protecting against attacks by wild animals, cutting up carcasses, skinning, solving everyday problems (for example, cutting branches or opening cans). Some functions are performed by universal hunting knives, while in other cases you will need a special knife designed for a specific job. If you wish and have the skills, you can make a hunting knife with your own hands.

Types of knives

There are differences between types of knives in the geometric shape of the blade. The purpose of a particular knife depends on the shape. With some weapons it is more convenient to make piercing movements, and with others it is more convenient to make slashing movements.

Hunting knives have the following types of blades:

straight edge at top;
the upper edge (Drop Point) smoothly descending towards the centrally located tip;
an upwardly extending edge and a blade located at the top relative to the axis of the tip (Trailing Point);
a blade in the form of a Bowie knife, which has a straight, sharp upper edge with a steep descent at the tip (Clip Point);
with a straight spine and a bent cutting edge (Skinner);
with a double-sided wedge-shaped blade, like a dagger.

According to the type and size of the design, hunting knives are divided into the following groups:

Classic. Standard length- from 10 to 13 cm. Blade width - 3–3.5 cm. Weight - from 120 to 180 g. Blades of any type are allowed, except double-sided sharpened. The purpose of classic knives is long-term work on cutting carcasses and skinning.
Big ones. Size - from 13 to 17 cm. The blade can have any shape. Weight - from 180 to 300 g. A large mass must be accompanied by an appropriate guard and a thick handle. Large knives are used for slashing. They are not very suitable for other purposes.
Foldable. Sizes vary. Folding knives are equipped with one or two blades. They perform best when performing small, short-term work.

In order for the blade to gain sufficient rigidity, grooves are made in the metal. They also have another name - valleys. The presence of fullers not only increases the rigidity of the blade, but also reduces the weight of the knife.

The best option for a hunter is to have two knives. One is designed for finishing off large game and cutting up carcasses. It should be long and heavy. The second is for cutting small game and utility work (for example, cutting branches in the forest).

Materials for making a blade

Not all steel is suitable for making a good knife. The material must be strong, but flexible, and also resistant to moisture and low temperatures. Carbon, alloy and powder steels are used in production. Bulat and Damascus steel perform well.

Blades made of Damascus and carbon steel are susceptible to rust. In this regard, special treatment after washing is recommended. The blades are wiped dry and then oil is applied to the metal. Corrosion does not develop on knives made of tool, alloy, powder and damask steel.

Making a knife for hunting with your own hands

Materials and tools

To create a homemade hunting knife at home, you will need a set of tools and materials.

List of materials:

carbon steel (blade);
wood (overlays);
sheet of brass (handle);
pins (brass or steel);
epoxy adhesive composition.

Tools:

belt sander;
orbital sander;
grinder and discs (cutting, grinding);
grinder;
electric drill or drilling machine;
drill;
calipers;
forge furnace;
metal hardening oil;
hammer;
sandpaper;
blade sharpening tool.

Step-by-step manufacturing instructions

You can make a hunting knife yourself in several stages.

Cutting the base profile

We prepare the material from which we will make the knife and apply a template to it. You can find the template online. After scaling the drawing, we print it out on a printer. We cut out the resulting image.

Advice! It is better to use cardboard as a material for the template. It is durable and will last more than once. In addition, cardboard is hard, you can hold it in your hands and get an idea of what a metal knife will look like.

Transfer the template to the material. We glue the paper stencil onto the workpiece. Next, cut the template around the edges. For this we use a grinder. During cutting, the workpiece must be securely secured using a clamp.

It's easy to cut along straight lines, but you'll have to tinker with curves. To cut out bends, we create transverse slits and remove metal in sectors.

Below are several sketches for making your own hunting knife.

Throwing knife drawing

Drilling holes

At this stage you need to make a hole for the pins in the handle of the blade. Their number depends on the handle - the wider it is, the more pins are needed. On average, holes for 5–6 pieces are needed. For large hole diameters, first use a small diameter drill. For hardened steel we use a carbide drill. The job will be easier if you apply lubricant to the drill.

Blade hardening

To harden the blade, a forge is required. If it is not available, a household hairdryer will suffice to fan the coals.

Carbon steel gives a yellowish glow. As soon as the glow becomes just that, the steel is cooled in oil. However, it should be borne in mind that there are many grades of steel and the hardening methods for them differ significantly.

A sign of hardened metal is that it cannot be processed with a file. Next, we temper the metal so that it is not brittle.

Remove the oil from the cooled blade. We do this with detergents V running water. If desired, you can polish the blade with fine-grained sandpaper.

Making the handle

In this case, the handle will be combined - based on brass or wood. We start by creating brass trims. We need sheet brass, from which we will make 4 blanks: for the front and back of the handle.

We cut brass with a grinder. Then we drill holes for the pins in the linings. We install the lining on the handle. This is necessary to adjust the plates to the shape of the handle. In order not to create dissonance, we use brass pins. This way they will look like one piece with the overlays. We select the pins of such a diameter that they fit into the hole with some effort. We complete the installation of the pins by riveting them.

Let's move on to making wooden overlays. We use small boards of suitable thickness. We cut pieces of boards to the required length and drill holes for the pins in them. We attach the pads with epoxy glue.

We use steel pins for the boards. Instead of pins, you can use regular nails. There is no need for riveting as we previously used glue.

We tighten the linings with clamps. We wait a while until the glue completely sets.

Handle grinding

The dry handle needs to be sanded. First, cut off the pins with a hacksaw or file. Then we grind the planes with a grinder. We also grind the handle along the contour.

There will definitely be areas where the grinder cannot reach. A drill with a sandpaper attachment will come in handy here.

Finishing

We install a polishing attachment on the drill and process the surface until a golden shine appears on the brass. In the same way we polish the blade along the contour. Not all areas can be polished, so we additionally go over them with fine-grained sandpaper.

We also process wooden overlays with a polishing machine. We apply oil to the finished handle, it will prevent the destruction of the wood. The oil will also protect the blade, since brass is not affected by oxidative processes.

The last thing to do is sharpen the blade. To do this you will need Japanese water stones with different sizes grains Rocks are only useful if you water them. This removes dirt from the stone.

Features of the sharpening angle

Sharpening the cutting section of a blade requires a lot of time and a set of sharpening stones with varying degrees of grit. It is important to maintain the correct angle. It is the angle of sharpening that determines the further direction of use of the knife.

For different types problems use the following angles:

30 degrees or more - heavy work;
16–20 degrees - moderate work;
10–15 degrees - fine work.

We start sharpening with coarse stones. We are gradually moving to smaller grains.

Conclusion

It is possible to make a knife at home, but this task is not feasible for everyone. You will need not only materials and tools, but also considerable practical skills. It’s easier to order a ready-made knife in an online store or personally visit a hunting store to purchase.

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