Rocketmandane’s 1st Attempt at Knife Making!

Hopefully will get up and going on this whole project this week! It’s been so hot and humid I can barely get anytime in the shop (Garage) to work on it... BUT it’s supposed to be in the 60’s later in the week and I should get something done

A few issues have already arose from this project..

#1 After a few years of use my portable work bench, it finally busted... Luckily the part that busted was the table portion and the mechanism to expand and tighten the 2 sides... I simply removed those pieces and I am installing a solid fixed piece of board. This should make it much easier to semi permanently mount my table grinder and vise It sucks it broke but it looks to be working out for the better!

#2 My table top "grinder grinder" it appears i have lost the extra wheels in a move so for now don’t plan to use it...

#3 On a positive note! Walmart is clearanceing a good chunk of their sanding and Dremel supplies so I was able to pick up extra supplies sub $2.00 a piece.

#4 I have noticed the scales are kinda loose on the Old hickory blades so I’m going to have to get creative...

#5 I am having a heck of a time getting the blade tip modeled the way I want it... I can already tell that I have some serious work cut out for me...

 

Progress!! It may not seem like much BUT it was a b#%^€’hu#%% cutting this blade! Tried hacksaws, Coping saws and finally my dremel cranked up to 10! Cut through it like dirt.. not really butter but clay dirt
You can see the rough outline I’m aiming for blade profile.

 

You should be able to repeen the handles on that OH knife to tighten them up.

Please wear eyepro when using dremel cut off wheels!!! I have had many of those explode/shatter/disintegrate.

Like the profile you are going for.

 

This thread is killing me been wanting to try this!!

 

I know your pain man, cutting hardened steel with a dremel is a pita. A few years ago before I had my grinder, I modified a machete with a dremel and work sharp. It took me 20 minutes just to cut through.

 

@SEMO I hear you on dremel Safety! I’ve had my share of dremel bits explode on me so I am more then hesitant to use it. That’s why I tried all the saws I had first.. would have taken more time but much safer. Dremel was a last resort before my full size angle grinder.
I also am lucky enough to have prescription safety glasses from a old job so they are my go to when working on potentially dangerous projects

@MKZ I say look around and check your local Walmart they are clearencing their OKC knives. I got 2x butcher knives one for $5 and one for $2 a week later.

Already not a fan of the dremel but other then the Angle grinder I have nothing that could cut it.. all in all it cut pretty ok thou. Lots of patience and steadier hands and I’ll keep chugging

 

It's doable, but not ideal. Your waaaay better suited with an angle grinder and thin cutoff disk.

Keep the blade cool, either by dipping in a bucket of water, or having a spray bottle near by and sprits it often.

If you use an angle grinder, keep the guard on.

To add to what Semo said, also wear a respirator. You don't want to be breathing in metallic dust. It is no bueno. I recommend those 3m 7502 respirator and 3M P100 2097 or 2297 pancake filters. The 7502 respirators are nice, because they are silicone and not that hard rubber stuff. They also direct outbound air downwards, so if you also wear a face shield, it will fog it much less.

Better yet, is a full face respirator (if you don't need glasses), it will keep dust from covering your entire face. Protects the sensitive areas under your eyes, forehead, and cheeks. Safety glasses are a minimum, but these are super sweet. I've almost lost an eye from a Junglas, so I take this one seriously as well.

Hearing protection is good too. I have permanent hearing damage from being stubborn.

They make some over the ear type hearing proctection that you can listen to the radio, or bluetooth. I like these a lot.

 

^ sorry, but how did you almost lose an eye from a Junglas?

 

it was years ago. Long story short, don't use a drill to remove handles. Blade spun, hit my face- split my eyebrow, upper and lower eyelid, and lacerated the first two layers of my eyeball.

 

are you serious? bloody hell man!

 

Yes I started this one over a year ago! BUT with bushcraft class coming up the motivation has increased.
This was the original shaped I decided on for the mod version. In all it took about 2 minutes with a grinder and 5 min with the sander to get the profiles right. Will keep fiddling with this for the next few weeks. Conveniently fits in my leather PR4 sheath

 

I identified 2 issues I want to address.
#1 the scales were wiggly.
#2 Trying to cut stuff this morning I realized the importance of sharpening to the full tip of the blade.
SO
I tried removing the wooden scales... we will leave it at the brass was stronger then the wooden scales... SO new scales in the works.. I plan to fix the scales then move onto the sharpening..

 

Well a few cobalt drill bits ate the dust getting this far... BUT got the holes drilled out to fit the ESEE sized hardware.. The PR4 scales are for size comparison . Now to find a suitable handle material.

 

Scale material Possibly identified... It is Oak. Currently there is a big Maybe with the Oak. The thinnest I could find is 3/4 a inch thick.. I am going to try and split it and see from there what I can do..

 

My sander got knocked off its table a few days ago. Discovered the damage today when the motor burned up in about 30 seconds as i was fiddling with the alignment..... BUT with a little innovative angle grinding we are here..
The darkening of the wood is mostly due to dirt and will come off when i get to finish sanding it by hand. I also plan to swap the screws but am using these temporarily while sanding.

 

@Andy the Aussie I know cr@p about blade steel but this is what the Ontario Knife website says. I think I mentioned this but it’s really weird.. Drilling was Terrible! But sanding was easy.. Try and make sense of that...

HARDNESS 53-58 HRC
EDGE TYPE Plain
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN United States of America
BLADE GRIND Flat Bevel
BLADE FINISH Brushed
BLADE COLOR Silver
BLADE THICKNESS 0.1 in (0.25 cm)
BLADE MATERIAL 1095 Carbon Steel

 

Well this be it for now if needed. Have a few more projects before Bushcraft.