Knife Making - My Other Hobby

[NewfoundlandLaw]

Hey All

Thought I'd share my other pass time.

For the past 2 years I've been trying to perfect my knife making skills. While I am still very much an amateur, I enjoy the challenge of freehand grinding knives.

I also love the science that goes into hardening and tempering newer high-end steels. It involves everything from digitally controlled steels to Liquid Nitrogen submersion.

I've even gone as far as to invest in a proper high-end Rockwell tester.

Here are some examples of my work:

"Pen Turning on the Rock"

 

[bsshog40]

Nice work! One day I'd like to get into forging my own blades, but I have soo many irons in the fire already. No pun intended. Lol

 

[danhoke]

You are perfecting an admirable new skill set. Enjoy!

 

[magpens]

Knife making ... YES ! . Too many irons in the fire already ... YES ! ( Somebody already said that ! )

I do share your fascination with knife technology ... but it will have to wait.

You have shown some lovely blades ... thank you very much !! . Feel free to do it again ... anytime !!

The closest I will get to making a "Blade" is the newish Berea pen kit by that name !!

 

[More4dan]

Marc, some really nice work. Nice clean grind lines, great finish work, and classic designs. I really like the one in Black micarta with tubing for the pins.

What steel are you using? What hardness are you getting?


Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[darrin1200]

They look really good Marc. Its handy that the handle materials cross over between pens and knives

Do you forge your own steel as well?

 

[philipff]

As a user and collector for over 50 years I admire your efforts. Would love to know about your steels and what RC you are achieving. Also, are you selling? P.

 

[Finatic]

Very nice work. Great skill to have.

 

[Curly]

Like the others have said nice work.
I used to use a hardness tester when I worked. I'm curious if you have test blocks for verifying your tester when you use it?

 

[Bob in SF]

Beautiful work, Marc!

 

[wolf creek knives]

These are really very nice looking knives Marc. I think you're well beyond "amateur" status. As Danny (More4dan) mentioned, your grind lines look great and the shape of your blades are very nice. Well done!

 

[NewfoundlandLaw]

Hey All

In response to your questions:

1. I am just now setting up to sell my knives.

2. I use mainly carbon steel for my chefs knives as that is what most serious chefs want. 1080 and 1095 are the standard but I do make some 1095/15N20 damascus on occasion. Carbon steels are normally forged via hand and with my power hammer.

My hunting and EDC knives are normally made from Nitro-V, S35V or S110V. I also enjoy using the classic 440C. If I had to pick a favourite it would be S35V. These steels can't be easily forged so I start out with 1/8", 3/16 or even thicker billets.

3. Right out of the Kiln my knives can be up to 65HRC. That being said I normally temper them back to 58-60HRC. I want a knife that is very hard, but it also need to be durable and sharpenablre by normal means. (Any harder and most people can't sharpen it on their own.)

4. I have a full selection of test blocks. I normally run a test with my 60.4HRV block before every knife, and base my HRC reading on a 5 point average. I normally achieve less than 0.5HRC deviation in tests.

I've found my machine to be very accurate and never deviate outside 0.5HRC.


"Pen Turning on the Rock"

 

[Curly]

Hey All

In response to your questions:

4. I have a full selection of test blocks. I normally run a test with my 60.4HRV block before every knife, and base my HRC reading on a 5 point average. I normally achieve less than 0.5HRC deviation in tests.

I've found my machine to be very accurate and never deviate outside 0.5HRC.


"Pen Turning on the Rock"

Thanks for satisfying my curiosity. We checked at the start of a session with 2 blocks within 10 points on either side of the range we would be testing for and then again every 15 minutes. 3 hits per test block. If the verification was outside the range of the test blocks everything tested within the last good check was suspect and had to be rechecked. We took three readings per part no closer than three diameters of the indenter. That was to a Boeing spec based on the ASTM spec and I had to be re-certified every 3 years. The hardness testers were calibrated every year by an outside calibration service. What you are doing is well beyond what most would do, that being a file test. I would love to have a tester but not having a real need doesn't justify the expense not that I would turn one down if it was handed to me.

 

[More4dan]

Take a look at AEB-L steel for kitchen knives. It was developed for making razor blades. While a lower carbon content than most knife steels, the very fine grain and high toughness allows higher usable hardness. Here is a really good article about AEB-L. Price is also reasonable. I just purchased a 2" x 1/8" x 36" for $40.

Danny

All About AEB-L - Knife Steel Nerds

I've gathered all of the information I have on AEB-L steel, including its history, toughness, edge retention, ease in sharpening, and other properties.

knifesteelnerds.com

Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

 

[mark james]

Those are very nice! Well done. Not a skill that I'll pursue, but boy do I admire! Thanks for sharing and inspiring.

 

[NewfoundlandLaw]

Take a look at AEB-L steel for kitchen knives. It was developed for making razor blades. While a lower carbon content than most knife steels, the very fine grain and high toughness allows higher usable hardness. Here is a really good article about AEB-L. Price is also reasonable. I just purchased a 2" x 1/8" x 36" for $40.

Danny

All About AEB-L - Knife Steel Nerds

I've gathered all of the information I have on AEB-L steel, including its history, toughness, edge retention, ease in sharpening, and other properties.

knifesteelnerds.com

Sent from my iPhone using Penturners.org mobile app

I have some AEB-L in my shop but haven't worked with it yet. Might break some out soon.


"Pen Turning on the Rock"