V Everyday life a knife is an indispensable tool. You cannot do without it in any household. The models on sale do not always meet the requirements for reliable and functional samples. To get a blade that combines best performance, you will have to make it yourself. Recently, information on how to make a knife with your own hands has become very popular.

The advantages of homemade models

A huge assortment of knives is now on sale. You can get confused in it, but with some effort you can always find a ready-made model suitable for specific purposes. However, there is always a chance to face a poor-quality blade or an incomplete match of the finished model to expectations.

If the required model is not available for sale, you can ask for help from a blacksmith who will make a custom-made blade.

But such work, performed in accordance with the wishes of the customer, is quite expensive. Usually, in such a situation, the idea comes up to make a knife with your own hands from start to finish.

If you make a blade yourself, you can achieve a number of advantages:

Assortment in stores

Any quality product is always expensive. In addition, a selection of truly reliable and functional models not as wide as we would like. More often, models are on sale for which there are no increased requirements for mechanical characteristics and functionality. These fairly common products are often:

• do not have sufficient strength, therefore they break easily;
• are made of the cheapest steel, therefore they do not have the necessary hardness for cutting hard materials, they do not keep sharpening well and quickly become blunt, which makes it impossible to perform the necessary functions;
• do not differ in high durability due to low-quality assembly, which cannot cost more than the materials used.

These common knives are usually inexpensive. When they become unusable, they are simply thrown away and replaced with new ones. But this approach cannot be called rational, because it is not always possible to go to the store for a new purchase. Often the knife is used by tourists and hunters away from civilization. He must not only brilliantly cope with the responsibilities assigned to him, but also be reliable enough so as not to let down his owner at a crucial moment.

To buy a quality blade at an affordable price, you need to carefully study the market and all the offers presented on it. It is imperative to have minimal technical knowledge about knife steels, their characteristics and the mechanical properties of the finished blade. However, you can go the other way, applying this knowledge in practice on your own. So many do when deciding to make a knife on their own.

Purpose and characteristics

The manufacture of any knife is always preceded by the choice of the required type. Not only the characteristics of the future product, but also the conditions for its manufacture depend on the purpose and operating conditions.

Most often, knives of the following types are independently made:

There is often a misconception in which the purpose of a hiking and hunting knife is confused. Among newcomers to the field of tourism and hunting, there is an opinion that it is possible to make one universal blade that will cope with all the necessary tasks with equal success. However, this is not the case.

Touring models are designed primarily for rough work... It is also important for them high hardness, but fragility is categorically unacceptable when working on a fracture. For hunting models, hardness always comes first, as their most important characteristic is the sharpness of the blade. Butchering prey with a tourist knife is quite problematic due to the relatively soft blade, and a hunting blade can simply be broken if you try to use it instead of a camping one.

It is impossible to create a universal blade for all conditions. You always have to improve some qualities at the expense of reducing other characteristics. If you plan to decide wide range tasks, it makes sense to make several knives, each of which will perform its own function.

When the first stage is completed and the type of future knife is selected, preparatory work not finished yet. Before you start manufacturing, you still need to pick up necessary materials... Most main element any knife is a blade. The next stage begins with the selection of the steel required for its manufacture.

Choice of steel

The type of knife dictates the operating conditions. According to these conditions, it is necessary to choose the steel that will best meet the tasks assigned to the blade.

The most important blade characteristics that should be considered when choosing a steel grade are:

• hardness obtained as a result of heat treatment according to the required mode;
• toughness, which is responsible for resistance to chipping and brittle fracture;
• corrosion resistance required for work in special conditions and in contact with liquids;
• wear resistance required under conditions of increased blade loads.

Damascus and damascus deserve great popularity as a material for blades. But to obtain such blanks, you need the knowledge and experience of a professional blacksmith. Even with the ability to use forging equipment it is rather difficult to produce them. Not every experienced blacksmith is capable of this. You can buy a ready-made blank, but it will be quite expensive.

More often, more affordable alloy steels are used, which are much easier to work with. In our country, the following steel grades are most often used for the production of knives:

Other brands are less commonly used because they are less common or lack the required characteristics.

The self-manufacturing process of the knife contains a large number of stages. Each of them deserves detailed description, which includes all the nuances and advice of experienced craftsmen. Simplistically, all actions can be divided into the following operations:

If you have experience with metal, it is not so difficult to make knives with your own hands at home. Videos on this topic, shot by experienced craftsmen, will always help you understand the intricacies of all stages of production. With each new self-made blade, the skill level will increase, which will allow you to create excellent samples with high technological properties and decorative characteristics.

A knife is a must-have tool that is needed in any household. It is not very easy to choose the right product so that it will serve for a long time and efficiently. However, you have the opportunity to make homemade knives, which will not be inferior in quality to store ones. Let's consider this issue in more detail.

The advantages of homemade knives

Among the advantages of homemade products are the following:

1. Free choice of knife type.

2. The use of materials at hand, which makes the cost of the finished item lower.

3. Possibility of self-design of the knife handle.

4. Satisfying creativity.

In principle, homemade knives, if you followed the manufacturing technique, are practically not inferior in quality to industrial products. Naturally, all stages of home production must be strictly followed. Also, keep in mind that in a factory, instead of people, almost all actions are performed by machines. At self-production you have to do a lot of work with your hands.

Varieties of products

Before making homemade knives, you need to decide what you need them for. So, we can distinguish the following types of products:

• hunting;
• combat;
• household.

A feature of such products is that the first and second types require a permit, if, of course, you buy them in a store. Also, homemade knives differ in the shape and length of the blade, in the material used for the manufacture. The production process is the same for everyone. Sometimes there are only some nuances.

How to choose the required materials?

Homemade knives are not very difficult to build. However, this is painstaking work that requires a lot of patience and time. Before starting work, you need to be sure to select those materials that will be useful to you in the process. So, you should prepare:

1. Steel, the thickness of which reaches 2 mm or more. Instead, a file or wire rope can be used.

2. Wood or other material from which the handle can be made.

3. Varnish (if wood was chosen anyway).

4. Rivets for fixing the handle.

5. Fine sandpaper.

Need in additional material of course it can arise. It all depends on what type of product you want to make.

The cable knife is very interesting. For example, you have the opportunity to get a very original handle from a shank. However, the most difficult stage is considered to be the welding of the scattered wires, of which the cable actually consists. Moreover, this process for a beginner without experience will be very difficult. You cannot make such a product the first time.

Forge welding is more preferable. That is, the cable needs to be heated, sprinkled with brown, re-heated, and then start hitting the material with a heavy hammer. The procedure is physically difficult.

What tool do you need?

Now let's talk in more detail about what exactly you will be working with. In order to make homemade knives, you will need the following tool:

• Vise. Thanks to them, you can fix the workpiece for further polishing and sharpening.
• Metal scissors or jigsaw with matching blade.
• Hammer (if you will be using a wire rope or file).
• Gas torch or other equipment for metal hardening.
• Drill and drill of the appropriate size. This is necessary to secure the handle with a rivet.
• Grinding machine with different attachments. Naturally, you can use sandpaper, but it will not be as effective, and the work will be laborious.

You will also need sketches of knives that you can draw yourself. In this case, pay special attention to all the parameters if you are going to build a combat weapon. In addition, now you can find a ready-made drawing that will meet your requirements.

Step-by-step manufacturing instructions

Before making a knife, you need to thoroughly prepare. If you have a drawing and all the necessary materials with tools, then you can start working. And you can do everything in an apartment or in a garage. Please note, however, that the work is noisy and dusty.

Naturally, the metal should be hardened before work. So, the manufacturing process itself consists of the following stages:

1. Cutting out the workpiece. Its length is 20-25 cm, and its width is 2-3 mm. You will need a vise to work. First, a rectangle of the specified dimensions is cut on the steel. Next, the outline of the future knife is drawn on it.

2. Processing the workpiece on a grinding machine. Moreover, it is necessary to work with the edges. As a result of the procedure, you should get the division of the future knife into two parts: the handle and the blade.

3. Roughing on a plane. Naturally, first you should choose the type of sharpening. It can be bladed (used in the manufacture of hunting knives) and razor (for the production of household products).

4. You have already figured out how to make a knife, its blank. Now let's start making the handle. For work, you can use wood, plexiglass or other material that can be easily processed. First, it should be marked and cut out. Next, a hole is made for the rivet. The handle can now be grinded to shape it properly.

5. Using sandpaper the product should be sanded. Naturally, polishing is also required.

6. Sharpening and grinding the blade. This action is performed using a machine and sandpaper.

7. The final stage is the polishing of the product. For this, felt and a special paste are taken.

In this way, combat knives and common household items are produced.

Features of making a product from a file

Now it is necessary to consider the production process using other materials. For example, you will learn how to make a knife from a file. In principle, this process practically does not differ from the instructions already given here. However, it has its own characteristics.

First of all, know that a file knife will turn out to be quite durable and of high quality, if everything is done correctly. For example, it is imperative to harden the workpiece so that it does not break or crumble.

It is very important not to forget to do the metal tempering. This relieves stress in the workpiece that could damage it. In order for the future knife to be smooth and beautiful, an etching procedure is also needed. The preliminary sharpening of the product can be done using a machine. But finishing should be done with ordinary emery.

How to harden a workpiece correctly?

From what to make a knife, you already know. Now you should consider the sequence of the hardening procedure. So, first you need to thoroughly warm up the workpiece at a temperature of 600-700 degrees. The hardening time is 4-6 hours. You can heat the product in the oven, in the stove, or even on gas stove... but last option requires the construction of a special structure above the burner, with the help of which the temperature will be maintained.

The future knife should cool down together with the oven. You can sprinkle salt on the product from time to time during hardening. After cooling, it is necessary to do the metal tempering. This procedure is very simple. You need to place the workpiece in an oven heated to 200 degrees and leave there for an hour and a half. The knife should also cool there. After that, the hardening process will be completed.

As you can see, building a knife at home is not so difficult.

Etching features

To carry out the procedure, you will need:

• Blank knife.
• The container into which the liquid will be poured. In this case, the workpiece must be placed in this vessel.
• Plain table salt.
• Nail polish (color does not matter at all).
• A means by which women remove manicure from their nails. It will be required in order to subsequently process the knife.
• Mobile phone charger.

Basically, all of this can be found at home. So the procedure will not be difficult and lengthy. Please note that the process itself is quite turbulent. Therefore, choose a deep container.

It should be noted that this procedure necessarily carried out if you want to get a beautiful pattern on the knife.

Features of sharpening the finished product

This process is very important and requires some skill. Otherwise, you can simply spoil the workpiece or contribute to its breakage, the appearance of irregularities on the blade. Rough grinding should be done with a machine. This will save you time. However, don't overdo it.

Finishing must be done carefully. It is best to use an ordinary whetstone for this and carry out the entire procedure manually. After sharpening, the blade is polished with a special paste and felt.

What to make a knife from, we have considered. But the procedure has a number of nuances that should be taken into account. The tips below will help you make a quality product that will actually be used.

1. If there are slight irregularities or burrs on the workpiece, process it with a file.

2. To avoid injury when installing the handle, wrap the blade with electrical tape.

3. When choosing a material, try to pay attention to its evenness and the presence of microcracks. This can greatly affect the quality of the future product.

4. Blade descents must be pulled out very carefully.

5. If you decide to choose a tree for the handle, you can use a regular parquet board.

6. The work on the manufacture of this product is quite noisy. Therefore, it is advisable to conduct it in the garage, and not in the apartment. Also, be sure to wear work clothes.

Now you know how to make a good knife at home. Good luck!

Knives have become firmly used not only by the housewife, but also by people engaged in extreme leisure activities and active recreation: fishing, tourism, hunting, etc. Of course, today you can buy knives of the highest quality with the most diverse blade and handle shapes, but all of them will not replace a handmade knife. We will talk about what kind of knives there are and how to make them with our own hands in our article.

Types of knives

There is a whole branched classification table of knives based on their functional orientation.

Among them are:

Knife requirements

A good knife should not only look attractive, but also meet certain requirements. First, the knife must maintain its sharpness for a long period of its intended use.
Second, the blade must be tough.

Thirdly, the knife in the hands should lie comfortably and tightly so as not to provoke the appearance of calluses and not to slip out of the hands during use.
Fourthly, the length of the knife blade should correspond to or slightly exceed the cutting zone, which will make the use of such a knife safe.
Fifth, the knife is best stored in a sheath or sheath. A knife scabbard, as well as a knife case, can also be made by hand.

Metal hardening at home

Let's dwell in more detail on how to make a knife with your own hands. There are several options for making knives, the main of which are cold and hot forging.

The second method is traditional, but technically it is more difficult to implement, so we will focus on the first one.
The material for making a knife can be an old garden tool, springs, a file, etc. A knife from a spring is made using the same technology as a knife from a file, and a knife from an old garden tool, therefore, we will consider in detail the algorithm for making a knife from one material. Let it be a file.

Before you start making a knife, make sure you have everything you need to do this. You will need a file directly, (or scissors), a hammer, a drill with a drill for metal, a machine for sharpening knives (you can use it). Stocked up with everything you need, then let's get to work.
First of all, it is necessary to harden the metal from which the knife will be made. To do this, it is necessary to preheat the oven (or heat the oven) to a temperature of 500 ... 650 degrees and place the metal there for 5-6 hours. After that, without removing the workpiece from the oven (oven), allow it to cool down.

Hardening has been performed, it is necessary to give the metal a temper so that it is not brittle. To do this, the same oven is brought to a temperature of about 200 degrees and the hardened metal is placed there for 1 ... 1.5 hours. The workpiece should cool in the same place.

Making a knife from a file

Has the metal been tempered? Let's start making a knife. Everything is simple here:

As you can see, the process of making a knife with your own hands is not so complicated and accessible to everyone.

How to make a homemade knife? Homemade knives made by forging are especially popular. If a material such as alloy steel was used in the production, then the knife acquires special value. Forging a knife with your own hands is the most laborious option for making a product. The strongest and highest quality blades are forged, serve for more than a decade and retain their qualities unchanged. However, forging requires a lot of knowledge and experience from the master. A good knowledge of the properties of metals will be required, which will make it possible to make a homemade knife of high quality and beautiful.

Homemade knife can be made by forging it from steel.

Making a forged knife

In addition to professional tool, for forging, you can also use improvised means, if they seem convenient. In order to forge a knife, you will need:

Hand forging tools.

• big hammer;
• small hammer;
• blacksmith tongs;
• pliers;
• adjustable wrench;
• vice;
• anvil;
• Bulgarian;
• welding machine;
• grinder;
• grinding machine;
• sandpaper;
• file;
• coal;
• bake.

It should be remembered that ordinary hearths (especially fires) will not give the temperature required for forging steel. It will take too long to heat the workpiece for this, which is fraught with deformation and burnout of the material. The furnace needs to be made of thick-walled metal, and a pipe must be attached to it, through which a constant supply of air will be established. The air can be supplied by an old vacuum cleaner or fan. Fuel should be chosen taking into account that it should burn for a long time, it should not go out from the air stream, so coal is well suited.

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Choosing steel for a knife

For quality knife you need to choose the right metal and process it.

Strength characteristics and cutting qualities depend on the selected metal. In order to choose the right metal, you need to know what characteristics it has. The main properties of steel are strength, hardness, wear resistance, toughness and redness.

Hardness indicates the ability of the steel to resist the penetration of harder material. The harder types of steel from which homemade knives are made can successfully resist deformation. There is a Rockwell scale for measuring hardness: steel should have values ​​from 20 to 67 HRC.

Wear resistance - resistance to wear during operation of the material. This indicator directly depends on the hardness of the steel.

Strength is usually tested for bending or strong impacts. It is characterized by the ability to maintain integrity under the influence of external forces.

Plasticity is the ability to absorb and dissipate the kinetic energy of an impact without collapsing or deforming.

In order to correctly forge a knife, you need a sketch.

Redness - resistance to high temperatures... If the homemade product remains with the same strength characteristics during heating and after it, this indicates that the material is red-resistant. The temperature at which steel can be forged depends on this indicator. Hard steel grades are the most red-resistant, the temperature for forging is around 900 ° C. The melting temperature for such steels is from 1450 to 1520 ° C.

All properties of steel are interrelated and must be combined with each other, since an increase in one indicator necessarily leads to a deterioration in another. The properties of steel depend on the silicon, carbon, tungsten, cobalt, nickel and molybdenum contained in it, as well as other alloying elements and additives. In order to find out exactly what the composition of the steel is in a particular object from which it is planned to make a homemade knife, you need to have a complete brand of steel and alloys on hand. It specifies detailed formulations steels and their characteristics.

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Sketch for the design of the knife

The knife can be considered simple subject as it consists of a handle and a blade. But for the manufacture of a high-quality knife, nevertheless, a number of parameters must be observed, since the functionality of the tool depends on them. Experienced craftsmen can do without blanks and preliminary sketches, but for a beginner it is important to create an initial template.

The shape and dimensions of the template depend on how you plan to use the finished knife. For complex shapes a file and long work on straightening and ironing of each conceived protrusion will be required. Hunter knives have simple forms, and author's products are difficult to manufacture, but non-functional. Beginners may be advised to start with small pocket knives (also called mushroom knives). At the same time, it should be remembered that knives can be recognized as a melee weapon based on the results of an examination, for the possession and manufacture of which a license is required. With this in mind, it is preferable to dispense with the manufacture of small samples.

The drawing is done on thick paper, it is recommended to make both the whole image and separately the handle and blade with a shank. The mock-up is cut out to be held in front of the eyes or placed on the blade before being used for filing.

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How to forge a knife from a drill?

Knives can be made from drills or wrenches.

Many drills use alloy steel, making them popular for forging a variety of knives. This type of steel is wear-resistant, durable and easy to sharpen; a file will help to correct minor imperfections. When choosing a drill for forging, you need to remember that drills big size only the tip is made of alloy steel, and the shank is made of ordinary steel. Before forging, be sure to check what kind of steel, and remember the boundaries. Determination of boundaries can be done with a file or drill, grinding along the entire length with a special machine. When piercing, sparks from ordinary steel go in a large sheaf and have a yellow-orange color. There are much fewer sparks on alloy steel, and their shade is closer to the red spectrum. This procedure helps determine which part of the drill to make the blade and which part to make the shank.

A fire is made in the stove. When it flares up, they turn on the blowing and wait for the coals to ignite with a sufficient temperature. Then the drill must be placed in a fire. This procedure is performed with a pair of pincers. The drill is positioned so that the blank for the blade is on fire, and the shank serves as a handle.

The metal heated to the required temperature is removed from the fire and beaten to the desired thickness.

Determining whether the metal has heated up sufficiently is difficult without appropriate experience. An error can damage the drill. Before forging a knife from a drill, you can practice on the fittings, remembering the color of the metal that is best forged. But if the work is done on a sunny day, the color of the metal will do nothing, as the metal will remain dark in appearance.

The drill, heated to the required temperature, is immediately removed from the furnace, the bottom of the shank is clamped in a vice. With an adjustable wrench, they firmly grip the top of the drill and straighten it, spinning it in a circular motion counterclockwise. This must be done as quickly as possible so that the metal does not have time to cool down. A drill that has started to cool will break easily. Unscrewing may not work the first time, in this case the drill is again placed in the crucible, and the operation is repeated the right amount once. An untwisted drill bit looks like a strip of metal with relatively smooth edges.

The following operations are performed with a hammer, rolling out the drill metal to the desired thickness. The red-hot iron is struck with a heavy hammer until its thickness is 4-5 mm. The color of the workpiece must be continuously monitored during the process, and as soon as the metal turns cherry, it is returned to the furnace. Excessive heat can form dross, which can be easily removed by a file. An insufficiently hot workpiece can easily be broken with a hammer blow.

After the knife is forged, it is sharpened on grindstone or machine.

Working with the blade is the hardest part of forging. Rounding an edge while maintaining thickness can be considered a jewelery job that requires experience and dexterity. The blows must be directed so that the point is rounded, stretching in length strongly, but very neatly. At the same time, care must be taken to keep the blade straight and straight.

An equally difficult stage is to forge the cutting edge. A light hammer is taken (if possible with a rounded striker). Begin with blows from the middle of the blade to gently drive the metal down towards the cutting edge. The blows need to be applied, calculating their strength, not forgetting to monitor the color of the workpiece.

The shank is forged next to the blade and point. There is much less work with it than with a blade and a point. The shank, which has a round shape for drills, is heated and flattened by strong blows from a large hammer. The knife handle is being worked out, according to the sketch, and may have different kind, thickness and width.

When the forging is complete, the metal should cool down. After that, they begin to refine and polish.

All production steps are very important as they prevent corrosion and improve the cutting properties of the metal.

You will need a file and a sander here. All irregularities and sagging must be removed, and therefore the file is most likely not useful for the work of a novice master. If there is a lot of waste to clean up, the sander will do it faster. Sometimes, up to 2 mm of steel has to be removed to a perfect smoothness and even surface, the knife becomes much thinner and lighter. Sharpening is performed at the same stage.

The knife is polished with a special felt circle with a special abrasive applied to it. The knife is tested by cutting the rope and planing a bar. Sharpening, if necessary, is adjusted.

Knives are currently popular not only in the kitchen, but also among people who have linked their lives with extreme types of active leisure - these are: fishing, hunting, tourism, etc.

There are various knives on the market in modern times: variable models, different sizes and designs. But none of them can replace a knife that is made by hand.

How to make a knife with your own hands is often written on the Internet, and to make them you should try.

Knives: types and main properties

In the photographs of the knife on the Internet, you can see that each product is a creative element created from different mechanisms.

There is a large classification of knives, depending on their functionality: combat, tourist, folding (for example, butterfly), knives for hunting, multitools, bivvy knives, as well as ordinary kitchen knives.

Kitchen knives are bought ready-made, but knives intended for hunting or for tourism can be easily made at home on their own.

There are also such knives as knives for survival, the main task of which is to help with existence in the wild. This option is relevant for tourists and hunters.

The blade of such a knife is usually no more than 12 cm. This length is sufficient for cutting wood, processing game, cleaning fish or other similar actions. Small dimensions make it easy to transport such a knife.

When making such a knife, great attention should be paid to the material intended to create the blade. Steel is often preferred.

Steps for creating a knife

To get a positive result during the manufacture of a knife, you should first make an outline of the drawing of the knife. In this case, you can know in advance what exactly you want to achieve at the end.

Instructions on how to make a knife at home include a number of rules.

Making a knife step by step

Cut out a blank for a future knife. Based on the finished drawing, we cut out the shape for the knife.

You will need a knife sharpener. With its help, the base is brought to the required form. And after that, you will have in your hands an already understandable workpiece, where you can distinguish between the places of the handle and the blade.

Rough sharpening of knives. At this stage, you clearly need to know what your future knife is intended for. If it is made for hunting, fishing or hiking trips, it is better to give preference to the blade type of sharpening.

And, if the knife is created for functioning in the kitchen or in the garden, then the razor type is suitable.

Don't expect from this stage perfect sharpening, because this is just a rough version, designed to determine the future shape.

If the blade is pre-prepared, then you can start working with the handle. To create the handle, the most various materials- these are: wood, organic glass, bones, thick types of leather, etc.

Note!

Having cut out the blank to create the handle, you should check whether it fits comfortably in the hand, as well as its proportionality relative to the blade. The knife handle is fixed using a riveting method.

The foot handle is shaped using a grinder.

The knife is ground and polished using sandpaper.

The final sharpening of the blade is done after sharpening on a sharpener, also using sandpaper.

At the end, the finished knife is polished with velvet or polish.

Note!

As you can see, the process of making a knife with your own hands is not so difficult, so everyone can try their hand at this area.

You can also set the desired and desired design for the future knife. Special attention pay attention to the handle during the design process.

Knife design

Since it is by the handle of the knife that others can then judge your creative thinking and status.

Some write their names on the handle of the knife, draw certain patterns and sketches in the form of tattoos.

The simplest knife can be built in an emergency in the forest, the main thing is to find the materials necessary for its creation.

Note!

It is necessary to find only the cutting part for the knife, and then insert it only into the handle, which will be in the form of a piece of wood, ropes or leather.

Photo of a knife with your own hands