Category Archives: Knives

I decided to put some knives to the test.  Some traditional sharpness and edge retention tests include cutting rope, cardboard, shaving hair off your arm and chopping through wood. I’ve cut plenty of paper and cardboard now and now have a bald spot on my left arm. I found this 2-1/2″ seasoned oak branch inContinue reading “Field testing”

This is one sharp knife! I used the vise and anvil to twist the unique handle and did some pounding on the blade to create the bevel as to reduce the amount of stock removal.  Forging a knife is supposed to produce a more quality blade, so this may have made a better blade asContinue reading “One more done”

Finished a pair of utility knives for around the kitchen and such.  We’ll see how these work.

In 1992 I read a book from the library on how to make your own smoker, how to tan hides, make snow shoes from PVC pipe (I still have those in the garage) and how to make knives among other things.  This got my interest, I found some metal in the garage and got filing. Continue reading “The knife that started it all”

Around 1998 or 1999 I got a quick tutorial from the Rice Blacksmith shop on knife making.  I left with a better understanding of heat treating and a nice thick piece of steel from a large saw blade used at sawmills.  This was my first attempt at heat treating a blade and I used theContinue reading “Blacksmith knife”

My uncle was generous enough to give me some stainless steel he had.  I spent so many hours on this thing partially because I didn’t know what I was doing and partially because this stainless is so hard.  I ended up making another identical one for my uncle who gave me the steel, but didn’tContinue reading “The knife that almost ended it all!”

Here’s a pair of chopping knives I’m working on from the same lawn mower blade. These will be useful for chopping vegetables and such when finished.  As you can tell, these still need a lot of work.

I recently finished a batch of three knives.  The one with the red handle was made completely by hand with files and such and has a maple handle.  I used metal from the same lawn mower blade to make the other three knives with oak handles.  All were heat treated by myself and I usedContinue reading “New batch of knives”