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Knife making with a belt grinder 10 – what you must know before you make a knife

Belt grinders are a great tool for knife making. How can I make the best knifes with a belt grinder. First learn the basic steps. 

The knife. Where would we be without it? One of the singularly most useful tools in existence. Sure you can buy a relatively inexpensive beautiful knife that will last a while, but…where’s the fun in that? Knife making, espacially with a great belt grinder is so much fun! Knife makers may use many different methods to make a knife but they usually have a belt grinder.

A knife is a fundamental tool, one of the first ever crafted. It’s an essential tool for almost everybody. You can use a knife in the kitchen when preparing food or for camping and hunting. In worst cases, it becomes self-defense tools.

Making your own knife isn’t “mission impossible” when you own a belt grinder

With a few tools, the skills to use them, and time you can made own knife. Knives can be created using a steel piece for the blade and wood or other materials for the handle. DIY knife blades are made by one of two techniques: stock removal, with a belt grinder, and forging.

Stock removal is the process of taking sheets or blocks of material and removing material until it gets final shape.

A belt grinder is the basis of knife making

If no power equipment is available, this can be done with files if the piece of steel has not yet been hardened. But yiou will get bored and tired, si a belt grinder is the best option for making knifes. Grinding wheels, or small belt sanders are usually what a beginner uses. Well equipped makers usually use a larger belt grinder, or a belt grinder made specifically for knife making. Pre-polish grinding on a heat treated blade can be done if the blade is kept cool, to preserve the temper of the steel. Some knife makers will use a coolant mist on the grinder to achieve this.

The seven steps of knife making

When you start making knifes with a belt grinder follow these steps.

  • Step 1: design the knife, probably one of the most important stages of this process.
  • Step 2: is about what you will need such as a belt grinder.
  • Step 3: Cutting and shaping the blade profile. Take the drawing of the side profile of the design and cut it out. Lie it on the steel and draw around the outside leaving the profile on the steel
  • Step 4: Adding the Bevel. The bevel is the section of the blade where the profile thins down towards the cutting edge. 
  • Step 5: we are almost there, is drilling and finishing the blade. The holes for the bolster need to be exactly the same size as the brass bar that is going to be put through. Before the blade is heat treated, it will need to be finished. This involves using sand paper to gradually sand out all of the marks created by the file and create a good finish. 
  • Step 6: heat treating the blade. This is one of the most technical parts of the project and actually quite hard to complete accurately.
  • Step 7: finishing the blade. This step involves starting with a coarse grit and making sure that the entire black oil residue from step 6 is removed. Gradually move up the grits until you reach around 1200. 

Knife Making Equipment

If you want a homemade knife, you need the proper equipment. Because, knifemaking requires equipment, design, and adequate materials. The tools used for detailed knife blades are a disc grinder, surface grinder, and power drill.

Shaping Tools

Making of knife starts with the laying out of the design.The size and shape of the blade can be made into a wooden or plastic template. Use the scribe to draw a design on an annealed piece of metal. The belt grinder easily cuts the metal into its proper shape. The disc grinder smooths the edge of the annealed metal while the belt grinder flattens it. Belt grinders or surface grinders are great for removing any scratches or burr on the metal blade.

Finishing Tools

The adequate use of wet stones or a combination of wet and sandstones can provide to knife’s edge and shiny surface finish. Knife handles are attached with epoxy or by drilling holes into the blade and using small rivets or screws. An oilstone is best for making an elegant finish, it doesn’t create burrs, and it’s easy for manipulation.

Other Tools

A grinder will do most of the cutting and shaping. Of course you can just use a hack saw too but that’s a lot of work. For the profiling of the blade use a backer plate with grinding sand paper shown in the pic. Buy them in a few grits starting at 60 grit.

  • Files you’ll want a variety from rough to fine and some either round or rounded on one side.
  • Sand paper Get a variety of waterproof sand papers in a variety of grits from about 120-2500.
  • Clamps Use a few quick clamps and a c-clamp to hold the knife as you work on it.
  • Drill You can use a hand drill but it’s easier if you have a drill press and some bits for drilling through steel.
  • Grill To heat treat your knife

A knife maker enjoys making knifes with his belt grinder

There is old school knife making and the modern way. Old school is riveting together the handle and blade tang, giving the knife a unique personality by hand finishing all the parts. There are no square corners—everything is rounded, smooth and friendly. In the moderns way eveything is possible. Most important is that a knife maker enjoys making knifes with his belt grinder. One of the best grinders, specially designed for knife making, is the Batko. It has a lot of affordable attachments. The Batko3000XL and Batko1400XL are strong and powerfull.

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