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Yet Another Marking Knife. I posted one a couple of days ago, but I was really not happy with the quality of the build. I had to compromise because the sawzall blade I used was too short for a full tang, and then to cut the slot narrow enough for the blade I had to use the band saw - I don't have a very good one, so the slot was very rough.

This time I used an old Makita saw blade for the blade stock and was able to make the blade long enough for a full tang knife. This solved the problem of having to cut a slot, instead I just used two pieces of wood.

The blade was first fabricated by marking the shape with a fine magic marker, rough cutting the shape out with a 4" cutting wheel on a pneumatic angle grinder, then using the bench grinder to achieve the final shape. I also ground the initial bevels for the sharp side on the side face of the bench grinder.

After that, I used a rotary shaping sander to remove all the old saw blade scratches, printing, etc and give a nice texture to the sides of the blade.

Then the wood ( I used Wenge again ) was cut to a lengthof 5 inches, just right to fit my palm, and a little oversize on the width so I could sand everything down flush with the blade later.

I then marked and drilled 3 equally spaced 5/32" holes in the blade with a carbide bit for the brass handle pins. I then used the blade as a template to drill the holes for the handle, this works out much better than trying to drill through the two handle halves with the blade sandwiched in between, it's too hard to control that way.

After that, I cut 3 slightly oversize pieces of 5/32" brass rod, chamfered them on both ends to make the insertion easier, and then drove them through the handles and blade.

Then I sanded the brass down flush to the wood, and proceeded to sand and shape the handle to its final shape, relieving all edges so it would be comfortable in the hand.

The blade was then finished on a progression of diamond stones to razor sharpness.

The handle was finished with 2 coats of marine spar varnish.

Gallery

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Nice work! I really like that you used the old blade, by the time you were done with it, it looked like a professionally-produced blade. Really slick.
 

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Sounds like a lot of steps with a great outcome.
Very well explained process…....................
 

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Good looking knife, right design and great workmanship far more valuable than one over the counter.
 

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That should leave a mark. Nice one Jerry
 

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Thanks guys, Roger - I can always count on you for comic relief :)
 

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That's really cool. Is the blade steel hard enough to hold an edge for a long time?
 

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RE: Roswell: Well, it is made from high speed tool steel, so I'm thinking yes… Roswell, huh, I was born at Roswell AFB 7 years after the crash.
 

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Someone who doesn't know the ins and outs of woodworking might look at this and think you merely ground down the blade of a hi-quality steak knife. But we all know there's WAY more than that involved. NICE job!
 

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Beautiful design, layout and execution. Masterful work.
 

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RE joein10asee: Someone who doesn't know the ins and outs of woodworking might look at this and think you merely ground down the blade of a hi-quality steak knife. But we all know there's WAY more than that involved. NICE job!

Man, why didn't I think of that, I could have saved myself a whole day ;-)

Thanks for the compliment!
 

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You mean you don't use your marking knife for steak Jerry ? :)
This looks slick great job
 

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Thanks for the very nice compliment a1Jim

Yeah, all my steak knives are Kershaw Shun knives. It would cost me about $75.00 to grind one of them down…

 

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Your previous knife you mention glueing the metal to the wood handle then drilling the holes.

Some of the research I have done indicates that a lot of knife makers use epoxy between the metal and the wood handles.

Is this handle held to the metal by the brass pins alone?? I have seen some older knives that have loose handles and they appear to be held together by the pins only.

I am asking because I am going to attempt my first knife handle and it would be great not to screw it up too badly. So…....do you think that epoxy is not needed??

Thanks for the feedback…........................
 

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RE redryder: I actually forgot to use epoxy on this knife. If I had it to do over again I would definitely use it. The fact that the OD of the brass pins and the ID of the holes is exactly the same, and the pins had to be pounded through with a hammer in no way will prevent the handle from falling off later if the wood moves too much, so I would definitely recommend epoxying AND pinning. I sealed the heck out of mine with marine spar varnish right after fabricating it, I'm hoping it will stay together because of this, but if it does not, then I will simply epoxy it back on, smooth everything out, and refinish it.

EDIT: I also wanted to add some advice for anyone re-purposing a saw blade like I did. High speed tool steel loses its temper instantly if it's overheated, so when you are cutting your blank out of whatever stock you are using, use lots of water to keep the steel cool while cutting. It's also important to do this when grinding to final shape, when sanding, AND when drilling. Any one of those operations can cause the steel to lose its temper.

If you DO make a mistake and overheat it, all is not lost, you can re-temper it by using this process:

http://www.wikihow.com/Harden-Steel
 

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I can tell you take your knives seriously, and your steaks. If you'll excuse me now, I'm gonna go looking for an old saw blade. I want one of those too :)
 

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Thank you Lukas, yes, I do take steaks seriously, really, I pan fry them in an antique Griswold cast iron skillet, seared on high, then 6 minutes per side on 3… man, I need to go cook something….
 

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Your revision does,from all appearances, looks like a better offering( I will take the old model off your hands if it helps,LOL)! Thanks for the informative details and helpful suggestions. I will definitely look to your experiences when I get a chance to upgrade my first attempt.(below)

Once again thanks for sharing and keep posting the gems!.........ROB
 

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RE Robsshop: I will take the old model off your hands if it helps.

PM me your address and I will send it out to you tomorrow.
 
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