Early days of knifemaking.....Using a hand drill to try putting holes in already hardened steel.....at max speed, with no lube. Almost gave myself a hernia, and burned out a hell of a lot of HSS drill bits. Thankfully I've learned since those days!
Goldsmith here I love to learn all these video from other makers get me thinking on all the things I can do and make there is not end to the directions I can go. It is soo amazing to me that all the skills I have gained go so many directions. I watch something and I think I can do that.....
Thank god that I had 2 advantages when I started making knives 11 years ago. A 3 year apprenticeship as a tool and die maker (in Germany) in my teenage years. That gave me the best foundation in working with metal and machines there is. Then the degree in engineering with at least 2 semesters in material science / metallurgy. I dissagree on the air compressor, I have one but don‘t really need it for knife making. I agree on soaking up information. Luckily, the knife maker community is very open to share things.
Thanks Walter!!! Your tips are great !!! I’ve got respect for you in the fact that you’re not to proud to admit you’ve made mistakes and to share those to help the novice not to make them !!! It shows great character on your part!!! Thanks again!!!
When I started making knives in 1988, I had to have every tool a knife maker could use.. mills, specialized expensive grinders etc.. At a Knife Makers Guild show, I ran into the Late Rodney Rodgers, who invited me to stop by his shop... His knives were flawless with outstanding mirror polish.. In a word, beautiful... I expected to see some really technical machinery... his equipment consisted of a horizontal hacksaw, a homemade buffer and a disc grinder made from an old washing machine 1000 rpm motor.. The disc was cut out of plywood, with a slight taper.. All his grinding was done on a disc.. I became a full time maker, but I could never duplicate the quality of Rodneys work.. he made beautiful Bowie knives, made with homemade tools.. The point is, you don’t need fancy tools if you master the technique.. I’m out of the business now and sold all my equipment... I only make an occasional free knife for friends .. All made with very basic equipment.. An exception to this rule is folders.. Without my mill, I no longer make folders..
A few hundred of years ago people had very basic tools, yet managed to build the world we live in, and the very best made outstanding swords with jewels on them without a watt of electricity. I know modern knife making has been heavily influenced by machining and the industry, where people nowadays are much more accustomed to symmetry or mirrors, but that's not really what attracts me in knife making. I don't oven temper my knives for exemple, what skill is there in typing a number on an oven? How is that fulfilling to have a perfectly flat knife out of the mill? I know we should find a balance between effectiveness (aka usually using machines and pre made shapas) and craftmanship, but i tend to rely very heavily on traditional or even historical craftmanship. What i truly value in a knife maker isn't how well he can make a knife with machines helping him along the way, what really makes my heart beat is how much someone can make without "cheating". And your friend is a perfect exemple of that. It's a bit like a not very well known story, that of the lock of Marseille, where two of the best locksmiths in a southern French city had a contest, where they spent 18 months working on the most beautiful lock, while being only given steel, coal, a hammer and an anvil. So they had to make their own tools (tongs, hammers, files, saws), and then make the lock. To me that's peak craftsmanship, that's litterally being your own tool
God I wish I still had my benchtop milling machine. I had that puppy set up perfectly for CNC Machining. You're right, one of the tabletop ones is well worth the money.
Got my start with David Boye "Knifemaking -You can do it " Of the many read, this was tops for all around topics covered. Great two part series Walter. ✌
This two part series is information gold. You're right, I am lucky. I started making knives in the YT era and I found your channel to inspire and inform me.
Great advice, especially the speed / feed comments. That stuff seems like ho hum knowledge, but if you just keep a book nearby, and really learn how to change your machine speed, you can really avoid a lot of disappointment. I work in stainless a lot, and that stuff can really work harden in an instant.
holy cow, the Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others who Heat Treat and Forge Steel is amazing! Thanks, now i need to find a way to get my hands on a copy of Heat Treater's Guide, Practices and Procedures for Irons and Steels, 2nd Edition..... and try and convince these people shorter book titles would be nice. Thanks for all the great videos! they are extremely helpful.
I couldn't agree more about the metallurgy comments. It doesn't really take too much effort to get to grips with the basic crystalline structures and what happens when temperatures change fast or slowly. After that you can get deeper and deeper into the details and subtleties and it's fascinating. But the real need-to-know basics are fairly simple so don't be intimidated.
Yep, got that one, good book for sure. But, to anyone that hasn't bought it, be careful because there are 2 versions, there's the full 400 something page version and the abridged version that has a LOT of stuff missing.
1: you can 'anneal' steel by hardening it then heating it to about 600°C. its not a full anneal but much faster and easier. 2: don't judge thinness by feel/look lol. always measure. 3: don't quench knives in water, ever. steel types like water/oil/air hardening refer to 10-25mm test bodies, no steel is water hardening at knife-typical diameters. there are some exceptions to this but they'd be too complicated to explain here. 4: you can electroetch any steel regardless of hardness. that can be used to save a lot of grinding work. 5: cryo, even freezer 'ghetto cryo' is generally a good idea. even for simple carbon steels.
@@stoneomountain2390 EDM is a different process. While electroetching is a relatively slow process, it's also an automatic one. you set up the electrolyte tank (level, centering jig etc), connect the piece and then do something else for 20-40 minutes.
@@marshalls7043 basic process here: ruclips.net/video/RwHe41cn5Ow/видео.html you need - electrolyte: salt water 2-5% - note: salt etching produces chlorine gas in small amounts. better to do this outside. - power source ~6-12V DC (5A should be sufficient - lead battery or battery charger). less voltage and less concentrated electrolyte make for slower more even etch - kathode - connect minus pole to this. two pieces of junk steel, without coating or patina. grind clean if you're not sure - anode - your piece/knive. connect plus to this. gets etched. - masking media. various options here. basically any paint or glue that's not soluble in salt water. wax works but can come off if the etching bath gets warm - I use duct tape. put a small (2-3mm per side is enough, just wide enough to not come off) strip along the edge of your knife so it doesn't etch through. - jig to hold piece: you can hang the piece straight down but I like jigs. piece of pallet wood w holes, dowels to hold/center the piece, kathode (2 steel plates, connected by wire) nailed to the sides perpendicularly. does not get etched so doesn't need to be particularly thick. connect + to tang, hand/mount piece so tang/part of back are not submerged in the etch batch. switch on power supply, you'll see bubbles. wait 20 minutes, 40 if the piece is really thick. wipe of grime (ideally don't touch electrolyte if there's any chromium in the steel, toxic), grind down 2mm strip at the edge to depth of etching, done. reduces grinding work by 90-95%, works at 68HRC just as well as at 40HRC .
Don't forget a copy of Machinery's Handbook. Mills are awesome, but you can mill on a lathe too. There are machine auctions where you can score HUGE! My old bosses scored well over $50k in inserts by buying some steel drawer cabinets. I pulled open a drawer to find 89 thread mill inserts. ONE DRAWER with over $5k of inserts. There were hundreds of inserts. Counterbores, step-drills, and carbide porting tools in one cabinet. Going out of business sales and auctions of failed businesses are treasure troves.
I'm getting tripped up on the knife handles. I grew up working with metal then got into machining. I never learned woodworking outside 2x4's aren't 2x4. My blades are adequate but my handles look like I did them with 2 broken hands while blindfolded.
There are a lot of yt channels that go into detail as to how to methodicly work through handles. its also something you can just do on feel, literally take some material off and feel if it works for your hands. Try it out, see if you get hot spots, aka points where you have a pressure point when using the knife. It takes some time to do so. Also look up general handle forms, try it out on some cheap wood and a mockup knife. Alee knives I find has some very clear and simple videos as to how to do your handles the right way. Most importantly, you need to get them square and to the same size for precision, before you put them on any knife blank. Make sure you have sharp drills, the drill press or mill is 100% square to the working area where you put the handle material. For handle scales (full tang knifes) Drill through the metal hole into the wood, put in the correct size pin and then drill the other ones. Then flip that and remove the pins save for 1, line up the other handle scale and drill through the already made hole AND metal holes, into the second handle scale, put in a pin through both and drill the other holes. That way they will line up 100%. For hidden tangs, I suggest his videos, he shows it well. ruclips.net/channel/UCFH1ZixK1tJ_fmq4Um2Sv1A
@@jrsydvl7218 the struggle is real, as a lifetime high end metal fabricator the blade making part has been relatively easy other than learning some decent heat treating , the wood has taken a while but i will say if you can be precise with steel then you can translate that to wood,, polishing is much the same as steel but different,, same with sanding and shaping, its just so much softer than steel even the nice hardwoods,, take your time and dont be afraid to start over if you have to,, one thing keep your wood polishing mops seperate from your steel polishing mops, the wood picks up the black contamination from the steel otherwise,,
I hsve some carbide tipped drill bits. The manufacturer says to set the speed at the highest setting. The bits glow red but the drill through! It is amazing. However those bits are EXPENSIVE!!
I saved myself a vast amount of wasted time and materials by watching loads of your vids before I started making anything myself. Eventually I got to the point where enthusiasm got to be too much and I had to actually do something practical instead of just watching vids. But if I can say one thing to any new knifemaker out there it would be this: Time spent watching vids on this channel isn't time wasted, it's time put to valuable use. It'll save you time and money, and will greatly reduce the chance of you putting hours of work into your best ever knife, and then ruining it at the last step, making a silly mistake!
I wish I would have known to keep a notebook of what and where I found important stuff along the way, so I could re-examine the information quickly, without having to remember which book it was in. I have way too many books.
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Early days of knifemaking.....Using a hand drill to try putting holes in already hardened steel.....at max speed, with no lube. Almost gave myself a hernia, and burned out a hell of a lot of HSS drill bits. Thankfully I've learned since those days!
We love you Walter.
Goldsmith here I love to learn all these video from other makers get me thinking on all the things I can do and make there is not end to the directions I can go. It is soo amazing to me that all the skills I have gained go so many directions. I watch something and I think I can do that.....
Thank god that I had 2 advantages when I started making knives 11 years ago. A 3 year apprenticeship as a tool and die maker (in Germany) in my teenage years. That gave me the best foundation in working with metal and machines there is. Then the degree in engineering with at least 2 semesters in material science / metallurgy.
I dissagree on the air compressor, I have one but don‘t really need it for knife making.
I agree on soaking up information. Luckily, the knife maker community is very open to share things.
Thanks Walter!!! Your tips are great !!! I’ve got respect for you in the fact that you’re not to proud to admit you’ve made mistakes and to share those to help the novice not to make them !!! It shows great character on your part!!! Thanks again!!!
When I started making knives in 1988, I had to have every tool a knife maker could use.. mills, specialized expensive grinders etc..
At a Knife Makers Guild show, I ran into the Late Rodney Rodgers, who invited me to stop by his shop... His knives were flawless with outstanding mirror polish..
In a word, beautiful...
I expected to see some really technical machinery... his equipment consisted of a horizontal hacksaw, a homemade buffer and a disc grinder made from an old washing machine 1000 rpm motor.. The disc was cut out of plywood, with a slight taper.. All his grinding was done on a disc..
I became a full time maker, but I could never duplicate the quality of Rodneys work.. he made beautiful Bowie knives, made with homemade tools..
The point is, you don’t need fancy tools if you master the technique..
I’m out of the business now and sold all my equipment... I only make an occasional free knife for friends .. All made with very basic equipment..
An exception to this rule is folders.. Without my mill, I no longer make folders..
A few hundred of years ago people had very basic tools, yet managed to build the world we live in, and the very best made outstanding swords with jewels on them without a watt of electricity. I know modern knife making has been heavily influenced by machining and the industry, where people nowadays are much more accustomed to symmetry or mirrors, but that's not really what attracts me in knife making. I don't oven temper my knives for exemple, what skill is there in typing a number on an oven? How is that fulfilling to have a perfectly flat knife out of the mill? I know we should find a balance between effectiveness (aka usually using machines and pre made shapas) and craftmanship, but i tend to rely very heavily on traditional or even historical craftmanship. What i truly value in a knife maker isn't how well he can make a knife with machines helping him along the way, what really makes my heart beat is how much someone can make without "cheating". And your friend is a perfect exemple of that. It's a bit like a not very well known story, that of the lock of Marseille, where two of the best locksmiths in a southern French city had a contest, where they spent 18 months working on the most beautiful lock, while being only given steel, coal, a hammer and an anvil. So they had to make their own tools (tongs, hammers, files, saws), and then make the lock. To me that's peak craftsmanship, that's litterally being your own tool
I think this is good information outside of bladesmithing as well. Thanks!
I love your voice, intonation and accent.
Loves from Spain.
Probably your best video yet!!
Thank you for your show!
Thank you! Another great video.
Seemingly all basic stuff on the face of it, but not really…
I had no idea how important the mill was till I bought one and started using it for everything! Great video Walter!
Walter, you're the man!!
Thanks man. It never hurts to point out these great points. Noone knows everything.
God I wish I still had my benchtop milling machine. I had that puppy set up perfectly for CNC Machining. You're right, one of the tabletop ones is well worth the money.
Got my start with David Boye "Knifemaking -You can do it " Of the many read, this was tops for all around topics covered. Great two part series Walter. ✌
When will we see a book written by you Walter!!
Funny thing is: he's written a ton of books, but they're young adult fiction rather than knife making instructional books
@@RB0087 wait, really? What books?
This two part series is information gold. You're right, I am lucky. I started making knives in the YT era and I found your channel to inspire and inform me.
Great video
Gracias Mr Sorrells!!
Great advice, especially the speed / feed comments. That stuff seems like ho hum knowledge, but if you just keep a book nearby, and really learn how to change your machine speed, you can really avoid a lot of disappointment. I work in stainless a lot, and that stuff can really work harden in an instant.
holy cow, the Metallurgy of Steel for Bladesmiths & Others who Heat Treat and Forge Steel is amazing! Thanks, now i need to find a way to get my hands on a copy of Heat Treater's Guide, Practices and Procedures for Irons and Steels, 2nd Edition..... and try and convince these people shorter book titles would be nice. Thanks for all the great videos! they are extremely helpful.
I couldn't agree more about the metallurgy comments. It doesn't really take too much effort to get to grips with the basic crystalline structures and what happens when temperatures change fast or slowly. After that you can get deeper and deeper into the details and subtleties and it's fascinating. But the real need-to-know basics are fairly simple so don't be intimidated.
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing! Saved lots of time!KANSAS
Larrin Thomas has a good book out now, too, called _Knife Engineering_.
Sounds good, will find and buy.
Fantastic book. Cannot recommend highly enough. Both technical and accessible.
I also second this book! Great mention Sam!
yes thats a really good and informative book
Yep, got that one, good book for sure. But, to anyone that hasn't bought it, be careful because there are 2 versions, there's the full 400 something page version and the abridged version that has a LOT of stuff missing.
Mr. Sorrells thank you!
The tip about metallurgy book from John Verhoeven will be very usefull for me!
Best Regards from Brazil! Once again Thank You!
1: you can 'anneal' steel by hardening it then heating it to about 600°C. its not a full anneal but much faster and easier. 2: don't judge thinness by feel/look lol. always measure. 3: don't quench knives in water, ever. steel types like water/oil/air hardening refer to 10-25mm test bodies, no steel is water hardening at knife-typical diameters. there are some exceptions to this but they'd be too complicated to explain here. 4: you can electroetch any steel regardless of hardness. that can be used to save a lot of grinding work. 5: cryo, even freezer 'ghetto cryo' is generally a good idea. even for simple carbon steels.
Where would one find more info about this electro process to save on grinding?
@@marshalls7043
You'd lose out on time. It's slow when you do machining, electrical discharge machining.
Etching is shown by walter
@@stoneomountain2390 EDM is a different process. While electroetching is a relatively slow process, it's also an automatic one. you set up the electrolyte tank (level, centering jig etc), connect the piece and then do something else for 20-40 minutes.
@@marshalls7043 basic process here: ruclips.net/video/RwHe41cn5Ow/видео.html
you need
- electrolyte: salt water 2-5% - note: salt etching produces chlorine gas in small amounts. better to do this outside.
- power source ~6-12V DC (5A should be sufficient - lead battery or battery charger). less voltage and less concentrated electrolyte make for slower more even etch
- kathode - connect minus pole to this. two pieces of junk steel, without coating or patina. grind clean if you're not sure
- anode - your piece/knive. connect plus to this. gets etched.
- masking media. various options here. basically any paint or glue that's not soluble in salt water. wax works but can come off if the etching bath gets warm - I use duct tape. put a small (2-3mm per side is enough, just wide enough to not come off) strip along the edge of your knife so it doesn't etch through.
- jig to hold piece: you can hang the piece straight down but I like jigs. piece of pallet wood w holes, dowels to hold/center the piece, kathode (2 steel plates, connected by wire) nailed to the sides perpendicularly. does not get etched so doesn't need to be particularly thick.
connect + to tang, hand/mount piece so tang/part of back are not submerged in the etch batch. switch on power supply, you'll see bubbles. wait 20 minutes, 40 if the piece is really thick. wipe of grime (ideally don't touch electrolyte if there's any chromium in the steel, toxic), grind down 2mm strip at the edge to depth of etching, done. reduces grinding work by 90-95%, works at 68HRC just as well as at 40HRC .
Don't forget a copy of Machinery's Handbook. Mills are awesome, but you can mill on a lathe too. There are machine auctions where you can score HUGE! My old bosses scored well over $50k in inserts by buying some steel drawer cabinets. I pulled open a drawer to find 89 thread mill inserts. ONE DRAWER with over $5k of inserts. There were hundreds of inserts. Counterbores, step-drills, and carbide porting tools in one cabinet. Going out of business sales and auctions of failed businesses are treasure troves.
Good stuff.
Another great video.
Is there a reason why you didn't mention Larrin Thomas's book?
I'm getting tripped up on the knife handles. I grew up working with metal then got into machining. I never learned woodworking outside 2x4's aren't 2x4. My blades are adequate but my handles look like I did them with 2 broken hands while blindfolded.
There are a lot of yt channels that go into detail as to how to methodicly work through handles. its also something you can just do on feel, literally take some material off and feel if it works for your hands. Try it out, see if you get hot spots, aka points where you have a pressure point when using the knife. It takes some time to do so.
Also look up general handle forms, try it out on some cheap wood and a mockup knife. Alee knives I find has some very clear and simple videos as to how to do your handles the right way. Most importantly, you need to get them square and to the same size for precision, before you put them on any knife blank. Make sure you have sharp drills, the drill press or mill is 100% square to the working area where you put the handle material. For handle scales (full tang knifes) Drill through the metal hole into the wood, put in the correct size pin and then drill the other ones. Then flip that and remove the pins save for 1, line up the other handle scale and drill through the already made hole AND metal holes, into the second handle scale, put in a pin through both and drill the other holes. That way they will line up 100%. For hidden tangs, I suggest his videos, he shows it well.
ruclips.net/channel/UCFH1ZixK1tJ_fmq4Um2Sv1A
@@pr0faker Thanks for the tips. I guess I was expecting my feel for metal would translate to wood much easier.
@@jrsydvl7218 the struggle is real, as a lifetime high end metal fabricator the blade making part has been relatively easy other than learning some decent heat treating , the wood has taken a while but i will say if you can be precise with steel then you can translate that to wood,, polishing is much the same as steel but different,, same with sanding and shaping, its just so much softer than steel even the nice hardwoods,, take your time and dont be afraid to start over if you have to,, one thing keep your wood polishing mops seperate from your steel polishing mops, the wood picks up the black contamination from the steel otherwise,,
I hsve some carbide tipped drill bits. The manufacturer says to set the speed at the highest setting. The bits glow red but the drill through! It is amazing. However those bits are EXPENSIVE!!
I saved myself a vast amount of wasted time and materials by watching loads of your vids before I started making anything myself. Eventually I got to the point where enthusiasm got to be too much and I had to actually do something practical instead of just watching vids. But if I can say one thing to any new knifemaker out there it would be this: Time spent watching vids on this channel isn't time wasted, it's time put to valuable use. It'll save you time and money, and will greatly reduce the chance of you putting hours of work into your best ever knife, and then ruining it at the last step, making a silly mistake!
At around 7:45.
If you feel stupid reading this book, don't feel bad. I'm smart and still had trouble, so does everyone. Shits hard.
Hahahahq
Can you give us more info about music wire for folders
I wish I would have known to keep a notebook of what and where I found important stuff along the way, so I could re-examine the information quickly, without having to remember which book it was in. I have way too many books.
Agreed. How many times have you learned something really useful and forgotten the details next time you need it?
A mill is one of the few machines that can make itself.
hi my friend howe i could get or where i could buy a logo stickers
Ηi Walter!!!!
Everything under control
Kisses from Athens Europe
I just started and it ant going good lol