Ways to make a kitchen knife do it yourself

If you want to make a kitchen knife with your own hands, then this article is written specifically for you. Making knives is a slow, delicate, painstaking, multifaceted, sometimes frustrating process. Such a thing will require skills in metalworking, woodworking and design. It will take a lot of patience, attention and general level of preparation.

First you need to draw the future fillet knife and circle the resulting shape on graph paper. Try to draw a knife to scale, that is, in real size. The less changes you need to make to the design, the better.

Now you need to decide how the handle will be attached to the blade of the knife. There are three common ways to help make a full, partial or through knife.

The handle consists of two identical parts - it will be, for example, wooden parts. Partial mode is when the knife blade continues into the core, which then hides the handle. Details of the handle are superimposed on the rod and secured. By the way, Japanese swords and sushi knives are made using this method.

The through knife is like a partial knife, but the continuation of its blade passes through the entire handle so that the handle can be fixed with a nut or a thread at the other end. Most knives with dial-up handles are made that way.

Choose a model that you like best and get to work.

Of course it's best to use stainless steel to create the blade. In addition, it will be more convenient for beginners to make a knife from a fast-cutter (steel) So, you will need a strip of metal ranging in size from 30 to 60 cm.

In addition, you will need pen material, such as wood, mykarta, bone, leather, cord, stone, gemstone, ivory or meteorite. Of course, it is best to use wood for the first time. Wood is a unique, beautiful and rather tough material. You will also need special rivets and epoxy for attaching the handle. Or you can use a brass rod, making special pins from it for fastening.

For this you need the following tool.

• Multi-blade hacksaw.
• Little Bulgarian.
• Drill with a set of drills.
• Files of various forms.
• Vice.
• Required protection - special glasses, gloves, jacket.

The algorithm of work consists in several points.

1. Cut the workpiece for the blade with a hacksaw or grinder. If you have a thick piece of steel, use a hard hacksaw. It is recommended to use standard blades. If you cut the blade out of thin steel, the process does not take much time. You need to cut a rectangle, inside which will be the main form of the blade.
2. Cut out the shape of the blade with the shank for the handle. This can be done grinder with a thin disc for metal.
3. File the sections with a vise. In order not to damage the metal with teak jaws, use wooden blocks for clamping. If there is a belt grinder, then polishing can be entrusted to it. The metal will change color during its cutting and processing due to thermal changes occurring in the steel.This does not affect the strength of the knife.
4. Sanding edges. For this process, it is better to use a wheel with coarse sandpaper so that you can gently grind the slope to the middle of the steel. Grind the other edge the same way until it is level. In the process you need to be patient and careful to prevent rough handling. Work the edges evenly to get a smooth and regular shape.
5. Drill holes for rivets. Make sure that you use a drill of the same diameter as the core or rivet, which you plan to attach the handle to the blade. Such rivets can be any number, so decide on the required amount.
6. We make the handle for the knife and attach to the blade.

Before you heat the blade, you need to finish it. It is necessary to get a quality product in the end. To finish the blade, you will need:

• sandpaper from 60 to 220 mm (you can use a grinding wheel and a drill);
• grinding unit (even when using a grinding wheel);
• files

This is the easiest step. You need to start grinding the blade with the smallest sandpaper and go up to 220. The main thing - do not save, because then you will regret the scratches that are not removed in time.

Blade heat treatment is probably the most technically difficult part of the whole process. You can use a coal forge or gas forge for forging metal.

The next hardening step is to heat the knife to a lower temperature (about 400 degrees Celsius). Due to this, the knife will be less brittle, will retain relative strength.

Now you need a tempering bath. Oil should be used for steel. Different types of steel require different hardening methods - oil hardening, water hardening, air hardening.

You must completely immerse the blade until it is completely cool. The second thing you need to harden the metal is a magnet. It will help determine the quenching temperature, at which point the steel becomes non-magnetic.

A sheet of paper that shows your knife, you need to attach to a wooden block and circle with a pencil. You only need to cut the handle, because we will cut it, then attach it to the blade. It is better to leave a space around the shape of a pen a few centimeters. You should have two such mirror parts of the handle, which you later attach to the blade on both sides.

After the shape of the future handle is obtained, use a band saw to cut the shape of your handle.

On the handle of the knife you need to do preliminary holes, as mentioned above, where you will insert your pins or rivets.

If your knife is riveted, you must drown the hole in the desired depth. You can use a caliper to determine the size of the head of the rivet, which is the size of the hole for drilling.

Before proceeding to epoxidizing your blade and grip, form and polish two identical elements of the handle.

Push the pins through the drilled holes to put the wood and metal in place. Now you can fasten the knife with epoxy. Apply epoxy to one half of the handle, and then connect it to the blade and the other half of the handle. Once all the pieces are connected, take the two clips and clamp the knife handle. Let the product stand for at least 5 minutes.

In exactly the same way as described above, you can make home-made kitchen knives from a disc brake at home.Here you will also need to use a band saw, a grinding machine, a belt grinding machine and tools to assemble a knife.

Using a grinder or band saw, cut the blade and give it the desired shape. Hot red-hot steel will have to be cooled, therefore You need to prepare a bath with water in advance.

See below for a video tutorial on how to make a kitchen knife with your own hands.