Most hunters agree that, in addition to a gun, you must have a knife when hunting. Its purpose is very different: for cutting up a carcass and protecting it from an attack by an animal, for performing various household tasks - chopping firewood and branches, building a hut, cooking, making other tools and self-defense. Thus, taking into account the functions performed, purchase in the store utility knife it can be extremely difficult. But every hunter can build a hunting knife with his own hands, taking into account all individual requirements.
Hunting knife
Making a hunting knife is not accessible to everyone, because it is necessary to take into account a number of its features. A hunting dagger is a weapon with a short blade. The handle is separated from the blade by a limiter, which allows you to protect your hand during a strike. The weapon is designed to cut rather than pierce, so its blade is made in an upturned shape with a large bend cutting edge to make long cuts in one motion. The shank and blade are a single whole, with only the cutting edge remaining sharp, and the second part of the blade being blunt - this is the butt.
The blade is equipped with special grooves that give it rigidity and reduce its weight. Its length is usually 12-15 cm, and its width is 2.5-3 cm. Stainless carbon steel grade 65G is used to make the dagger; tool steel grade R6M5 is often also used. You can learn more about how to make a hunting knife with your own hands.
DIY hunting knife: video
Before you make a hunting knife, you need to develop detailed drawing all its structural elements. The drawing will help you determine the shape and size of the blade, handle, stop, and sheath.
The manufacturing process at home includes several stages; the complexity of this process can be assessed after watching the video and photographs.
First of all, you need to decide on the shape and dimensions of the knife, to do this, sketch a sketch on paper, thus creating a detailed drawing.Sketch of a hunting knife
Choice of material. To make a homemade knife for hunting, it is not necessary to have a block of R6M5 steel on hand. You can use items made from it: cutters, cutters, hacksaw blades. It is best to use the last option, namely, a canvas from pendulum saw for metal 2 mm thick, 400-500 mm long, and approximately 30-40 mm wide. The material must be smooth. Please note that with a butt thickness of 2 mm and a blade length of 150 mm, such a homemade hunting knife will not be a bladed weapon, since it complies with GOST R No. 51644-2000. For the manufacture of the handle, suitable wood is birch, beech, maple, cherry, pear, mahogany.
After the material is selected, a sketch of the dagger must be applied to the hacksaw blade.
The workpiece is processed on a hacksaw machine, turning along the contour. It is important not to forget to make the transition from the blade to the semicircular shank. To prevent the material from overheating, you need to periodically dip it in cool water.
Preliminary grinding of the slopes is carried out on an emery machine with a coarse-grained belt.
Sanding the blade
It is quite difficult to make a hole for a rivet using a drill or a Pobedit drill. But this can be done using an electrolysis reaction. The electrolyte is water with table salt diluted in it. A source is used to supply electricity direct current power 27 volts. A circle is cut out in place of the hole, and the shank is placed in an electrolysis solution. After three hours, a hole will form that needs to be processed with a needle file.
Then you need to harden the knife steel. To do this, it is placed in the oven, then in oil and again in the oven. After this, the scale is removed using coarse sandpaper, the butt is processed and formed required thickness cutting edge. It is also important to periodically cool the steel at this stage.
Finishing the blade with finer-grain sandpaper
Grinding the blade is done using sandpaper, water and lapping. Processing is carried out in the opposite direction to the previous one.
Polishing the blade is done using trowel paste and a felt grinding wheel.
Making a bushing. A sleeve is cut out of brass or bronze by boring holes with a drill, and placed on the handle close to the blade. Before making the handle, a piece of leather is placed between it and the sleeve - it serves to prevent moisture from entering the place where the handle is attached to the blade, as well as to fix them more firmly.
How to make a hunting knife at home: making a handle
Making the handle
Photos of DIY hunting knives indicate that most often the handles are made of wood. It fits comfortably in the hand and is comfortable when used in the cold in winter.
It is necessary to make a blank from wooden block, on one side of which make an even cut to fit the sleeve, and on the other, drill a cavity to accommodate the shank. It is also necessary to drill a hole on one side for the rivet. Using epoxy glue, the handle is placed on the shank, a brass rod is inserted in place of the hole for the rivet, the excess part is cut off and soldered. The surface of the wooden handle is processed and polished. It can be coated with oil to protect the surface of the wood, or varnished. For the convenience and safety of carrying weapons, you can make a sheath. In this case, you can use the same wood, for example, birch bark, or leather. At the same time, guides for the knife are formed inside the sheath, as well as a hole for water drainage, and metal rings for attaching to the belt.
With such a knife, hunting will only be a pleasure.
The selection of knives in stores is quite large. Kitchen, shoe, hunting, pocket - the list can be continued for a very long time. But there are situations when there is no cutting object at hand, but you desperately need it. For example, travel is always full of surprises; any thing can end up at the bottom of an abyss or lake. Or maybe you need a cutting tool for some special works? In short, there are not so few situations when such a homemade product may be needed. What is the best way to make a knife? We will now talk about this, as well as how best to do it in this or that case.
Where will you do it?
The need to make a cutting tool can arise anywhere:
- Houses:
- in the country;
- on a hike.
At home, as a rule, they make knives for some special work, as well as for gifts or collections. If you don’t do this professionally, then you don’t have any special equipment yet. But there may be a lot of suitable ones in the tool cabinet.
There will probably be a lot of useful things at the dacha. Most likely, there is almost everything there - a broken hacksaw, an old file, etc. If you are left without a knife on a hike, you will have to think and carefully look around. Oddly enough, the answer to the question of how to forge and make a good knife or blade from start to finish with your own hands may be right in front of you.
What makes a good knife?
What can a knife be made from? The material for making a knife must be hard enough and hold an edge well. Suitable for this:
- metals;
- stone;
- glass;
- mollusk shells;
- animal bones;
- tree.
Metal
Not just any metal is suitable. So what metal is best to make a knife from?
- It is unlikely that you would think of messing around with aluminum - with such a knife you will suffer more than you will be able to work.
- The most suitable material is steel, preferably stainless.
- Perfect option– hardened, but it depends on your luck.
Important! At home you can do the heat treatment yourself, but on a hike it’s unlikely.
Stone, glass, shells
On a hike, you will certainly find stones that can cause sharp chips:
- obsidian;
- slate;
- quartzite.
Important! These are layered materials, and the chips when separating the layers are quite sharp.
In the places you visit, it’s not difficult to find a suitable shard of glass - here’s a simple solution for what to make a knife out of. On the banks of rivers there are shells of mollusks - for example, toothless. When they delaminate, they also give sharp chips, which makes it possible to make a good, albeit small, blade.
In case of urgent need, even wood will do; however, a wooden knife is only suitable for small kitchen work.
Bone blade
Bone - vintage material for making knives. In many regions of our planet such tools are still used. To make a blade in the absence of sandpaper, stencils and other useful things, you only need a few stones. One of them should be rough enough to sharpen the edge of the bone. The other two are necessary to give the workpiece a more or less suitable shape.
What is the handle made of?
The handle is an important part of any tool. Convenience and safety depend on it. It can be made from different materials:
- plastic;
- wood;
- ropes;
- wire.
Plastic
At home, the ideal material for the handle of a metal or glass knife is epoxy. However, in economic and construction stores the most sold now different compositions, which when hardened turn into beautiful and durable plastic. It is quite possible that you have some left over after renovating your apartment or building a summer house.
Tree
Wooden overlays – traditional way handle design. The handle can be given any shape, it is comfortable, does not heat up and is easy to attach.
Important! Many nations have knives with wicker handles. You can braid with cord or coated wire.
Homemade rope
It is possible that a traveler who finds himself without a knife on a desert island or even just on a long hike has lost his rope. There's nothing you can do, you'll have to get out of the situation. A rope can be made, for example, from nettles. It has fairly long fibers:
- Remove the skin from the stem.
- Collect the fibers and dry them (for example, by a fire or just in the sun).
- Remember fiber.
- Then all that remains is to weave a rope from the “threads” - you don’t need much for a knife, half a meter will be enough - the shank is braided with a ready-made rope.
What metal is best to make a knife from?
Despite the abundance suitable materials, the best knives are still made of metal. This was understood in ancient times, when they learned to process iron. And now the vast majority of cutting tools are made of steel. Suitable for a homemade knife:
- blade from a hacksaw for metal;
- broken saw;
- old file (preferably Soviet);
Important! The ideal option is a hacksaw blade for metal. This is the simplest material, which, moreover, does not require hardening and tempering.
Good DIY knife
To do small knife with your own hands, which does not need hardening, you, in addition to the hacksaw blade, will need:
- sketch;
- marker;
- epoxy or other material for the handle;
- rivets;
- hammer;
- emery wheel;
- center punch;
- drill.
Sketch
Any work begins with an idea. A homemade knife in this sense is no exception. First you need to make a sketch. You can simply draw it, but it is much easier to find a suitable picture (so that the blade is no wider than the hacksaw blade) and print it on paper with a self-adhesive layer.
Important! The method of transferring it to the blade depends on the material on which your sketch is made.
Option 1:
- Place the cut-out image of the blade with the shank on the hacksaw blade.
- Circle with a marker.
- Grind along the contour using sandpaper - at this stage it is not necessary to maintain extreme precision; the processing can be quite rough.
Option 2
In this case, the stencil is cut out, pasted onto the canvas, after which the workpiece is ground using sandpaper.
Lever
The handle needs to be made before finishing. The workpiece should be comfortable to hold.
Plastic
The easiest option is to fill it with epoxy according to the method of application indicated on the package:
- Let the plastic harden.
- Sand it with sandpaper.
- Sand it down.
Wooden handle
The wooden handle consists of two identical plates, between which the shank is inserted. First of all you need to cut 2 wooden blanks, absolutely identical. You don’t have to do the final processing yet - it’s important that they just match exactly in shape.
The entire structure is held on by two rivets, for which you need to make holes:
- Make marks for rivets on the wooden blanks and the shank - when you assemble the handle, you should have through holes.
- Use a drill to drill holes.
The rivets themselves are best made from copper tube from the heat exchanger of an old refrigerator:
- Cut 2 pieces of copper tube - the length is equal to the width of the intended handle (2 layers of wood + a layer of metal) with a small allowance for riveting.
- Place the wooden pieces together, placing the shank in the middle.
- Insert the rivet so that it protrudes slightly above the holes on both sides.
- Lightly rivet the edges using a center punch to slightly widen the ends.
- Rivet the ends with a hammer (on a metal plate).
Wire or rope handle
If you know how to weave, it will not be difficult for you to make a handle from wire (insulated) or rope. You can also use a leather cord.
Important! Any type of weaving is suitable, making it possible to obtain a three-dimensional object. For example, macrame.
You can also make a temporary handle, which is extremely simple. To do this, just wrap the shank with electrical tape.
Blade finishing
Once the handle is ready, you can begin final finishing and sharpening the blade. This is done on an emery wheel. The process continues until you are satisfied with the shape of the knife.
Homemade knife with hardening
To make such a knife with your own hands, you will need a file.
Important! It is best to take an old Soviet one - cheap Chinese models, which most often break, almost always use low-quality steel.
Base material
The file should have a width of 30-40 mm and a rectangular or diamond-shaped cross-section. The second option is preferable - the knife will be more durable.
Tools
Prepare other materials and tools. You need:
Making a knife with your own hands
Start work in the same way as when making a knife without hardening, that is, prepare a sketch, cut out the blade and tang. Then proceed like this:
- Clamp the workpiece in a vice.
- Pre-sharpen with a file.
- Sand the surface of the workpiece with a grinder on a grinding wheel.
Hardening
An important point is hardening.
Important! This procedure is necessary because files are usually made of carbon steel, a rather brittle material.
We do the work:
- Place the workpiece in a roasting pan with burning coals - the coals should completely cover it.
- Leave for 20 minutes.
- Remove the workpiece and let it cool completely.
- Place the workpiece in the oven.
- Preheat oven to maximum temperature.
- Set a timer for 60 minutes.
- After keeping the future knife in the oven for an hour, turn off the heat and let the entire system cool completely.
- Repeat the procedure.
Hardening with heat shield
In fact, the ideal temperature for hardening is 700º. But it can only be achieved in a forge - neither a gas stove nor a Russian stove provides such heat. However, a way out can always be found. The space above the workpiece can be heated almost to the desired level if a heat shield is built. This is simply a thick metal plate larger than a file and rising 1 cm above it:
- Place the file on a baking sheet.
- Place several nuts around the perimeter of the workpiece.
- Put on the nuts thick a metal sheet(for example, a small cast iron frying pan).
It is very convenient to heat metal in an oven with a transparent door. If you see that the metal has become an even cherry color, it means the process is going correctly. You can perform hardening without a stage with coals, just in the oven. But then you will need to keep it at maximum for at least four hours. In this case, the metal should cool down simultaneously with the oven, that is, there is no need to remove the workpiece.
Important! You can use table salt as an indicator - as soon as it starts to melt, this will mean that you have achieved the desired temperature.
Hardening in a furnace followed by tempering
The oven is still not the best convenient device for hardening metals. This is an urban option. It is much better if you have a Russian stove. In this case, the heat shield is installed in exactly the same way as in the previous case, but the metal can not only be hardened, but also tempered, which, naturally, will improve the quality of the future product.
Important! You can use a magnet as an indicator. It naturally reacts to cold steel. As it heats up, it reacts less and less, and at one point it stops doing so altogether. Then you need to take the workpiece with pliers and lower it into a bucket with cold water. And you will have a knife made of the best steel you can think of. This material leaves scratches on the glass.
To prevent the blade from rusting
A good knife should not rust. In order to avoid corrosion, the workpiece must be processed in ferric chloride. A gray matte film is formed.
Ferric chloride is not always available, but can be substituted:
- vinegar;
- raw potatoes.
The blade is dipped in acetic acid and simply rubbed with raw potatoes. The effect will be the same as when treated with ferric chloride.
Further actions
After the blade has been hardened, you can begin making the handle. It is done in exactly the same way as in the previous case. As a last resort, you should make a temporary handle so that you can safely pick up the workpiece without fear of injury:
- Clean the workpiece.
- Do final sanding.
- Sharpen the blade using sandpaper.
DIY glass knife
Making cutting tools from glass is not a very pleasant task, but sometimes it is necessary, for example, in camping conditions. You will need:
- a suitable piece of window glass;
- sharpening stone;
- rope or duct tape.
Important! If necessary, window glass can be replaced with bottle glass. The main thing is that there is a long piece with a more or less even edge. It is better to immediately remove chips that are too protruding by placing the workpiece on a large flat stone and working with a smaller stone.
Once you have a blank of approximately the right shape in your hands, make a handle. This is especially necessary when working with glass. You can simply wrap the shank with something. Do the final sharpening on a flat, rough stone. But in any case, this tool can be used more like a scraper, although it can also cut meat, vegetables, etc.
Glass knife at home
At home, you can make a real masterpiece out of glass, which will both cut and decorate, for example, the kitchen. A product made of colored glass will look especially impressive:
- Make a sketch - you can just do it on a sheet of paper.
- Place a piece of glass on the paper.
- Cut along the contour with a glass cutter.
- Make a handle from transparent plastic and sand it.
Such a knife does not need sharpening or polishing if you just cut it fairly evenly.
Now you know what is best to make a knife from in any conditions, how to do it, so in any unforeseen situation you will not be left without cutting tool. And perhaps, using the tips and instructions from this article, you will begin to create real decorative masterpieces. And if so, we wish you creative success!
Making a knife is quite labor-intensive and at the same time interesting process, as a result of which you will receive an original and functional product that can impress even experienced craftsmen(if you approach this work responsibly and wisely). Only high-quality carbon steel tools should be used as the main material for work. An excellent basis for homemade knife will be a Soviet-made file - it will allow you to produce a product of the highest quality that will delight you for many years.
Preparatory stage
As already mentioned, we use an old Soviet file as a “canvas” for “creativity”. Why exactly Soviet? Yes, because in Soviet times, tools were made from very high-quality steel, with good carbon distribution, which makes them more resistant to damage compared to their Chinese “contemporaries.”
Advice. Checking the quality of steel is very simple: run a file over the sandpaper and watch the nature of the sparks flying out. Short tufts indicate that this is high-carbon steel, long tufts indicate hardened steel.
First of all, we prepare a sketch of the future product. The shape of the blade and handle will depend solely on your wishes. Choose the size and shape that is most comfortable for your hand.
Annealing and hardening
Since any file (even made in China) consists of hardened steel, and we have to work with it, it is necessary to soften the metal, that is, anneal it. Annealing is a type of heat treatment in which the metal is heated and then gradually cooled.
Since it takes quite a bit to heat steel heat, which is difficult to achieve using conventional gas stove, then it is better to work in a special workshop. Let's consider the annealing process in detail:
- We light coal (quite suitable regular firewood) and put our working base into it. Any container can be used as an annealing container. metal vessel, even a “stub” from a tank or barrel. Blowing can significantly speed up the heating process.
- The annealing process lasts until the file stops being magnetized, so you must have a magnet on hand. The red color of the steel will be a signal of optimal heating. Make sure that heating occurs evenly.
- After when desired temperature reached, continue annealing for five minutes, then stop blowing and leave the file in the coals until it cools completely.
We transfer the pre-prepared sketch to the workpiece in any of the possible ways. Then we clamp the file in a vice and cut out the desired shape.
Advice. To make the cutting process easier, apply a little oil to the surface of the file. This technique will allow you to evenly saw off everything unnecessary and do it as smoothly as possible.
After we have received a rough version of the knife, we need to give it a normal look - we sharpen the edges of the product with another file. If you have a grinder or sandpaper, you will save yourself a couple of hours.
Let's start creating the slopes. It is worth noting only one point: when the sharpening angle is reduced, the cutting properties of the product increase significantly, but the strength will suffer greatly.
After we have decided on the angle of the slopes, it is necessary to highlight the boundaries of the slopes. To identify them optimal height, we use the formula: b=t/2tana, where b is the unknown unknown, t is the height of the blade, and is the angle of descent.
Now you can start removing the triggers. At this stage, it is best to use sandpaper or a grinder.
Hardening - The final stage preparatory work. We will implement it most in a simple way of the possible. Re-hardening and sharply cooling the blade is very similar to the annealing process. We heat the blade until it demagnetizes, keep it on the fire again for another five minutes and then immerse the knife in the used oil. Leave to cool.
Tempering and finishing of the product
After the product has been hardened, it becomes very fragile. To correct the situation, it is necessary to take a vacation. It is a heat treatment in which the metal is heated to a low temperature and cools slowly. In order not to complicate an already difficult task, we will carry out this process as simply as possible: put the knife in an oven preheated to 200 degrees for a couple of hours and leave it to cool gradually.
We make a bolster blank from the remains of a file of a suitable shape. We use all available means to accurately fit it to our workpiece.
Let's start making the handle. The process of creating it is as follows:
- We will need a block of quality wood. We drill two holes parallel to each other in it.
- We fix the block in a stationary position. We dilute the epoxy with the hardener. Coat the knife shank with the resulting mixture and push the bolster until it stops.
- We re-coat the shank and pour the mixture into the block, then place it on the handle. Leave for 48 hours until completely dry.
- Let's start the final sanding wooden handle knife using a file and sandpaper. Finally, dip the handle in oil.
The process of making a knife from a circular saw with your own hands
Since the process of creating a knife from a saw is almost identical to working with a rough base from a file, in order not to repeat ourselves, we will consider it based on the differences in the processing of the tool.
Creating a sketch and making a rough blank
We model the desired product and transfer the idea onto a sheet of paper, and then onto circular saw. We cut out the workpiece using a rotary tool with a reinforced nozzle. Using a sharpener, we clean the contours of the cut out shape. Then you can sand it to remove any rust or scratches.
Use a small clamp to set the required angle, then slowly pull the knife from top to edge. Repeat the movement on the other side of the knife. After this, you can walk the knife blade along the sander fixed in an inverted position at an angle of 20 degrees.
Hardening the knife and forming the finishing version
After the auxiliary steps have been completed, the most important one remains - hardening. This time we'll use home stove. Turn on one of the burners to maximum and heat the blade, increasing the temperature to 800 degrees using blowtorch. After demagnetizing the metal, keep it on the fire for a couple of minutes and dip it in oil.
Wipe off any remaining oil from the blade and place it in the oven for a couple of hours. Then turn it off and leave the product to cool.
We make a handle and attach it to the knife using the method presented in the previous version. Now all that remains is to “bring to mind” our product. Clean the knife handle with a grinding wheel. We remove scratches from the blade: felt cloth and black polishing paste will help us with this.
We cover the handle with insulating tape and proceed to the final processing of the blade: polish it with white paste and add shine with brown paste. Using belt sander with a fine-grained nozzle or a leather sharpener, polish the cutting edge of the blade. Then we coat the handle in tung oil and leave to dry.
The material is coming to an end, and now you have an idea of how and how difficult it is to make a knife at home. Follow the instructions provided in this article and you will be able to create a worthy example of metallic perfection.
How to make a knife from a file: video
When hearing the word knife, a person imagines two pictures. A housewife chopping vegetables for a salad with a kitchen tool, and a hunter making his way through a thicket, with the handle of a bladed weapon sticking out of his belt from a scabbard. Edged weapons have always been of interest to men. The designer knives of the production masters fascinate with their appearance and attract with a silent force that is felt in every bend of the steel.
The price of weapons ranges from 7 to 22 thousand rubles. Below we will tell you how to make a knife at home.
History of development from stone to modern
Man first began to use a knife immediately after he stopped walking on all fours and began to get food with improvised means. The tools that people began to use for hunting and farming were fragments of bones or stones. The first ones were much easier to make, due to the fragility of the animal’s bones, but such products dulled unusually quickly, and not all components of the skeleton were suitable for the role of a sharp instrument.
To make a knife from stone, primitive man had to put in a lot of effort. However, the laboriousness of the process was compensated by its relative strength and the ability to sharpen the edge of a stone blade. Another advantage of a stone knife over a bone one was the durability of the tool. Bone weapons were fragile and often broke during hunting, so this type gradually passed into economic use and construction.
At the time of human mastery of metalworking, edged weapons began to be made from bronze and copper. They were significantly superior to stone samples in terms of durability. The blades were made from a single piece of metal. Swords, daggers, and knives of those times became indispensable weapons for the soldiers of the Roman Empire, with the help of which troops conquered new territories.
The Iron Age is a century of experiments and new technologies. Knives purchased different shape and length, at this time a sickle-shaped blade and a wave-shaped blade were invented. In Rus' at that time, edged weapons were included in the attributes of the nobility and merchants. The Vikings used wood to make sword hilts so that the steel, frozen in the cold, would not burn the hand.
In the Middle Ages, people began to use steel - an alloy of iron and carbon - in the production of swords. These times were considered bloody; history knows many large-scale wars and battles. As a result, the emphasis in forges was not on quality, but on quantity. And in comparison with ancient times, the characteristics of the samples of edged weapons of the Middle Ages were much inferior to the ancient prototypes.
Although historians cite daggers as an example medieval Arabs. Some of the daggers of Arab sheikhs that have survived to this day have retained their cutting properties, despite the passing of centuries.
During the Renaissance, the experience of blacksmiths, passed down from generation to generation, along with new technologies of that time, resulted in steel cutting products that were quite High Quality. But just at this time, firearms began to be used in battles, and interest in blades began to gradually fade away.
During the Industrial Revolution, the production of bladed weapons became widespread, moving from handicraft to factory production.
In factories, the manufacturability of the process reduces costs, which means the product becomes cheaper and is available to almost everyone. Soon, folding knives and world-famous centers for their production appeared - Russian Zlatoust, English Sheffield, German Solingen and Swedish Eksilstun.
Components
At first glance, everything is quite simple, however, the knife includes many elements. The handle and blade are the two main components. The tip, or toe of the blade is called its front point. The blade (cutting edge) is considered to be the sharpened side; it is made smooth, sometimes closer to the handle with a sawtooth shape.
There are knives where the sawtooth component is on the butt. The butt is the opposite side of the blade. Slopes are called planes that taper towards the sharpened part of the blade. The part that is attached to the handle and not sharpened is the heel of the blade.
The handle is that part of it that a person clasps with his hand when handling. A partition, or any other barrier, is built into the front of the handle, designed to protect the hand from slipping onto the sharpened part of the blade. The handle is attached to the tail of the blade.
For production use different materials.
The easiest way is to take the debris of stainless steel. It doesn’t matter what this fragment was before, a pan, a pipe or furniture.
Anything will do. However, do not expect that such a blade will retain its cutting properties for a long time; most likely, you will have to sharpen it after any work.
High-speed steel, which is used in the production of hacksaws and saws, gives the blade good cutting properties, while maintaining an edge for a long time. However, a significant disadvantage of this raw material is fragility and susceptibility to rust.
A good product can be made from plane blades. The material is first heated to a hot temperature, and after cooling in air, it is shaped with a hacksaw and ground with a file, or on abrasive wheels. At the end of manufacturing, edged weapons are tempered in water or oil. The disadvantage is the same - they rust very quickly.
But after each job, it’s enough to wipe it well, lubricate it with a special lubricant, and it will serve you faithfully for decades, keeping both its qualities and its appearance unchanged.
It is easy to make a cutting product from an ordinary file; it does not require operation complex instruments. The file is heated, cooled in air, and the workpiece is processed with another file. Sandpaper or other abrasive is used to remove excess elements from the surface.
In order to obtain a high-quality knife at the end, proper temperature treatment and turning are necessary. Then it needs to be hardened again. You can not harden the entire knife, but only its cutting edge, but this is somewhat more complicated, of course.
If you need a small (penknife) knife, a piece of hacksaw blade will do; you just need to sharpen it and make a handle; some people simply wrap it with electrical tape. It’s not very aesthetically pleasing, but it’s quick and doesn’t hurt if it’s lost.
How comfortable it is to use a knife depends on the design of the handle, and therefore this element is not inferior in importance to the blade. If the product is a souvenir, the handle is decorative. Wrapping a cord around the tail section is a simple way to make a handle. This type of winding is used mainly on tactical and throwing knives.
Other manufacturers use bones and animal horns or wood to create knife handles. For this, pear, oak, walnut, ash, maple and apple are used. One more good resource is birch bark. After processing, the handle becomes grooved and pleasant to touch. And when used, it sits securely in the palm of your hand without slipping, even if the handle is stained with animal blood or fish scales.
Leather sheaths are universal and reliable, because the knife is held in them by friction, which allows you not to be afraid of losing the weapon even during active physical activity. Sheaths woven from thick cord are also widely used.
But they are more suitable for throwing ones, they are heavy, and usually blunt, except for the toe, of course. The lace cannot provide sufficient friction force, and their use for weapons with a thinner blade than tactical ones is not recommended.
Knife making process
Making a knife at home does not require special skills or expensive equipment. You should start by preparing a product template. The Internet is replete with a variety of stencils, download the one you like and print it. If you wish, you can use your imagination and draw a sketch of the sample yourself. When the design is ready, cut it out and glue it onto a piece of metal. Or simply trace along the outline with a waterproof marker.
The most difficult thing is to cut out a sample of the future knife. Perfect for comfortable work band saw for cutting metal. If there is none, then use a hacksaw, but then get ready for a very labor-intensive process and be patient.
Drill holes in the tail of the workpiece; they are intended for the pins that will hold the handle structure. For beauty, some craftsmen drill several holes, each of which corresponds to the thickness of the selected pins. In order for the handle to fit firmly to the shank, you need to drill at least two holes.
After working with a file, remove unevenness and roughness from the workpiece after the drill, and also sand rough edges. On grinding machine you can bring the workpiece to perfect condition. Do not allow the future knife to overheat excessively. And do not forget to wear a respirator and safety glasses when performing work that will protect against metal dust.
Take a responsible approach to the formation of bevels. Because the cutting quality and future ease of sharpening depend on the angle at which sharpening will be done. If you want the workpiece to cut well, make the blade thin. If this product is for chopping (a machete, for example), then a thick one is more suitable. Don't go overboard with subtlety.
Otherwise, when heated, the blade will overheat, and hardening may not work. It is better to form the bevels manually. To do this correctly, first draw a line of bevels, and then, focusing on it, start grinding the metal with a grinder.
Heating steel will make it elastic. Depending on the type of steel, its hardening temperature is selected. Use a magnet to help you know when to stop heating. When it stops being attracted to the metal, it means the workpiece has heated up enough and should be cooled.
Usually cooled in oil, rarely in air or water. It all depends on the grade of steel you used for your product. But this is your knife, you can experiment if the brand is unknown.
After the steel has cooled, place the product in an oven preheated to 200 degrees and leave to warm up for one hour. The knife should cool down with it; you cannot pull it out ahead of time. Polish the metal of the product until mirror shine, having previously cleaned multiple contaminants that will appear after quenching the steel in oil.
Drill holes in the handle halves prepared in advance that are the same size as the holes in the shank. Install them, clamp them in a vice, and drive in the pins. Head to the sander again. This time the work will happen with the handle. Set the shape that will be comfortable for use.
After the machine, go over the handle with sandpaper to remove burrs and small irregularities.
The method of making a knife is given for theoretical reference. Article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation No. 223, part 3 prohibits the creation and use of homemade products falling under the term "edged weapons". This could result in a prison sentence of up to two years. It is advisable to read this article, because not all knives are punishable.
As you can see, it is not so difficult to make a knife with your own hands at home. You will have a good time and try yourself as a master in the production of bladed weapons or just an item household use.
Especially if you have the opportunity to use it when creating a product good equipment. Perhaps you will discover a talent for this art.
But do not forget about criminal liability and use only within the framework of Russian legislation. A little patience, attentiveness and pedantry will help in the production of a high-quality knife that will last for many years.
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Warning!
This article was written solely in the interests of the author to convey information to people about how knives are made, what they are like and what they can be used for. That the right knife can become your friend and comrade who will help you out more than once.
If you dear readers decided to make a knife with your own hands, then keep in mind that in Russian Federation, there is a law: Article 222 of the Criminal Code, Part 4 and Article 223 of the Criminal Code, Part 4. The illegal sale and manufacture of bladed weapons is a criminal offense and any product must be certified. And if you end up with such a product before the lawyers, such excuses as “I didn’t know” will not save you. (It’s better to say “I found it, I’m bringing it to you.” And mentally say goodbye to your favorite product.)
Many people, having made a knife exclusively, for self-educational reasons, found themselves in trouble with the law. Keep this in mind.
Types of steel for knives
What is steel? Steel is iron with various additives ( chemical composition alloy) quite simply iron containing carbon. There is laminated steel, three layers of different brands. There is a Damascus sandwich made of hundreds of layers of steel, two or three grades of steel, more often than two.
What steel to choose for a knife and where to get it?
This table shows the most suitable steels for making knives that you can find at your fingertips.
| steel grade | Description | Where to find |
| A-2 | Holds an edge perfectly. Self-hardening steel. Very often used in the manufacture of combat knives. Subject to corrosion. | Regular bolts |
| L-6 | Very durable and holds an edge well. If you need strength in a knife, this is it. Subject to corrosion An excellent material for making a fishing fillet knife. |
Band saw blade |
| 5160 | Highly professional grade steel. Holds an edge well and is susceptible to corrosion. | Springs for cars and tractors. |
| 52100 | It is similar to grade 5160 and differs in carbon content, as indicated by the number 100 (contains about 1% carbon). This steel is widely used in the manufacture of hunting knives. subject to corrosion. | Bearings |
| R6M5 | The best steel for making alloy steel knives. Holds an edge perfectly, cuts very well, chops bone. | Pendulum saw blade for metal. Thickness 2mm. Disc cutter for metal. Thickness 5 mm. |
| 154CM or ATS-34 (ATS-34) | The most popular stainless steel for making knives. | To order: price approximately 3500 rubles per strip 3x25x250 |
Blade shapes.
Combat or tactical knife and its features.
Handle of a combat knife.
An extremely negative characteristic of a knife handle is round section. Because the handle may slide during a fight and the fighter will not be able to control the exact position of the blade. Imagine that a fighter is wielding a knife in slush conditions, or worse, bloody. So when choosing a knife, pay attention to the handle: it should be oval, have special linings and fit well in your hand.
Sharpening.
A combat knife is most effective when it has a double-sided sharpening or one-and-a-half. During a fight, a fighter can use both sides of the blade without turning it over.\
Blade width.
Also, for a combat knife, the width of the blade is very important, which should be at least 2.5 centimeters. This primarily promotes wide wounds; secondly, wide bevels reduce the sharpening angle, which is responsible for cutting properties.
Blade shape.
The importance of blade shape should not be overlooked. The optimal shape is a leaf shape or a leaf-shaped shape, and if it is made with differential sharpening, plus serrated sharpening plays a good role in combat knives.
Limiter.
Any combat knife has a limiter; its function is to keep the hand safe during stabbing strikes. That is, it prevents your hand from slipping onto the blade during a strike.
Knife length.
This is also an important thing in combat knives. Judge for yourself: if the knife is short, then during the strike the vital organs will not be affected, the meaning of a combat knife is lost. A knife that is too long is easy to knock out of your hands, difficult to carry and difficult to hide. So optimal length knife 18-30 centimeters.
Blade hardness.
This feature applies not only to combat knives but to all knives in general; if the steel of the blade is not hard enough, it will either break or bend and will not hold an edge and will quickly become dull. In combat knives it is necessary to overcome the material of special clothing which Lately Almost all armies of the world are supplied. For example, Warrior 3 equipment has fabric that can withstand shrapnel loads. Judge for yourself what hardness and sharpness the blade should have. According to the standards, it should be no less than 47-55 HRC.
The location of the tip in relation to the axis.
The tip of the knife must be strictly at the level of its axis. Indeed, during a stabbing blow with a knife, all the energy is focused precisely on the edge of the knife, and the displacement from the axis will have a negative impact on the knife; the force is lost and the penetrating ability decreases.
Knife weight.
The optimal weight of a knife is considered to be about 200-300 grams. If the knife is heavy, it will take a lot of effort to use it, and a light one will not produce results when struck.
Center of gravity.
It is important that the center of gravity of the knife is closer to the handle.
Requirements for the sheath.
The sheath should be: light, without fasteners, the knife sheath should be securely fastened in the sheath and not fall out, the sheath should be dark in color. The sheath attachment should not interfere with the fighter’s movement. The knife should be removed from its sheath silently.
Russian combat knives
“Looking through chronicle texts, you can find a lot of evidence that Russian people have been able to use knives in battle since those times. Consider the description of the siege of the city of Kozelsk by Batu Khan. When he entered the city in battle, he was met by townspeople with knives, turned the tide of the battle in their favor, drove the enemy out of the city and slaughtered 4,000 Tatars.” Since those times, little has changed in the Russian spirit and knife. When foreign military personnel consider a knife to be a “weapon of last chance,” that is, during a battle it is the last hope for salvation. For a Russian person, a knife and a bayonet play a completely different role. Shouts of hurray and the point of a bayonet always instilled horror and fear in the enemy.
The first parent of the Russian army combat knife is considered to be the knife (army knife of 1940), (scout knife of 1940). These knives were used by the military who had a machine gun instead of a rifle with a bayonet, and the scouts you know why.
Now you can find new knives made by analogy; they are produced by the AiR company under the product name “Razvedbat” - a hunting one and “Shtrafbat” - a civilian version.
Available in four versions: Airborne Forces, Marines, Border Troops, Special Forces. The difference lies in the emblems of the troops that are printed on the blades and the color of the stripes on the handle.
At the same time, 1940, they began to produce for the NKVD services.
In 1943, the HP-40 knife underwent many changes and Soviet intelligence officers received NR-43. It had a straight guard, a leather sheath, a plastic handle and a metal pommel, which made it possible to use it in many brute force moments (even hammering a nail); the second name of the knife is “Cherry”. The knife was so well designed and thought out that it is still used by some troops.
In 1960, to replace the HP-43 knife, the special service received a silent cartridge firing from the handle with a 7.62 mm caliber bullet. NRS (scout shooting knife). This knife has also undergone changes, turning into one this moment is the main combat knife of sabotage brigades. Its sheath is designed in a special way and allows you to cut through wire, the blade, unlike the NRS, has become spear-shaped, and the saw on the butt has become half as long. The cartridge in the handle was replaced with a modernized SP-4.
Soviet paratroopers, at that time were recruited, which were intended to cut the lines of a paratrooper hanging on a tree. The sling cutter was not intended for combat battles, but the military personnel, by sharpening the tip and one side of the saw, repurposed this item into
Since those times, a lot has changed, the government, money, various gadgets have appeared, knives have not stood still either. They were manufactured according to various orders of army and internal military units.
These knives include - this knife was produced by Zlatoust by order of SOBR, which exists in three variations: a combat knife, a premium knife and a civilian knife.
— designed for law enforcement agencies FSB is available in two types "Vzmakh-1" And "Maestro" the handle of which can be made of various materials. "Maestro"— differs in that it is made in anti-reflective design.
Knife "Antiterror"— made for the FSB. The shape of the blade has high penetrating characteristics; the cutting part has a depression, which increases the length of the cutting edge.
Combat knives series. The knives in this series differ from each other in the following ways:
"Katran -1" The underwater combat knife has a one-and-a-half sharpening. The butt has a wave-shaped sharpening; in the root part of the butt there is a hook designed for cutting nets. The sheath is made to be attached to the leg and is made of rubber; all metal parts are coated with black chrome.
"Katran-1-S"- intended for ground forces. Made of steel 50X14 MF with anti-reflective treatment.
"Katran -2"— the handle is made of leather.
"Katran-45"- exclusive, specially made for the 45th Airborne Regiment. It has a metal saw on the butt.
– the knife was designed and made by order of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Tatarstan. It has a double-sided sharpening in the root part, the sharpening turns into a serrated one designed for cutting climbing slings, the guard is seven-fold, the handle is made of a set of leather, there is a modification of Shaitan-M (throwing knife) that can withstand up to 3000 throws.
designed and made by order of SOBR for work on the streets and in cramped conditions.
adopted by the FSB
Popular abroad Corsair knife. He fascinated the Germans with his form and performance. The catalogs describe it as one of best knives in Russia.
A stalker knife or one whose shape resembles a strop cutter modified on the knee by paratroopers. This knife, by the way, is used by the Slovak military.
Development of the Melita-K company, which took the HP-43 as a basis.
This knife was developed by one person together with an applied research center. It was developed for saboteurs, taking into account the specifics of hand-to-hand combat. Tested on animal carcasses. The goal was also to find an optimal knife with a stopping effect when stabbed with a knife.
Knife or K-2. An ideal knife created taking into account all the requirements of our legislation so as not to classify it as a bladed weapon. The tests carried out on this knife are somewhat impressive and I take special pride in the fact that this knife was developed by a Russian person without any large investments. And with all this, the knife surpasses all foreign knives in terms of characteristics and has no analogues in the world.
The knife is designed for ordinary people even for a child. The main purpose of a knife is self-defense.
Popular foreign combat knives
I did not completely write out all the knives that are available abroad; if this is done, the article will be more than tens of thousands of words. You'll just get tired of reading it. And therefore, here are the most popular combat knives that are found abroad.
Bowie knife
Wood processing for knife handle
To process wood, you will need sanding paper with a grit of 120-150 to give shape, you can use 40-60, just don’t overdo it, for final processing Use 600-800 grit sanding paper. Prepare a couple of wooden blocks that are comfortable to hold in your hand. Attach a thick rubber plate with a thickness of at least 3 mm to one of the bars. after which you can wrap the sanding paper around the belt and begin sanding the knife handle. You will also use the second block, without rubber, at the junction of the blade guard with the handle (this is done so that there are no differences between the blade and the handle).
These are perhaps the simplest tools that you can adapt without significant expense and begin processing your future handle.
When sanding light-colored wood at the end of the entire work, in order to avoid eating into small particles formed from the sanding paper, it is necessary to use the wet sanding method. The essence of this sanding is the constant impregnation of wood with linseed oil, which not only prevents small particles from being eaten, but also helps to highlight the texture and pattern of the wood more clearly. Impregnation with linseed oil should be done every time the sanding paper is changed. At the very end, after sanding, the handle is impregnated with shellac.
If porous wood is being processed, and this can include any root wood, shells may form, which the craftsmen simply rub over with epoxy glue, after first mixing it with sawdust of the same type of wood.
Birch bark knife handle
One of the popular handles is considered to be a knife handle made of birch bark. It doesn’t look bad, it gives a kind of pattern or texture, so to speak.
The principle of preparing the workpiece is the same almost everywhere: birch bark is harvested and removed from the birch (the birch then dies after a few seasons). Birch bark is cut into even pieces; they are pressed, squeezed, glued together, and after drying they are processed as ordinary tree, a deliberately mounted workpiece on a blade or a special device.
I saw it not long ago unusual way which speeds up the preparation of a birch bark handle, I will try to describe it in detail.
One master told how to make a knife handle from birch bark. Having prepared birch bark, he chops small circles from it using. The notch is made from the outer ring of the bearing with the end sharpened on one side. With this notch he stuffs many birch bark circles, after which he uses the same method to knock out a hole in the circles in the center (the center is not specially measured) with a diameter of 8 mm. Next, he places all the prepared birch bark circles about 20cm long. tries to plant side to side, not to turn side to side. Then he clamps it with washers and nuts, stretches it and sends such a workpiece into a pan of boiling water for 4 hours. Every hour you need to take out the workpiece and stretch it as far as possible. After 4 hours of boiling, the workpiece is taken out and dried for 24 hours, and the broaching must be repeated while the nut is stretched. After the birch bark dries, the workpiece is reduced in length by almost half (keep this in mind when making the initial set of circles). After such procedures for cooking and drawing, the workpiece becomes monolithic, which is what was required of it. Now remove the workpiece from the pin, you can place it on the shank of the blade and process it as you please.
Very comfortable and most importantly quick way preparing a handle for a knife from birch bark.
The process of preparing a blank for a knife handle is described above. Then, naturally, according to all the canons, it is necessary to treat it with sanding paper and impregnate it with varnish, as indicated above, in the section on how to prepare a handle for a knife made of wood.
Knife handle made of bone or horn.
This is the most difficult task, making a handle for a knife from bone or horn. In order to make a handle from horn, you need to make a handle from some other material at least a couple of times.
If you are planning to make a handle from horn, then you will need horn naturally, and it must be dried. It usually dries in 0.5 to 2 years. There is also a faster way: it is simply dried in the microwave for 5 minutes for half an hour at maximum power, first allowing it to cool and ventilate. Of course, not the whole horn is dried, but only the blank.
In general, an incorrectly chosen horn can initially cause you a lot of trouble. It can be caught wet, with rotten inside, with cracks. And all this comes up at the most inappropriate moment.
The handle can also be made from hollow bone. The bone cavity can be pre-filled cold welding or epoxy glue with pre-prepared filler. The bone is also easily deformed under the press; it must first be boiled for 30 minutes and, without waiting for cooling, put into the press.
Types of sharpening and removal of triggers
In order to properly sharpen a blade, you first need to know that before sharpening it needs to be stabbed, because the future blade requires from 0.2 mm to 0.6 mm of thickness, depending on the type of steel. Secondly, you should not sharpen your knife using electric sandpaper. The circle rotates at high speed, reaching 3000 rpm. From such a rotation speed, not only a significant layer of the workpiece is processed, but also loses its hardness.
There are many ways to remove bevels from a blade, some use diamond files, some use a sanding belt on a machine, one of these is correct, until the angular requirement is met, the result will not be achieved. In such cases, beginners can benefit from sharpening sets that allow them to adjust the required angles.
During sharpening, burrs are formed, the edge collapses or the creation of a chichetse-shaped profile, which must be processed because such an edge quickly dulls or shrinks. There are two ways to fix this: use a special grinding stone with paste or the old-fashioned method: a leather belt attached to a wooden block with paste attached to a wooden block.
Also, a beginner may mistakenly think that the knife has been sharpened due to the formation of a “wire cutting edge”; this feature lies in the cutting part, not of the blade itself, but of chips that have not been completely cleaned and which were formed as a result of sharpening.
How to check if a knife is sharpened enough. You can check the sharpness of a knife using a sheet of paper that needs to be cut crosswise. The sheet should be cut easily without jamming or changing the cut. Or can you just take the hair and cut it effortlessly? This means the sharpening is sufficient.
