How Does it work
Step 1 - Design
Usually the first thing that happens is a design, sometimes I throw some steel in the forge and create, but most of the time I start off with a well thought out but crapily drawn design.
Step 2 - Forging/stock removal
Step two is forging or stock removal, similar in some ways, different in others. This step in the process shapes the starting chunk of steel into the primary shape that will eventually become a useful tool that lasts for years.
step 3 - Normalizing
This process relaxes the steel through controlled heating and cooling and reduces the stresses built up from forging.
Step 4 - rough GRIND
During the rough grind I start to make refinements to the overall shape. Going from a knife shaped stick to the beginning of what it will look like once its finally done.
Step 5 - heat treat
After the rough shape, it’s time to heat treat. This is the thing everyone knows, when you see a smith dunk a red hot piece of metal into water or oil and sometimes there’s that big fireball. Whats happening in that oil is hardening, the metal is going from soft and ductile to very hard and brittle.
step 6 - temper
So now we’ve got a nice looking blade, and its hard, time for a handle right? Wrong, time to temper, soften the metal a little so it doesn’t shatter like that time I put a hot glass dish on a cold countertop as a kid.
step - 7 final profile
The final profiling is the last step that I do with power tools. meaning ill go up to 300 maybe 500 grit belts on the grinder, depending on what finish i want, to get as close to the final shape as I can before I need to go into hand sanding.
step - 8 hand sanding
Hand sanding is just that, sand paper, time and a good playlist. this is the almost final thing that needs to be done to the piece before it gets shipped out.
step - 8 handle shaping
after the hand sanding is done it’s time to start shaping the point that connects the user to the tool, the handle. starting from either a block of wood or scales, depending on the knifes construction.
step - 9 Sharpening
Almost done, this is the final step to a knife build. once everything else is completed i use a combination of diamond and natural sharpening stones to get a razor sharp edge then hone on a leather strop.
step 9 - Sheath
Once the knife is done there’s still a bit more work to do, that knife needs somewhere to go because carrying a bare knife in your pocket is, well probably a bad idea. I usually use one of two materials either genuine leather or Kydex, a heat mold-able polymer.