Horace Kephart (1862-1931) is a familiar name to bushcrafters along with George Washington Sears (See Knife 59) and was one of the leading outdoor writers of his time. Kephart designed the knife. This is how he described it in the first edition of Camping and Woodcraft: “This knife weighs only 4 ounces. It was made by a country blacksmith, and is one of the homeliest things I ever saw; but it has outlived in my affections the score of other knives that I have use”.
Continue readingCategory: Design Notes Mentioned
Knife 57 – Railroad Spike Knife
A railroad spike knife is made (….wait for it….) from a railroad spike and it’s a project that seems to be a right to passage for a lot of blacksmiths and bladesmiths. It takes a little knowledge and experience to get it right, but honestly, I find them more of a novelty item.
Continue reading
Knife 51 & 52 Friction Folders
It was time to try my hand at making a Friction Folder. A friction folder is a folding knife that doesn’t use a lock or springs. It uses the handle’s friction against the tang to stay open. The design has an extended tang. This allows the user’s hand to keep the blade from folding shut.
When making a Friction Folder it’s best to make a prototype out of heavy paper or thin wood pieces. This allows you to get the pin locations close enough so it can be tuned in final fitting.
Continue reading
Knife 48 – Small Seax – EDC – Stone Washing
Stone Washing for Your Knives’ Finish is quite simple. You can actually do it by hand. Just put the knife in a container with media. I used stones I picked up from the side of the road.
Continue reading
Knife 45 – U shaped Brass Finger Guard
The brass finger guard was fitted buy cutting the slot, then slowly filing it until it fit. The blade was also filed slightly to create a very shallow shoulder for the brass to slide up to. It was then drilled for 2 brass 1/8” rods which were peened on (after heat treating).
Continue reading
Knife 43 – Hidden Tang Puukko – Apple Cider Vinegar Forced Patina
I force a patina using Apple Cider Vinegar on “Knife 43 – Hidden Tang Puukko – Apple Cider Vinegar Patina”
Continue reading
Knife 41 – Remake – Lots of Mistakes Made
This Knife “The Knife that has been remade” certainly helped with my knife making education. I made a lot of mistakes and most of this Knife is a transition of those mistakes from trial and error and fix this and try that.
Continue reading
Knife 34 – Hidden Tang Aluminum Framed Knife
The jimping was first laid out and cut with the band saw. A hacksaw would work well here if you didn’t have access to a bandsaw. I then started the filing with a triangle edge of a file. I then used a chainsaw file ADD FILE SIZE> to cut the Jimping. I cut 10 Stokes on each hole until the cut marks disappeared. That way I had even depth all the way across. (See Adding Jimping to your knife)
Continue reading
Knife 33 – Hidden Tang Antler Handled Hunter
The Knife 33 – Hidden Tang Antler Handled Hunter knife was made from a file using the stock removal technique. You can burn the antler in. Like burning in a wood handle. You drill a hole smaller than the tang. Heat the tang and push the handle down on the tang so it burns in. You repeat the process until the handle is in place. You’d want to do this before heat treating or wrap the blade with a wet cloth. I tried this process, but it didn’t work very well on this antler so I decided to file it out.
Continue reading
Knife 32 – Mini Cleaver
This was made from a left-over piece of 1095. The shape of the piece of steel inspired the knife. I also wanted to try grinding after heat treating before I did it on a full-size cleaver.
Continue reading