Your first knife

[Richard King]

I made my first knife in 8th grade shop class out of a file, with a brass guard and a mesquite handle. Gave it to my big brother & several months later found it rolling around in the back of his pickup. It took him a lot of smooth talking before I made him another one. Still making them & loving it, sell them all over the world. I'm hoping to get my grandkids into making them.

Dwayne

Dwayne what a perfect lead in to see your work.

Do you have a few pictures to share? I can't wait to make a knife again. I have been dreaming about after I retire to make some knifes and blacksmith tools. I will be moving down to Missouri and build a new shop and will make things and try to sell them at the local flee market, just to have fun making and meeting people. DMS isn't it just so cool how the steel is hand forged. Next time you guys smelt something please show us how you do it. Rich

PS: Dwayne did you ever find a Milling machine?

 

[7mag]

I started making knives in the mid 80's. The first one I made was from an old industrial hacksaw blade. I couldn't figure why my drill bits were so bad that they wouldn't drill the the blade for handle screws. I didn't even know the hacksaw blade was rock hard.
I sell my knives throughout the USA and many other countrys.
I used to forge my own damascus for folder blades in an old home made coal forge, but it has been a few years since I made my last piece of damascus. Now it is much easier to buy damascus from suppliers.

 

[ddushane]

No Richard, I haven't found one yet, still looking, the problem for me is the moving it down here, There are several that are priced right but they're way up in the north east, or Florida, or California or somewhere so far the shipping would be as much or more than the machine. Lord willing I'll get one, if not I won't, His choice ) Richard, there's a link to my website below my signature here, you can check it out, I haven't updated it in a few years, and hears a few pictures of some as well.

















Now I'm not building my own Damascus yet, I'm getting all the equipment set up and about to start learning but not there yet.
Up to this point I've bought all my Damascus from Devin Thomas, Damasteel, or some others. Hopefully in the near future I'll be making my own so every aspect of my knives will be from me, except screws, I don't see going there, but who knows, since my Logan will cut 224 tpi, I might have to try that too. I love making the knives, I've just set up a couple of sewing machines in my shop for sheath making, my moms old Singer from the 60's for sewing dear skin liners in, and an 1893 Landis #1 Harness stitcher for the thicker sections, I sewed 7 pieces of belt leather together the other day, after stitching & pulling it together it was still 7/8" thick. Wow, I was impressed, I'm having a blast. Looking forward to retirement myself.

Dwayne

 

[Richard King]

I started making knives in the mid 80's. The first one I made was from an old industrial hacksaw blade. I couldn't figure why my drill bits were so bad that they wouldn't drill the the blade for handle screws. I didn't even know the hacksaw blade was rock hard.
I sell my knives throughout the USA and many other countrys.
I used to forge my own damascus for folder blades in an old home made coal forge, but it has been a few years since I made my last piece of damascus. Now it is much easier to buy damascus from suppliers.

Damascus is the folding method and hammering it over again? Have any pictures? This is fascinating. Do you also have a web-site?
Thanks for sharing. Rich

- - - Updated - - -

Dwayne,
That is amazing, how do you engrave those pictures? Have a machine or do it by hand? Or is that etched in there with some sort of chemical? Your a heck of a craftsman. You do the leather work too, as far as the artwork on it? Is that a bone or ivory on the one handle? You shaped that too? Gawd this is fun, I am so glad I asked you guys to show off your talents. Where did you get the coins? Pretty cool! Thanks again.. Rich...going to go look at your web site now.

PS: Maybe we can barter with you. Buy a junker machine and I'll come down in the winter and scrape it for you for a keepsake knife?

 

[7mag]

Damascus is the folding method and hammering it over again? Have any pictures? This is fascinating. Do you also have a web-site?
Thanks for sharing. Rich

- - - Updated - - -

Dwayne,
That is amazing, how do you engrave those pictures? Have a machine or do it by hand? Or is that etched in there with some sort of chemical? Your a heck of a craftsman. You do the leather work too, as far as the artwork on it? Is that a bone or ivory on the one handle? You shaped that too? Gawd this is fun, I am so glad I asked you guys to show off your talents. Where did you get the coins? Pretty cool! Thanks again.. Rich...going to go look at your web site now.

PS: Maybe we can barter with you. Buy a junker machine and I'll come down in the winter and scrape it for you for a keepsake knife?

Richard, I have a pic of a folder I made with some of my nickel damascus I made years back. I started with(if I remember correct) 5 layers of 1095 carbon steel and 4 layers of pure nickel sheet. One of the problems with making damascus without a power hammer is that you loose a lot of volume to the steel scaling away. The pieces I made usually ended up small and only folder blade size. Yes, I have a website, www.gainesknives.com

Dwayne, your work is amazing!

 

[ddushane]

Richard, thanks for the kind comments, I have a GRS GraverMax which is kinda outdated now, but still works for me, you use an air compressor hooked to the GraverMax and it will give you a range of 400 to 4000 strokes a minute. It supplies air to a small hand piece that is basically a miniature jack hammer that you put HSS or Carbide gravers in. It replaces the chisel & Hammer. I draw my artwork by hand about 4"x4" or a little larger and then scan it into my computer, shrink it down the size I need it to fit whatever I'm putting it on in Corel Draw, then print it out backwards on transparency film that you use to use for an opaque projector. Then you use a chemical you make out of Damar Artist Varnish & 91% alcohol, 10-1, it makes a sticky film on the steel your going to cut, apply it, let is set a few minutes, it get tacky, then take the image of the artwork inkside down on the steel & burnish it with a ball point pen, all the chemical will pull all of the ink off of the transparency onto the steel and then all you do is cut out with your GraverMax. It sounds easy but it takes practice like everything else, I'm not good at the engraving yet but I'm getting better all the time, I use bone, Ivory, Mastodon Ivory, Mother of Pearl, ( black, white, & gold lip ) also Abalone, different stags and exotic woods. It's really fun, I have people come to town for lessons from time to time. We might have to work something on the scraping trading thing. Thanks again for the comments, don't hesitate to call me if you have questions about my DVD, I'd be glad to help.

Dwayne

And Mr Gaines !!! You're knives are outstanding!!! I enjoyed your website, You do beautiful work Sir!

 

[DMS]

Dwayne... wow... that is just breathtaking work....

Did you do the leatherwork on that top sheath too? Fantastic!

Out of curiosity, how long have you been doing this?

 

[ddushane]

DMS, I didn't make that sheath, a gentleman in Kerrville, TX named Paul Long made that one, Paul has made a few of them for me through the years, He's got a couple of DVD's out that show how he does it. Great DVD's, I'm going to be building my own, I've done a lot of leather work in the past as well as sheath making, but mine wasn't as nice as Pauls, and took a tole on my hands sewing them up, I have the machines to do it now, takes a fraction of the time. I made my first knife in 1977, started making them again in 86, made them for a couple of years while down due to a back injury, after healing went back to the oil field as a welder, did pipe-lining, built compressor stations, different fabbing for several major oil companies, worked for a pipeline contractor that contracted us out to all the different oil companies, then went to work for Phillips Petroleum, well GPM, a subsidiary of Phillips as a company welder, and injured my back again in 94, and after several back surgeries, here I am working as a 911 dispatcher & a knifemaker/engraver. Been pretty steady making knives since 1995.

Dwayne

 

[samthedog]

This is a picture of my first knife:



It is a laminated steel blade that was made in Rjukan, Norway - the home of European laminated blades. It has curly birch handles with leather and aluminium spacers and reindeer horn in the middle. It was my first attempt at knife making and leatherwork and was made as an entry in a bushcraft knife competition. It is a very typical size and blade shape for the Telemark region of Norway.

 

[mackey]

'Knifemaking Tuesdays" on Youtube. After watching for a while, I realize "Hey, I could do this too".

+1 i haven't made anything yet but it's inspiring to see a self taught "hobbyist" start off on a mini mill and making knife handles to what he and his brother have been able to accomplish in a few short years. my "first" knife will probably be balisong handles in the benchmade 4X style vs the actual blade itself.

though i'm leaning more towards firearm related pieces (magwell, grips, etc) for ipsc/uspsa on something other than a 2011.