Homemade Knife From A Hand Saw

A Homemade Knife From A Hand Saw
by Mike Adams

A homemade knife used to be considered a thing of the past, but no more. With just a few simple tools you can make an old fashioned knife from a rusty hand saw.

Naturally, the first thing you need is an old hand saw. You can still find them in many places like junk shops, old tool markets or flea markets.

Don't be looking for the ones in good shape. They will likely be too expensive. Look for the ones with broken handles and a little rust (not pitted), they'll work just fine.

They should only cost from $1-$5 and will eventually produce a dozen old fashioned knives or more. They should be at least 30 years old in order to get the good high-carbon steel you're looking for.

You might want to clean up the saw when you get it home to check for imperfections in the steel. Just a little light sandpaper work and mineral spirits should do the job.

An old fashioned knife from a hand saw would best be used as a kitchen knife due to the thinness of the steel. Its toughness and tempering make an excellent and flexible blade.

Don't use a torch to cut out your old fashioned knife blanks, it will take away the temper and strength of the steel. You need these two factors to keep the knife flexible and sharp.

After cutting out the knife blank, use a bench grinder or belt sander to remove the burrs left by the cutting process. You will be left with a completely shiny surface that's suddenly starting to look like a homemade knife.

Drill three holes in the handle area of the knife blank to accept the rivets that will hold the wooden handles pieces. Anneal (soften) the steel first at these points with a small propane torch.

Now it's time to attach those wooden slabs. This is best done with epoxy glue and rivets.

Rivets are available from knife making supply stores, but I just like to make mine from copper or brass round stock. It just seems more authentic on a homemade knife.

Patience is the key when finishing up the homemade knife. The last step is the sharpening process, which is the skill that takes a little time to develop. If you take your time and tackle this slowly, you will do just fine.

Slow even passes on the machine are what makes for perfect edges. Use very little pressure and try to keep a steady angle all the way across. If you feel the metal getting too hot, douse it in water to cool it.

Sharpening is an art form and requires practice. If you're patient and careful you will learn this step quickly. You will then be able to create a homemade knife in no time and have a kitchen tool that will likely out live you.

More Information:

Creating a homemade knife is an interesting and fun project. You'll be morphing a piece of worthless metal into great tools to use, give as gifts or sell. You can learn all you need to know to get started with this craft at http://www.how-to-make-a-knife.com

Source: http://www.PopularArticles.com/article177675.html

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Types of Knives (from Wikipedia):

Knives as weapons:

As a weapon, the knife is universally adopted as an essential tool. It is the essential element of a knife fight. For example:

Ballistic knife: A specialized combat knife with a detachable gas or spring-propelled blade that can be fired to a distance of several feet or meters by pressing a trigger or switch on the handle.

Bayonet: A knife-shaped close-quarters fighting weapon designed to attach to the muzzle of a rifle or similar weapon.

Combat knife: Any knife intended to be used by soldiers in the field, as a general-use tool, but also for fighting.

Dagger: A double-edged combat knife with a central spine and edges sharpened their full length, used primarily for stabbing. Variations include the Stiletto and Push dagger.

Fighting knife: A knife with a blade designed to inflict a lethal injury in a physical confrontation between two or more individuals at very short range (grappling distance). Well known examples include the Bowie knife and the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife.

Rampuri: An Indian gravity knife of formidable reputation having a single edged blade roughly 9 to 12 inches long.

Shiv: A crudely made homemade knife out of everyday materials, especially prevalent in prisons among inmates. An alternate name in some prisons is Shank.

Trench knife: Purpose-made or improvised knives, intended for close-quarter fighting, particularly in trench warfare, some having a d-shaped integral hand guard.

Butterfly knife: A folding pocket knife also known as a "balisong" or "batangas" with two counter-rotating handles where the blade is concealed within grooves in the handles.

Knives as sports equipment:

Throwing knife: A knife designed and weighted for throwing

Knives as utensils:

A primary aspect of the knife as a tool includes dining, used either in food preparation or as cutlery. Examples of this include:

Bread knife: A knife with a serrated blade for cutting bread.

Boning knife: A knife used for removing the bones of poultry, meat, and fish.

Carving knife: A knife for carving large cooked meats such as poultry, roasts, hams, etc.

Chef's knife: Also known as a French knife, a cutting tool used in preparing food.

Cleaver: A large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is used mostly for hacking through bones as a kitchen knife or butcher knife, and can also be used for crushing via its broad side, typically garlic.

Butcher's Knife: A knife designed and used primarily for the butchering and/or dressing of animals.

Electric knife: An electrical device consisting of two serrated blades that are clipped together, providing a sawing action when powered on.

Kitchen knife: Any knife, including the chef's knife, that is intended to be used in food preparation.

Oyster knife: Has a short, thick blade for prying open oyster shells.

Paring or Coring Knife: A knife with a small but sharp blade used for cutting out the cores from fruit.

Rocker knife: A knife that cuts with a rocking motion, which is primarily used by people whose disabilities prevent them from using a fork and knife simultaneously.

Table knife or Case knife: A piece of cutlery, either a butter knife, steak knife, or both, that is part of a table setting, accompanying the fork and spoon.

Ulu: An Inuit woman's all-purpose knife.

Knives as tools:

As a utility tool the knife can take many forms, including:

Balisong: A folding knife also known as a "butterfly knife" or "batangas", with two handles counter-rotating around the tang such that, when closed, the blade is hidden within the handles.

Bowie knife: Commonly, any large sheath knife, or a specific style of large knife popularized by Jim Bowie.

Crooked knife: Sometimes referred to as a "curved knife", "carving knife" or in the Algonquian language the "mocotaugan" is a utilitarian knife used for carving.

Diver's knife: A knife adapted for use in diving and water sports and a necessary part of standard diving dress.

Electrician's knife: A short-bladed knife used to cut electrical insulation.

Hunting knife: A knife used to dress large game.

Kiridashi: A small Japanese knife having a chisel grind and a sharp point, used as a general-purpose utility knife.

Linoleum knife: is a small knife that has a short, stiff blade with a curved point and a handle and is used to cut linoleum or other sheet materials.

Machete: A large heavy knife used to cut through thick vegetation such as sugar cane or jungle undergrowth; it may be used as an offensive weapon.

Palette knife: A knife, or frosting spatula, lacking a cutting edge, used by artists for tasks such as mixing and applying paint and in cooking for spreading icing.

Paper knife: Or a "letter opener" it is a knife made of metal or plastic, used for opening mail.

Pocket knife: a folding knife designed to be carried in a pants pocket. Subtypes include:

-Lockback knife: a folding knife with a mechanism that locks the blade into the open position, preventing accidental closure while in use.

-Multi-tool and Swiss Army knife, which combine a folding knife blade with other tools and implements, such as pliers, scissors, or screwdrivers.

Produce knife: A knife with a rectangular profile and a blunt front edge used by grocers to cut produce.

Rigging knife: A knife used to cut rigging in sailing vessels.

Scalpel: A medical knife, used to perform surgery.

Straight razor: A reusable knife blade used for shaving hair.

Survival knife: A sturdy knife, sometimes with a hollow handle filled with survival equipment.

Switchblade: A knife with a folding blade that springs out of the grip when a button or lever on the grip is pressed.

Utility knife: A short knife with a replaceable triangular blade, used for cutting sheet materials including card stock, paperboard, and corrugated fiberboard.

Wood carving knife and whittling knives: Knives used to shape wood in the arts of wood carving and whittling, often with short, thin replaceable blades for better control.

X-Acto knife: A scalpel-like knife with a long handle and a replaceable pointed blade, used for precise, clean cutting in arts and crafts.

Knives as a traditional or religious implement:

Athame: A typically black-handled and double-edged ritual knife used in Wicca and other derivative forms of Neopagan witchcraft.

Kirpan: A ceremonial knife that all baptised Sikhs must wear as one of the five visible symbols of the Sikh faith (Kakars).

Kilaya: A dagger used in Tibetan Buddhism.

Kris: A dagger used in Indo-Malay cultures, often by royalty and sometimes in religious rituals.

Kukri: A Nepalese knife used as both tool and weapon.

Puukko: A traditional Finnish or Scandinavian style woodcraft belt-knife used as a tool rather than a weapon.

Seax: A Germanic single-edged knife, used primarily as a tool, but may have been a weapon.

Sgian Dubh: A small dagger traditionally worn with highland dress.