pipemakersforum.com

Hello guys, I see lots of you make knifes as well as pipes. I am not sure if this is the right board to post but if anybody is interested I need a new knife, something for skinning animals. I'd be happy to trade a brand new pipe for a decent knife

I made myself a couple knives a little over a year ago. While it was a lot of fun, it proved to be a lot more work without specialized grinders, so I haven't made another one since. I guess what I'm saying is you could always give knife making a whirl. You can do most of it with what you're likely to have in a shop. The heat treating was a bit trickier, but there are places that do that for you if you want. I used my blade last year to field dress a deer and it made quick work both of the deer and my finger, which I didn't notice was cut until I was cleaning my hands afterwards.

I started building tools toward knife work as well as pipe work, there is a good bit of crossover in the skills required. I have make a handful of knives over the years but I never got seriously into it for a few reasons. The handmade knife market has continued to increase here in the UK in spite of government fear mongering which is reassuring.

Thanks for the advice guys, I have given knife making a try I can make a pretty looking knife but found out quickly that I can't make one that will hold an edge to save my life haha I guess the heat treatment would take care if that bit for the same price as one heat treatment I can just buy a decent knife

Why not just buy a blank that is already harded and ground? Then all you have to do is put a handle on it and sharpen it. I have made a few from the blanks you buy at Woodcraft. They aren't bad, but there's tons of stuff out there and the knife blanks are pretty darn cheap.

I did my heat treating with a charcoal grill and a fan to blow on the charcoal until it got the blade hot enough. The grill was pretty rusty by the time I finished, but I wasn't using it anyways. If you do some research, you can do everything reasonably well. I even forged a spade bit into a blade with a hammer. The quality of blade I made is better than what I could have bought for the money I spent on the steel.

I did not know you could buy pretty hardened blanks. I think I'll be giving that a try

You just have to be careful not to ruin the temper. Hardened steel is hard to work.