How To Make Hunting Knives

How do you make a hunting knife, you ask? Making your own knives is a slippery slope that can lead to a lifelong addiction. Perhaps the best place for the neophyte knife maker to start is a kit blade. This is a blade which is pre-ground, heat treated, tempered and, in most cases, polished and sharpened. This makes the whole process much easier to learn. If you starts here, you can take the time to learn how to put on the handles, bolsters or guards and learn how the entire knive comes together to make a pleasing end product.

 Materials needed:

• Knife blade
• Handle materials
• Pin material
• Guard or bolster material
• Duct tape
• Various files and wood rasps
• Metal polish
• Soft cloth
• Saw
• Bench vice
• Clamps
• Drill
• Drill bits
• Soldering torch
• Solder
• Flux
• Various metal and wood sandpaper (coarse to fine grits)
• Stain
• Varnish

1. Buy the materials. Spend some time to decide which style knife blade you want and buy a quality blade from a reputable dealer/maker. Cheap junk blades will sour the entire process. The type of blade will determine if you are putting on a guard, bolsters or neither. If using guards or bolsters, match the pin material to the material chosen.
2. Put knife in vice. Work with the knife in the vice whenever possible. This makes the whole project easier and safer.
3. Attach guards or bolsters. Clean the blade with soap and water. Solder the guard or bolster using flux, solder and torch. Use files and try to make the joint as close as possible before soldering for looks and strength. File bolsters to fit and sand with metal sandpapers working to the finest grit.
4. Wrap blade with tape. Wrap the blade with tape so that you can work with it and not get cut.
5. Cut handle and fit handle material. Cut the handle materials to fit. The closer the fit, the less work filing to fit.
6. Drill pin holes. If adding pins in handles, mark and drill the pin holes in the handle material.
7. Cut pin stock. Cut the number of pins to be added in handle. Make them long enough to slide through both handles and the blade.
8. Assemble handle. Mix the epoxy and assemble the handle materials. Coat handle with epoxy and put on handle scales. Dip pin stock in epoxy and slip through the handles and blades. Clamp pieces together and let sit until dried according to epoxy directions. Keep an eye on this for a short time as epoxy is slippery and the handles may shift and need to be repositioned.
9. File down handles and pins. Use wood rasps and files to file down the handle materials and pins. Work slowly and inspect your work. You can take off more material, but cannot replace material once it is off. Newcomers tend to make thick, clumsy handles. It takes patience and work to get the handles properly sized for both asthetics and use.
10. Sand handle. Using the sand paper, sand down the handle material until it is finished. Once down to highest grit, dip wood handles in water and let dry. When dry you will feel "whiskers." Re-sand with highest grit to remove these whiskers for final finish. Repeat till no more whiskers.
11. Polish bolster/guard. Wrap handle in duct tape to prevent staining. Use metal polish and soft cloths to final polish the guard or bolsters. Follow the instructions and buff to a high polish.
12. Finish handle. Remove tape and stain handle with wood stain. Let stain dry and varnish to seal the handle.
13. Finish blade. Remove tape from blade and polish with metal polish to protect the blade. Use soft cloths and polish following the directions on the product. Take care on sharpened blades.