First Knife

[pdccr]

Here is my first knife that i made out of a hacksaw blade, i wanted to make a longer knife and had i shaped and was going to drill it but when i drilled it it must of got too hot and it broke in 2, this knife i made out of the small remnant of the big one. I used a drill press and a proper metal drill bit.The handle is spotted gum with leather. The blade holds a nice edge but i wanted a thick knife for fishing and camping.

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[Stickbow Hunter]

Toby,

It looks rugged but you seem to have put a good edge on it - good first effort. I would suggest that you make a better sheath for it as I can see that thread being cut and the blade poking out and giving you a nasty cut.

Jeff

[pdccr]

Yeah, i was thinking about that.

I just need to figure out how to drill the blade without it shattering as its only currently being held by epoxy.

[jindydiver]

Yeah, i was thinking about that.

I just need to figure out how to drill the blade without it shattering as its only currently being held by epoxy.

Have you got a dremil? If you grind a hole with a small drum or with a disc you can put a pin through. I have used the dremil disc to cut a groove before to get pins in.

You can also drill with a carbide bit. If you clamp the blade hard to a piece of solid wood (good hard gum or something) you can turn your drill press up to as fast as it will go and use the carbide bit to cut through. It smokes a lot but gets the job done. Use some good drilling lube so your bit doesn't get too hot or the carbide piece will fall out.

[pdccr]

Yeah, i am going to get some carbide bits to try it that way, i think it just overheated and shattered.

[jindydiver]

A lot of the power hacksaw blade are high speed steel and they can use some heat treating to make them more usable. Fire up your BBQ as hot as you can get it and stick the blade in so it gets red hot. Leave it in there and leave the fire till the next day. The steel wont be soft, it will still work well as a knife, but it will have lost that brittle quality that is your problem.
This is how flexible they are after the fire treatment

[pdccr]

I might give that a go. I also went to bunnings and bought a carbide bit and a HSS drill set. They were on sale so i bought them both. I will have to get some more hacksaw blades though.

[jindydiver]

If they are proper carbide bits designed for drilling hardened steel you run them slow and keep the fluid up to them. What most guys use is the drills you put in your hammer drill for drilling rocks. You sharpen up the end on a fine grind wheel and run them really fast keeping the coolant up to it.
The HSS drills won't damage the saw blades at all, they are for drilling soft steel (mild).

[woodie]

knife looks good. if you have a spair $100 or so you can get full carbide drill bits from blacwood or the likes for drilling hard metals. I use a lot of the at work. lanilan work good for a cutting fliud.
woodie

[Gringa Bows]

not bad for your first attempt Toby,you'll get better with each one ....Rod

[Nephew]

It's a better knife than I've ever made (having made no knives)! Good Onya!

[pdccr]

Thanks Moreton...

Went out to the reef on the weekend and turned out to be a perfect gutting knife, short and sturdy. Out of the 20 or so hours we fished we caught two nice 70cm Reddies and a coral trout and about 100 little tiddlers, never seen such a lack of big fish out there. Forgot to seal the leather so it turned to muck after all the blood and guts but it was a pretty shoddy job anyway. Might have to go even further out next time to get the big ones.

[terryzac]

here is my first attempt at forging a blade. have progressed a little since then.
forged from a coil spring off a xb falcon

[Stickbow Hunter]

It is coming along alright. I hope those red spots on the concrete aren't an indication of how sharp it is.

Jeff