How to Make a Knife - Part 2

[@JEMBlades]

Walter, I appreciate your tutelage in these videos. I also appreciate the sense of humor you impart as well. I am just starting out, but if there is anything I learned it is this: Spending hours on top of hours filing and sanding can get very tedious, so a sense of humor is probably the only thing between enjoying this hobby and taking our own lives with these blades!

[@azvedicgurukul]

I love this video and made my first home made knife basically this exact same way. One of the most fun parts for me was the fact that, since the knife I made was small, and file serrations provide a wonderful gripping surface, I made a small knife with a completely metal handle. Additionally, as it was small and not to take any kind of impact, I was allowed to run riot with hardness (yes if I ever dropped this knife on a hard surface it would shatter like glass). So after heating and annealing in sand, then filing, stone grinding and sanding the blade - I got it cherry red in the charcoal and salt water quenched it - without tempering it after in the oven. The final polish and honing are an exercise in patience, but can be done all by hand. I know its insanely fragile, but the massive carbon content in file steel after rapid cooling yields a cutting edge as sharp as broken glass (and yes just about as fragile). This is a great video. Part of the fun of doing this at home is being able to play with the "recipe" and process to make something unique and allows you to explore metallurgy in a very tactile way. This video is a perfect approach to making a great general purpose first knife. Well done!

[@drewreyes9171]

Awesome vid!

[@SpunkyGrubber]

This is the most professional demonstration knife making tutorial ive seen on youtube yet! :) nice job! You give important tips and info the camera is clear your voice is clear and you explain yourself very well! Great job! :)

[@WalterSorrellsBlades]

Hard to say, because videography + anything = absurd amounts of time! My guess is that if I did this without taking time every fourteen seconds to re-set the cameras it would be about a ten to twenty hour project. With power tools, maybe half that.

[@gordanator2060]

Love this guys presentation.

[@blackeagle2314]

I love your humor man :)

[@maxst8892]

Catch subscription from Moldova

[@fireguzzi.]

Great definition of the ricasso.

[@LoveAllThingsSharp]

You make it look so easy.

[@goneballistic]

lol "it'll give you that nice french fry smell instead of giving you lung cancer" haha

[@willelliott8100]

he's right, ive always quenched in sunflower oil but decided to try motor oil and the smell made me gag, it also seemed to follow me from the bottom of my garden all the way back into my workshop, house, kichen... everywhere. back to cooking oil. Lol

[@austin2842]

Great tutorial. I'd like to try this with full tang. Is it harder to do?

[@froller2]

thanks walter!, love this how to guide

[@september1683]

That was really interesting! Thanks a lot!

[@dlcknives_and_leather]

verry nice series

[@culturevulture6292]

Didnt sound pretentious at all. Your explanation was on point.

[@0GregorSchultz0]

what kind of juice are you using to ungrease the blade after hardening? I often have problems with a crust that destroys my sandpaper

[@jacksonpeters297]

That's called scale, I recommend a very fine half round file

[@EveMayfooltrix]

Is there any sense to polish your knife at the stage after making bevels and before heat treatment? I mean, yes, I would have to polish it once again after, but it is easier to remove scratches while the steel is soft. Or it is critical to polish after heat treatment?

[@outlawcustombows]

Hi Walter, Firsty, excellent page and videos!! They're helping me increase the quality of the knives I'm making. Just a question with regards to rusting of tool steel (file) blade knives... Is there any method to prevent or slow corrosion on non-stainless steel blades?

[@themindshack]

Hi Walter Thanks for all the guidance, It's been a great help thus far man. Question ( If I may ?) Would you do the blade sanding after quenching the blade?

[@WalterSorrellsBlades]

+Andre Cronje You always have to do some after the quench. But for a knife like this you want to get reasonably close to your final finish because it's a lot easier to sand it before hardening than after.

[@w0mblemania]

Using these videos, I was able to really improve the quality of my shivs, and thus expand my jail-yard empire! Thank you!

[@circuscase]

He lives/works next to railroad tracks - at 5:25.

[@skywalkerneoblade]

Love the dry jokes. Thanks for the video, very helpful!

[@strix2035]

how many hours did you put in to finish this project?

[@ryanlashta530]

What would you do to Un warp a knife blade if it warps during heat treating?

[@WalterSorrellsBlades]

If it's a fully hardened knife, you run into a strong possibility of breaking the blade if you attempt to straighten it. But if it's differentially hardened, you can bend it in any number of ways to straighten it.

[@dylanlewis9349]

Metricland: noun (met chrick land) A word to describe anywhere but the United States of America

[@VoteCounter001]

I have found this works for 1095. Not perfect, but works for a homemade knife. 1. Normalize: Heat to non magnetic, let cool in still air 2. Normalize: Heat to non magnetic, let cool in still air 3. Normalize: Heat to non magnetic, let cool in still air 4. Quench: Heat to non magnetic, quench in vegetable oil 5. Temper @ 400-450 for an hour 6. Temper @ 400-450 for an hour Not perfect, but works for simple steels.

[@Moronicsmurf]

So, whats your two cents on drawfiling with a fine file for finish, before using sandpaper? I personally like the finish of drawfiling as it is but it can be improved upon.

[@igneous061]

what did you say about ricaso? isnt it unsharpened part of the blade/sword right before guard? btw, your videos are so easy to watch, you explain everything and simlify comlicated things :D

[@WalterSorrellsBlades]

+Orka DRLJAČA Thanks, glad you're enjoying the videos. You're correct about the ricasso.

[@chriscapozzi7521]

+Walter Sorrells Do you have to use charcoal or can I use a propain or oxy acccet torch ?

[@tapsarautanen]

Sir, I like your videos and I have a question. If the quenching is done only on part of the blade does necessarily appear stress? I have done quenching of small parts but I am considering making a large slick chisel for timber frame construction and I am afraid I won't have the facility to get the whole part orange hot (at least not really uniformly).

[@dannyx1237]

Hi, nice video, can i use a bench grinder to make the bevel?

[@Vidman919]

When you say "any kind of wood can be used" Would a hard wood (Not as hard as walnut, but something like a hickory or cedar) be better than say a pine hilt?

[@chuckieboy343]

For handle durability yes

[@kristapsliepnieks9949]

Hello, I like the idea of turning old file into a blade, so I tried it. I've done everything up to hardening. I tried it but after I cooled it down, and ran another file across the surface, it left scratches. So this means, it isn't hardened, correct? Can I use the magnet technique to determine when the temperature is right? So to say, will this work with tool steel as well? Sorry for the dumb ass question.

[@عابر-ن8ع]

Kristaps Liepnieks email him from his website.

[@Biblicalgiants]

...does the quenching oil need to be a certain temperature before quenching the blade?

[@bongodango]

Also, how did you "cool" the knife this time? Just in the air? in sand?

[@angelosilva342]

Is it just me or there is a temper line in the blade around 11:05 ?

[@WalterSorrellsBlades]

Angelo Silva Good eye! That steel is just on the edge of hardenability in oil, so only the edge hardens.

[@angelosilva342]

+Walter Sorrells Thanks! Please keep up the great work and the awesome videos!

[@PTNKHRMU]

Can this work well if i have heavier cutting tools but no way to heat it?

[@jwagner002]

Great videos! I'm tempering my first knives now and I'm lucky my life partner is not home!

[@BradleyGao]

I don't have all this sandpaper what should I do?

[@bobhilly546312156332]

could all the long filling in the first part be done with a bench grinder

[@solouroboros]

Yes :) and faster.

[@bobylac637]

should i sand my knife before heat triet

[@bongodango]

How did you "degrease" the knife at 3:15 ?

[@WalterSorrellsBlades]

***** Any method works. You can use a degreasing solvent like acetone, or you can just (carefully) wash it in dishwashing soap with a thorough rinse afterward.

[@grindstone4910]

+HillbillyZT Any degreaser will work. Dawn dish soap is one of the better degreasers out there, really.

[@najin0446]

400° Celsius vor Fahrenheit? Thanks already

[@skaramicke]

Jan König: 400°F, ~200°C

[@kai2937]

can i skip the kitchen oven part cuz my house doesn't have a oven :(

[@dracdis1914]

if you do then then it is likely to break or crack

[@jobbutcher1793]

DONT USE MOTOR OIL. The steel won't cool fast enough and might crack. Canola oil will work a lot better.

[@davewasea]

What drill bits do you use? Ive had no end of problems with them not going through.

[@Hazehellivo]

Try carbide drill bits or drill the holes before hardening.

[@davewasea]

Thanks will try them, and I always do it after the annealing process!

[@landoutdoors860]

I thought it was best to drill the holes after annealing but before quenching and hardening. Does it not matter because you don't ever harden the tang?

[@gmoney771]

It doesn't matter, you annealed the whole thing but you only hardened the blade and not the tang, so the tang is still a softer steel. After you temper it its strong enough to not just bend under force but can still be worked with... I think. Don't quote me on this, and I'm sorry if it's totally irrelevant to you at this point.

[@brucehurlburt7740]

Can vegetable oil be used for tempering?

[@bkkgfvhyvv8253]

Yes

[@avatar_ac6862]

Wouldn't you use it for quenching??

[@jobbutcher1793]

Bruce Hurlburt ya vegetable oil or canola oil will work best. You actually can use your own urine to quench the steel. It works well too.

[@brucehurlburt7740]

HAHA, I actually laughed at that, even if it is true its still funny. Plus the smell would jsut be grand! :D lol ty for the chuckle

[@jobbutcher1793]

Bruce Hurlburt well check out my video Quenching in urine. it's the first video you see.

[@rstainsbury]

Why can’t I find any 2 inch belt grinders in the U.K.?

[@maxwelll3297]

exelent

[@lucassassi]

I'm sorry, but what's the difference between the heat treatment from the first video and this one? The first one was to make the metal softer, now it's making it harder? I don't get it.

[@xinfinity8532]

+Lucas S. In the first video Walter did not heat treat it, he just heated in up to make it softer so that its easier to cut with a saw and grind, its optional. In this video this is heat treating

[@smcockrell]

i used motor oil for a while because i always had a good bit on hand from doing motorcycle maintenance and what not. but i switched to just regular vegetable oil and it made a huge difference. first of all the smell from the motor oil is absolutely terrible and the smoke is almost unbearable. cooking oil is a lot better in that regard. secondly, motor oil leaves a lot of black oily scale on the blades. any oil is going to leave scale i suppose but the cooking oil was a lot cleaner, by far.

[@smcockrell]

oh and dont forget the temper part. and be very careful when moving the knife from the quench to whatever device you are using for tempering (i use my toaster oven because it heats quickly and i can set a timer). i had a friend of mind drop his on the way to the toaster oven and it broke completely in two. if you are going to be messing around with it trying to get out warps or whatever, make sure you do it while it is still hot. because once it cools, its very very brittle and it will snap if you try to bend it.

[@derryberry16]

Why don't you heat the tang?

[@0GregorSchultz0]

he still nieeds to drill a hole....which would be impossible if its hardened ;)

[@skaramicke]

0GregorSchultz0 In that case, why not drill first and heat treat all of it after?

[@atenanimism9336]

Besides having trouble drilling holes, you want the tang to maintain its characteristic of being "tough". With heat treatment you decrease the property of toughness for hardness (and vice versa), makes no sense to harden the whole blade rather than the business end

[@lclalpha7314]

It is better to remove all file jumpings becuse it can rust easyer

[@GwaiHaida]

Why do you have to temper it twice?

[@WalterSorrellsBlades]

+RLP3 This is probably Department of More-Than-You-Wanted-to-Know...but most files are made from hypereuetectoid steels which retain some austenite after quenching. The austenite can then convert to untempered martensite after the first tempering cycle, so you want to temper again to reduce potential brittleness.

[@Dante80]

Would it make sense to do it a third time or is it redundant (or even more harmful)? Also, would it make sense to keep the steel more than one hour in the oven each time you do it?

[@lightbox617]

You remind me of my Jr. HS Shop teacher. In Illinois at that time, you had to be able to type at 25 wpm( at least one time), sew a button on a shirt, repair a rent in a piece of shirt fabric, how to boil an egg, and do a couple of "manual labor" tasks to graduate. This guy taught us how to fold and solder a water proof metal box, build a wooden shelf, make a ring from a stainless steel nut and how to file and sand until we went nuts. I could teach my kids the fabric and kitchen stuff but am saddened that the metal work "labs" are not available in today's HS. But, Neither is Civics, which I think is as necessary as what you are teaching. The lost arts of independence, craftsmanship and negotiating the social contract. My kids will never build a sword but one of them is a field supervisor of a crew that makes cell phone rely towers (repeaters) work and the other is working on MAs in architecture and urban planning. Agree or not; the direct result of the influence of my HS experience. Not everything is Plato and Shakespeare..though I wouldn't give that up, either. these Vids of yours are more important than you may realize

[@sethcarson5212]

How do you get a knife hard? Get it all hot and bothered, and then slather it with oil. ;)

[@leedoughty7484]

"in metric land" that was funny

[@steve24822]

Yes, that would be everywhere on the entire planet other than the USA.

[@doberman74]

yeah, I pissed my lifepartner off plenty of times with the engine oil!! she is happier now I use Veg oil :)

[@marciaholdsworth1796]

you can learn from woodprix plans how to make it by yourself.

[@lightbox617]

like the idea of my place smelling like McDonalds

[@Clovesofgarlic]

I made an axe out of a frying pan once

[@theelfman]

You said cherry red, but that looks orange....

[@ErenThorne]

the camera doesnt capture the real colours of the blade