6 Steps to Make A Knife at Home

A knife is one of the great tools that we use every day. At least every home owns a knife. In other words, your off-grid living will not be complete without this great tool. There is a need for you to learn how to make a homemade knife.

People use homemade knives for different reasons: some for preparing meals, while others for hunting or self-defense. Whatever you plan to use a knife for, you should learn to make a knife for that intended purpose.

In this article, we provide a step-by-step guide on how to make a knife at home. We have presented different approaches that you will find easy. However, you need to be prepared, patient, and cautious when handling this task.

Why Must You Learn How To Make Knives?

Sometimes you just need to live away from other people. For you to achieve that, you need to be a handyman. The ability to make knives at home will go a long way in ensuring the success of your off-grid living. But what are the uses of homemade knives?

A homemade knife is an essential tool that has many uses. Think of cooking, creating shelter, hunting, and self-defense; they all require a knife.

However, we have to warn you that making a knife is a painstaking process. You need to dedicate yourself and that is why we have this guide here to help you.

Basic Steps To Make Knife

There are general steps followed when making homemade knives. These steps largely remain the same regardless of the type of knife you plan to make, and they include the following:

Step 1: Choosing Materials

First thing first, you need all the ingredients before you start cooking. Choose the appropriate materials for your knife blade and handles. Do you need to use a rock or steel? If steel, then which grade of steel? The type of material determines the quality of the blade.

The same goes for the handles. You can choose either wood, micarta, bone, leather, cord, stone, gem, or any other material. In this case, we have assumed that you have all the tools and equipment needed to make homemade knives.

Step 2: Design Your Knife

You are better off working from a design. It is a key step in the manufacturing or blacksmithing process. Decide on the shape of your blade and tang. Trace it on graph paper, and ensure the size of the drawing is as close to the actual size as possible.

While designing your homemade knife, keep practicality and functionality in mind. Do not be over-possessed by the appearance of your design, forgetting why you needed the knife.

Step 3: Make the Blade

Using a hacksaw or angle grinder, cut the blade and tang from the blade material chosen. Here, we assume that you already have a trace of the knife design on the steel.

Also, make sure you have a clamp to hold the substrate on the workbench and a drill for drilling the holes on the tang.

Step 4: Make a Knife Handle

The knife handle is made following the shape of the tang. Full-tang is the commonly used design because it is easier to work with, but you can try out others such as through-tang.

As you did with blade cutting, trace out the handle on the material and cut it out as appropriate.

Step 5: Attach The Blade To The Knife Handle

Handles are attached to the tang by riveting. Here, the method of riveting depends on personal choice. Brass rivets are the most common but you can choose what suits your situation.

Once you are satisfied with the handle cutout, drill holes through them as you did on the tang and attach everything together through riveting.

Cap the rivets to ensure they do not come off. You can use glue to further secure the handles in place, but that is optional.

Step 6: Sharpening the Blade

The blade sharpening step should be near the end to avoid injury when attaching to the handle. This is usually done through grinding and/or filing. Use an appropriate grinder or file to achieve the sharpness you need for the blade.

The knife is held at an angle, and long sweeping motions are applied to achieve uniform sharpness. You also need to alternate both sides as appropriate.

We have to say again that this is the most dangerous step where you can get injuries. Sharpening should be slow and continuous.

Step 7: Clean and Test the Knife

This is the last step before declaring your homemade knife ready. The testing method you are going to apply depends on the intended purpose. A hunting knife should cut through meat easily, and for cooking should chop vegetables and other foodstuffs.

You might need to test the knife twice or more before you are satisfied with your work. Remember to clean it thoroughly when you are done with everything. Cleaning can be done using coarse, medium, and fine sandpaper, respectively.

Homemade Knife From Rock

Rocks are very accessible if your off-grid home is located in a rocky area and has been used to make rudimentary weapons since the beginning of the human race. It is only that the art has been perfected in the present times.

The following are the steps needed to make a knife from a rock:

Step 1: Choosing materials

Rocks can be used for making knife blades, but not all stones can be used for this purpose. You can easily find razor-edged ones in a creek. However, it has to be a particular rock. Quartz, obsidian, flint, chert, and chalcedony are some of the best stones for blades.

Rocks make a ringing sound or sound like glass when hit together. That is an indication of good blade material. Make sure to choose ones that are relatively large for better blade formation.